BOSTON, MA - Mass NOW, in partnership with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, hosted its third annual Trans Period Pride event on Wednesday, June 17, in Boston. The event brought together transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive community members and allies to discuss menstruation, share experiences, and build community in an affirming and judgment-free space. Attendees received dinner and free period underwear.
Launched in 2023, Trans Period Pride was created to address a frequently overlooked aspect of menstrual equity: the experiences of transgender and nonbinary people who menstruate. Held during Pride Month, the event celebrates inclusion, visibility, and the right of all people to access menstrual products, health information, and supportive communities regardless of gender identity. In addition to Trans Period Pride, Mass NOW organizes Period Product Drives, community education programs, and advocacy efforts to advance menstrual equity throughout Massachusetts.
“Mass NOW is excited to continue its third annual Trans Period Pride event. It’s a safe opportunity to stop the stigma associated with discussing menstrual equity and erode barriers that prevent menstruating individuals from being included in the conversation around menstrual health. The term “menstruating individual” is used because all women do not menstruate, and all menstruators do not identify as a woman. Menstrual equity is an issue of economic inequality, social equity, public health, and gender equity. There is more power working together than apart, which Mass NOW will continue to do no matter what,” said Sasha Goodfriend, Executive Director of Mass NOW.
Mass NOW’s impact is felt across the state. The organization has distributed over 800,000 menstrual products over the past six years and hosted dozens of community engagement events and menstrual equity training workshops. Mass NOWhas also advocated for the I AM Bill, legislation that would require Massachusetts to provide free menstrual products in schools, shelters, jails, and prisons. The bill has passed the Massachusetts Senate unanimously during each of the last three legislative sessions and continues to advance efforts to make menstrual products accessible to all who need them.
Mass NOW works to advance gender equity across Massachusetts through advocacy, education, and community engagement. Building a more equitable Massachusetts requires ensuring that all voices are included in conversations about health, economic opportunity, and reproductive justice.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
U.S. Senator Ed Markey: “Every person deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to make decisions about their own body and live authentically without fear or discrimination. Access to health resources, support, and care is a human right, and I’m proud to stand in solidarity with Mass NOW and with transgender and nonbinary people. As the lead sponsor of the Transgender Bill of Rights and the Transgender Health Care Access Act, I will never waver in protecting those rights while Trump and MAGA Republicans try to erase trans and nonbinary people and strip away their health care and human rights.”
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07): “Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. At a time when communities across the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District are under attack we must be exhaustive in our support of the transgender community. Access to gender affirming care is essential and we must do everything we can to ensure that everyone is able to show up fully and authentically as themselves safe from discrimination and with access to proper care.”
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell: “Creating spaces where transgender and gender-diverse people can speak openly about their experiences and access support is more important than ever. As attorneys general fight for access to health care and civil rights, we must ensure every person is treated with dignity and respect.”
State Senator Lydia Edwards, State Senator for the Third Suffolk District: “Periods are natural, and access to menstrual health resources should be met with dignity, not stigma. I stand with women, with the trans community and with all who experience periods, because everyone deserves to live authentically. Periods have never stopped us from leading, creating, caring, achieving, and making a difference in the world. We work through our periods, succeed through our periods, and thrive through our periods. I want to thank Mass NOW for organizing events like Trans Period Pride to unite the community and uplift those who have too often been overlooked in conversations about menstrual equity.”
Senator Julian Cyr: “Across the country, LGBTQ+ people – especially our transgender siblings – are being targeted and threatened. Here in Massachusetts, our job is simple: to ensure that every person – regardless of gender identity – can access health care, live authentically, and know they are valued, protected, and loved."
Chair Aaron Michlewitz: “Everyone deserves the right to have the freedom to control the decisions about their own body and live with respect and free of discrimination. Massachusetts has a strong and proud record of standing up for LGBTQ+ rights and I will never waiver in supporting those hard-won liberties. I look forward to continuing to fight to strengthen those rights in the months and years ahead.”
State Representative Jay Livingstone: "The annual tradition creating this space to affirm trans dignity and advance menstrual health is important particularly in this moment when the LGBTQ+ community is under increasing attacks.”
