Many people’s lives are hugely dictated by period symptoms and their hormone cycles. Cisgender women menstruate pretty much every 28 days (depending on the cis women you’re asking) but do transgender women get periods?
This article explores many aspects of women’s health for both trans women and cisgender women. From PMS symptoms to hormone therapy and more we will try to cover reproductive health for everyone.
Do Trans Women Have Periods? Understanding the Menstrual Cycle Regardless of Gender Identity
If you’ve wondered do trans women have periods then the first step to understanding this is getting to know the menstrual cycle. Regardless of gender identity, a person with a uterus and ovaries will experience a menstrual cycle from puberty until they reach menopause.
However, the length or period symptoms, when they arrive and the PMS symptoms that affect many people’s lives every month can vary tremendously. For example, women assigned female at birth often call it their monthly cycle and many menstrual products are even advertised as helping to deal with “monthly problems” yet not every body has a monthly cycle.
Many women have periods and use period tracking apps to help them predict their cycles. This can help them become pregnant, avoid pregnancy, plan ovulation or even just avoid losing a lot of blood at important events.
There has long been a sense of taboo surrounding a woman and her period since we were not encouraged to talk openly about them with another person but recently this has begun to change. Those assigned female at birth are more likely to talk to other women in their life about things like periods, ovulation, pregnancy or even menstrual cups than ever before.
How Hormone Replacement Therapy Impacts Trans Women and Their Health
For transgender women, HRT typically involves taking oestrogen and anti androgens to develop secondary female characteristics. This hormonal adjustment can lead to period like symptoms, including mood swings, cramps, fatigue and PMS (such as irritability and emotional sensitivity).
While these symptoms don’t signify a menstrual cycle in the biological sense, they provide a hormonal experience that many trans women find affirming. This connection can help trans women develop a sense of alignment with their gender identity, which really highlights the importance of gender affirmation in transgender health care.
Hormone Cycles in a Trans Woman
Similar to cis women trans women on HRT may notice changes in their hormone levels. These changes can create a monthly hormone cycle of symptoms even if no physical menstruation occurs. For some trans women tracking their hormone cycle through period tracking apps can help manage their physical and emotional health even helping with symptoms of gender dysphoria.
The Relationship Between Menstruation and Gender Identity
The idea that only women can menstruate is totally outdated and excludes trans men, non binary people, and even some cisgender women who may not menstruate due to medical conditions. It’s more important than ever to recognise that menstruation and gender identity are not something that go hand in hand. Transgender people whether a trans woman, trans man, or non binary individual experience gender in diverse ways that go so much further than simply body parts and biological functions.
For many trans women the emotional and physical challenges that come with hormone therapy create a real understanding of the hormonal cycle. In a similar way trans men taking testosterone may experience changes to their periods or cessation of menstruation altogether. This diversity of experiences highlights the need for trans friendly conversations about women’s health and reproductive health that include transgender people and non trans people.
Do Trans People Use Menstrual Products?
Menstruation and periods are no longer an aspect of life that only cis people need to think about. Many companies are creating inclusive ways for people assigned male at birth to deal with blood without experiencing any gender dysphoria.
Not only that but for trans women more apps are being developed that are designed to help them deal with symptoms effecting their life like hormones, premenstrual syndrome, experiencing a noticeable cycle and all the gender affirmation a trans woman could need from an app!
These apps did not used to be aimed at creating an inclusive environment for those who were assigned male at birth but have gone through a medical transition until recently. Being able to track their hormonal cycle is a wonderful example of how health care is evolving to accommodating non binary people.
Transgender Men Facing Mental Health Issues
While periods may seem only an issue for a transgender woman to deal with coping with mood swings, blood and menstrual cycles in general as a trans male can cause issues like dysphoria.
Many non binary people still experience a noticeable cycle as their menstrual cycles don’t always stop when starting hormone therapy. Hormone therapy like testosterone does not always stop periods immediately as the testosterone needs to build up in a non binary person’s system. Menstruation often continues for many weeks as the hormones occur in a trans person’s body.
Removal of the uterus is not enough to stop a period either. Removing the uterus will make it impossible to become pregnant and have a child, you would have to remove the ovaries producing the hormones that make a period occur to totally stop menstrual cycles.
When asking do trans women experience periods its important to consider that all genders menstruate not women only and the hormonal cycle can be a huge part of transgender health and helping non binary people receive gender affirmation health care. Gender dysphoria is mainly due to lack of adequate healthcare so be sure to look out for your friends.
Psychological Challenges
Taking testosterone can also cause mood swings for non binary individuals causing difficult feelings surrounding sex, pregnancy, their period and hormones in general. It’s important to talk to people around you about your health and how you’re feeling even if you’re embarrassed about discussing your period.
Gender affirming care can involve accepting the arrival of your period as well as the departure of your period allowing you to feel more like the gender you have always felt like.
Even when menstruation and their period stops hormone therapy continues for trans people so make sure you look after every body around you! A period is a nightmare for most people to deal with regardless of their gender so make sure to keep an eye on any period having friends and be sure to give them further support if having a period does not align with their gender identity.
Trans Women and Fertility
When you ask do trans women get periods the next question is usually can they get pregnant? At the moment it is not scientifically possible for a transgender woman to carry a child however there are ways in which a trans woman can have a child who is biologically hers even if she doesn’t have a period.
For trans women to have a child they must receive the right health care. Some trans girls never want to become pregnant, experience pregnancy or have a baby but other trans girls do.
Using the right hormones and potentially a surrogate to carry the pregnancy a trans woman can have a baby of their own. However doctors are working to allow uterus and even ovary transplants so a pregnancy could one day occur for a trans woman should she want it! This would also mean trans ladies experience a period and standard menstruation too.
Trans people are slowly getting access to some incredible medical miracles helping them to experience less and less dysphoria over time!
Trans Men Taking Testosterone
Trans people may start to stop their periods and even premenstrual syndrome after being on testosterone for a while. They may have different feelings towards sex while taking testosterone and find that their period will occur less and less too.
The body will start to stop menstruation and periods as a person takes more testosterone. So while trans women have periods, trans men end up losing their period. This does however show how all genders menstruate and promotes the need for accessible menstruation products!
Do All Women Experience Menstruation?
While not every single trans girl will experience menstruation and its symptoms, this can be the case regardless of gender. There are many reasons why a person regardless of gender may not experience menstruation showing the vast spectrum of the body we live in.
In a similar vain some women have to have sex at different times in their menstruation cycle in order to get pregnant due to the anatomy of their body and how their body experiences menstruation. While gender is at the forefront of our article when discussing delicate hormones like testosterone or estrogen it just shows every body is totally different.
All in all it doesn’t matter what gender you identify as when it comes to your period. Every body experiences their period totally differently and while the addition of something like testosterone can change a period for a trans gender person it is not the only thing that can.
The human body is very delicate so the experience of a period is definitely not a certain for anybody of any gender! The only thing that everybody with a period does tend to share is that they don’t enjoy it!
