Feminine Hygiene Grant Revoked Over Mention of Trans Men
A $600,000 USDA grant funding a study to create non-toxic menstrual hygiene products was revoked for acknowledging transgender identity.
A grant helping to fund a study on the potential health risks posed by synthetic menstrual hygiene products was revoked after being flagged for including transgender men.
The $600,000 grant, “Farm to Feminine Hygiene: Enhancing the Textiles Lab for Research, Extension, and Scientific Instrumentation for Teaching at Southern University,” was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture in 2024.
It sought to “address the growing concerns and issues surrounding menstruation, including the potential health risks posed to users of synthetic feminine hygiene products,” according to the project’s documentation, which was publicly filed on the USDA website.
The study’s goals were to develop sustainable female hygiene products using regenerative cotton, wool, and industrial hemp while also educating women and girls about menstrual health and reusable products.
The grant would also have funded a fiber processing center for locally grown fibers in Louisiana, which would financially help Louisiana farmers who grow or cultivate fiber crops to be used in producing hygiene products.
Dr. Samii Kennedy Benson, who oversaw the program at Southern University, told Baton Rouge-based CBS affiliate WAFB that she was inspired to conduct the research project after a 2022 study found that most hygiene products contain toxic heavy metals, like lead and arsenic — raising concerns about whether prolonged exposure to such materials would be detrimental to people’s health or increase their risk of cancer.
The grant’s non-technical summary also included a single sentence acknowledging that “transgender men and people with masculine gender identities, intersex and non-binary persons may also menstruate.”
That one sentence was enough to put social conservatives into meltdown mode.
Conservatives, who believe that sex is binary and fixed at birth, accused the project of violating a Trump executive order that prohibits federal funds from being used to promote or support the idea that a person can transition genders.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted on X on March 7 that the grant, which she falsely claimed was focused on studying “menstrual cycles in transgender men” had been revoked.
Rollins credited the conservative think tank American Principles Project with sending in a tip that led to the grant’s revocation.
In response to an inquiry from CBS News about the think tank’s involvement, APP spokesperson Cailey Myers responded, “This grant clearly denies biological reality — men don’t menstruate.”
But Myers failed to provide evidence that the grant was focused exclusively — or even primarily — on “menstrual cycles in transgender men.”
In fact, the study’s summary specifically mentions educating “women and girls” about menstruation and menstrual hygiene products.
Similarly, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson claimed in a statement to CBS News that the primary objection to the grant was that it “prioritized women identifying as men who might menstruate” and that the “mission certainly does not align with the priorities and policies of the Trump Administration.”
But, just like the American Principles Project, the USDA did not provide any evidence proving that the study prioritized transgender men.
Benson, the lead on the project, confirmed that she had received notification that the grant had been revoked but was not aware of the reason for the cancellation until CBS News contacted her.
Southern University told CBS in a statement that researchers nationwide had reviewed the grant before it was approved. It also noted that “the term ‘transgender men’ was only used once to state that this project, through the development of safer and healthier FHPs [feminine hygiene products], would benefit all biological women.”
Hundreds of millions of dollars in grants or government contracts have been canceled due to the inclusion of previously flagged phrases or words that are associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or single out Americans based on social characteristics, including their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Because Trump, through various executive orders, has forbade the use of federal dollars on projects or grants believed to support pro-diversity initiatives and has declared that the United States will only recognize two sexes, based on a person’s biological characteristics at birth, such information is being scrubbed from public-facing government websites.
Additionally, based on how the Trump administration responded to Benson’s grant, anyone seeking federal money who includes mentions of the LGBTQ community or DEI-related terms in their summary of a grant’s goals or a study’s objectives could find their application either denied outright.
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