Do you have your period?

Part two of the “WTF is Wrong With People?!?” files, in three steps:

1) A New York high school banned backpacks and other bags, due in part to concerns about concealed weapons. No word on whether pockets, clothing, or body cavities were also banned.
2) A sweep of classrooms was done to make sure nobody was carrying illicit bags, and students were yanked out of classes. I’m sure this improves the educational process.
3) A male security guard participating in the sweep tells a 14-year-old girl she can’t have a bag on her unless she’s menstruating, and asks her if she has her period. Other girls were reportedly asked the same question.

Holy inappropriate question, Batman. I suppose that menstruating teens are somehow cosmically prevented from carrying weapons (or menstruation is so shameful and embarrassing as to trump security concerns), periods are totally predictable at a young age and so bag-carrying can be well-planned, and it’s totally appropriate for a male security guard to grill a young girl about what may or may not be coming out of her vagina. Or, you know, not.

For what it’s worth, my high school was crowded with 3 floors, and offered only a seven-minute break between classes. There is no freakin’ way I could have gone to a locker, waited in the ridiculous bathroom line, changed a tampon or pad, and made it to class on time if I couldn’t carry my junk around with me, not to mention those oh-so-fun menstrual surprises that can’t be timed exactly.

And you know what? If the school dress code is such that pockets to fit tampons and pads are allowed, the no-bag rule isn’t exactly going to stop a determined kid from sneaking in a weapon. Aside from which, how would they prove that a girl who said, ‘Why, yes, I have my period,” was telling the truth?

Menstrual products have come out of the closet (or purse) in response to the questioning – “Girls have worn tampons on their clothes in protest, and purses made out of tampon boxes. Some boys wore maxi-pads stuck to their shirts in support.” Heh. I would suggest t-shirts that read, “Ask me if I’m menstruating” on the front.