Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly amplified the nickname, as did Chaiya Raichik, who posted a photo to her X account, Libs of Tiktok, of a tampon dispenser in the toilet, captioned, “This happened in the boy’s bathroom in an Oregon school after Oregon passed similar laws to Tampon Tim requiring tampons in boy’s bathrooms.” Donald Trump’s campaign also got in on the gossip, with campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt telling Fox News that “there is no greater threat to a woman’s health than leaders … who support putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in public schools.”
But as it turns out, no one had actually done their research before blasting the transphobic conspiracy into the world—not even a simple Google search of the law’s actual text. In reality, the wording of Minnesota’s law offers “considerable flexibility” in its implementation and doesn’t specify which bathrooms the product should be placed in, reported the Star Tribune. “That might mean making these products available for free in various locations for all who need them, such as unisex bathrooms, girls’ bathrooms, the school nurse or the front office, but not necessarily in boys’ bathrooms.”
Minnesota is far from the only state to offer such assistance in an effort to thwart an economic phenomenon known as “period poverty,” which forces young girls to skip or leave school when they or their families can’t afford to buy period products. Under Republican Governor Mike DeWine, Ohio has set aside $5 million in funding for a near-identical program to Minnesota’s in its schools. Alabama and Georgia have created grants for menstrual product accessibility, while other states like Washington, Nevada, Illinois, and Utah still mandate that their schools provide the products even with zero state funding, according to the Tribune.
