Florida Says No to Heavy Flows

Florida’s House Bill 1069 regarding sexual health in education will ban girls from talking about their periods at school until 6th-12th grade. This was proposed by Republican State Representative Stan McClain. 

According to the Washington Post, this bill was created in order to “reshape education in K-12 and higher education in Florida”. Some of McClain’s colleagues, like Democrat State Representative Ashley Gantt, questioned the purpose of this bill, but he never explained the benefits and his reasoning of why he doesn’t want young girls to have the period talk at school. When Gantt asked McClain to clarify that conversations will be prohibited even if a girl starts their menstrual cycle in fifth or fourth grade, all McClain said was “It would.” 

There’s no clear understanding of why this part of the bill is being proposed. Senior Erin Patton says, “It’s something that happens and I feel like it’s being shied away from.” Girls in the elementary school level will be just as confused as to what’s happening to them. 

However, the bill does not punish girls that come up to their teachers and ask questions regarding their menstrual cycle, and McClain clarified that this bill would be changed if amendments if brought up. Even so, the bill is still seen as inappropriate by some students at Central. 

“I think it’s extremely inappropriate because I think it’s a natural thing that happens to people,” Senior Andie Strauss says, “and preventing them from talking about it only furthers the issues that might come about like discomfort with your own body.” 

Senior Erin Patton believes it’s good to keep young girls informed on what to expect and how to stay healthy. “It doesn’t hurt to have people be informed about this especially because it’s going to be something people are going to deal with in their life regardless,” she says. 

Sophomore Avery Torrison says that the bill is horrible and it’s going to make people unhappy. “It’s going to make girls scared of themselves by not giving them this information,” they say. 

Torrison also mentions that kids are getting periods pretty earlier now. According to Washington Post, there has been a surge in puberty cases starting at an early age since June 2020 with some girls getting them at eight years old. “With this bill, girls won’t get that safety net and understanding of what’s happening to them,” Torrison says. 

The bill ended up passing on Wednesday, March 15. This will bring a negative impact to younger girls, but not just because they won’t know what’s going on. “They’re going to grow up with a sense of discomfort and shame on who they are,” Strauss says, “And I think it forces them to be secretive on something that really shouldn’t be so shameful or embarassing.”  

Young girls will end up suffering because of this bill. Though girls can just ask their parents about their menstrual cycles, not being able to talk about it in a school environment shows that this natural part of their life is something to be ashamed of.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/17/florida-bill-girls-periods-school-gop/ 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/03/28/early-puberty-pandemic-girls/