A Massachusetts public school is planning to throw a “period party” for third to sixth graders in February that is slated to include menstruation goodie bags and period empowerment speakers who will share their first period stories.
The party was organized by MPower, a non-profit organization that aims to “help de-stigmatize periods while empowering and supporting youth as they approach puberty — and beyond,” according to the group’s website.
Parents Defending Education uncovered the school-sponsored event through an email Amigos School of Cambridge Public Schools sent to parents on January 18. Parents Defending Education is a nonprofit watchdog that fights classroom indoctrination and activist agendas in U.S. schools.
“It defies explanation that a school is hosting a period-themed party. Those in charge at the school have clearly lost sight of the concept of boundaries,” said Erika Sanzi, the watchdog’s director of outreach. “We can teach about the menstrual cycle without throwing parties with pizza and cupcakes. The whole thing is just weird.”
Period parties have become trendy on social media as a way for parents to celebrate their children’s first menstrual cycles. Many of these parties, including the one thrown by Cambridge’s Amigos School, are complete with red balloons, period-themed snacks, and period packs stuffed with menstrual products and chocolate.
At least 25 states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation to make period products more accessible in public schools, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies. Massachusetts passed the “I AM” bill last year, which made disposable menstrual products accessible to “menstruating individuals” in public schools.
Also last year the state updated its decades-old health curriculum to include nationally sensitive topics such as gender identity. The new health curriculum introduces menstruation and the “physical, social, and emotional changes that occur during puberty and adolescence, and how the timing of puberty and adolescent development varies considerably, and the role of puberty in overall development,” in third through fifth grade health classes.
In third through fifth grades, students also learn about “the differences between assigned sex at birth and gender identity,” and should be able to explain “how gender identity and sexual orientation can vary in each individual.”
Amigos sent an email to parents notifying them of the “light, fun, and inclusive” party. The email invites the whole “Amigos community” and does not restrict attendance to girls.