State Representative Sam Montaño: “It’s disheartening that folks who are coming together in community have been attacked and threatened by people who this has no impact on. I’m glad the event is still happening and that the hate has been squashed by love and community.”
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn: "We must work together to ensure Boston remains a city where civil rights are respected and protected. LGBTQ+ rights are civil rights and all residents deserve to live openly without fear and discrimination."
Boston City Councilor Henry Santana: “Every individual deserves to access healthcare and community support without facing threats to their safety. Access to basic healthcare – including menstrual health – is a fundamental human right, not an invitation for hostility. This backlash highlights exactly why visibility and structural protections for our trans community are so critical. I stand unapologetically with our trans neighbors, because true equity means ensuring that no one is forced to live in fear for simply seeking the care and dignity they deserve."
Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta-Zapata: "At a time when we are witnessing an unacceptable wave of anti-trans hatred and misinformation, it is more important than ever that we affirm the dignity, humanity, and worth of every person while addressing period poverty, which remains heavily stigmatized and disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities. Everyone, regardless of their gender identity, deserves access to dignity, healthcare, and the support they need to thrive in their community."
Dana A. Alas, Executive Director, Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement: “Our office’s work to promote universal access to menstrual products is part of a larger goal to ensure all people have what they need to stay clean and feel supported in public spaces. No one benefits from excluding anyone that needs access to safe and effective menstrual products. That is why at all standalone BCYF centers the City of Boston provides free menstrual products in every stall regardless of the gender posted on the door to ensure access for all residents. It is not the City’s job to discriminate and limit access based on someone’s gender. Every city resident deserves the dignity of having hygiene products accessible to them in public spaces.”
Jullieanne Lee, Executive Director, Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement: "Menstrual equity is a matter of health equity. Access to basic health resources and affirming spaces are key social determinants of health, which is why advancing health equity remains a core pillar of our office's work. It is another step in building a Boston for all, where every resident is seen, supported, and able to thrive. Every person deserves to move through the world with dignity and a sense of belonging. Supporting transgender people means more than standing against discrimination. It means actively creating spaces where people are affirmed, cared for, and able to access the resources they need.”
Mariangely Solis Cervera, Chief of Equity and Inclusion, City of Boston: “At the Equity and Inclusion Cabinet, we welcome every opportunity to help people better understand the beautiful complexities that make our communities strong. Supporting transgender residents means affirming their dignity, humanity, and right to access the resources they need to thrive. We are proud to stand in solidarity with Mass Equality, Mass NOW, and all those working to build a more inclusive and equitable Commonwealth.”
Shaplaie Brooks, Executive Director, MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth: “Affirming and supporting transgender youth and ensuring their needs are met – saves lives. It is up to us to create a future where young people can envision themselves growing into the adults we all hope they will become. Too often, society silences young people by deciding for them what freedom should look like, when true and unshakable joy can only exist where liberation belongs to all. After 250 years, America should have learned that by now.”
Dominique Lee, MBA, MPH, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts: "This event is a phenomenal example of inclusive community-driven care and breaking down stigma around menstruation and period products – which are for everyone. Trans and nonbinary people need and deserve quality, affordable sexual health care just like everyone else. As our health care providers affirm to our patients every day, your health care should be tailored to you, your gender identity, and your sexual health needs – not bound by an outdated binary view of gender."
Tanya V. Neslusan, Executive Director, MassEquality: "Everyone who menstruates needs to receive the information that they need to navigate their reproductive health in a way that affirms their identity. There is so much disinformation and shame surrounding reproductive healthcare that holding events enabling people to get the resources they need is critical to our health."
Aba Taylor, President & CEO, and Brianna Aloisio Savage, Director of Advocacy, YW Boston: “Pride Month reminds us about the beauty that can emerge from solidarity between marginalized communities, and the fight for menstrual equity is no different. As the trans community continues to be maligned and delegitimized, now is not the time to abandon trans people; it’s the time to double down and demonstrate our enthusiastic and unapologetic support.”
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