DE-MENSES: Creepy Florida Republicans want to ban tween girls from talking about this
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill received swift and immediate backlash from LGBTQ advocates, but that didn’t stop the wannabe dictator, and, as the slippery slope of fascism turns into a well-greased oil slick, now on the chopping block is a tween discussing her period in school.
And we’re not talking about the 55-minute classes middle and high schoolers navigate during a full school day, but the period that marks the coming of age for millions of teens across the country.
“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in fifth grade or fourth grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?” Democratic Rep. Ashley Gantt asked her Republican colleague Rep. Stan McClain about the proposed legislation.
“It would,” Gantt responded.
Passing 13-5 in a partisan party-line vote, McClain attempted to sugarcoat the recently passed bill as not being a barrier to young girls asking their educator questions.
The GOP lawmaker representing Ocala, Fla. later clarified that it “would not be the intent” of the bill to punish girls if they came to teachers with questions or concerns about their menstrual cycle, adding that he’d be “amenable” to amendments if they were to come up.” – The Washington Post
Of course, clueless Florida Republicans neglected to take into account the confusion surrounding the onset of a teen’s monthly cycle in regard to the possibility of pregnancy, and overall wondering what having a period means for the child.
Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates’ policy and political director Annie Filkowski told WaPo that “young Floridians will suffer if this legislation becomes law.”
“This bill shines a bright light on Florida’s political leaders’ perpetual thirst for power and control,” she said.
This latest legislation put forth by Florida Republicans is another blatant display of the government overreach and control that the state headed by Gov. Ron DeSantis has made an integral part of his party and political platform.
The alleged front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination has moved at triple the speed to prove that his brand of governance is in lock-step with Trump-deluded MAGA.
The decades-long popularity of author Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” is a perfect example of the importance of sharing the experience of young womanhood and the questions may girls have when they cross the threshold from innocence to childbearing age.
Though the teen birth rate has declined in Florida, nearly 9,000 births occurred by those under the age of 18.
State Rep. McClain has dismissed the criticism.
Calling revelations of mass book burning in Florida, “fake news,” the Florida Republican attributes the reports to “misinformation.”
“We don’t get do-overs with children, we don’t get that opportunity again,” Rep. Gantt said. “So why are we implementing or proposing policies from stopping little girls from understanding their body?”
Good question.
Original reporting by Timothy Bella at The Washington Post.
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