Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota governor Tim Walz signed a bill requiring schools to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms.
Though the legislation did not specifically mention boys’ bathrooms, Tim Walz indeed signed a bill in 2023 that required Minnesota schools to stock free menstrual products in restrooms regularly used by students in grades four through 12. The language of the statute was gender neutral and therefore compelled schools to apply it to boys’ bathrooms used by transmasculine (trans boys and male-presenting) students, should the schools not provide gender-neutral bathrooms.
After Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris nominated Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election, rumors began circulating online that Walz had signed a law requiring Minnesotan schools to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms (archived):
The claim appeared several times on X, Reddit, and Facebook. The posts had accumulated tens of thousands of views as of this writing and earned Walz the sarcastic moniker “Tampon Tim” (archived):
Menstrual Products for ‘Menstruating Students’
In 2023, Walz signed a school funding bill into law containing a provision that guaranteed access to free menstrual protection to Minnesota students from the fourth through the 12th grade. This legislation required all school districts and charter schools to stock menstrual products, and the language of the law was gender neutral. It read (emphasis ours):
A school district or charter school must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge. The products must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district. For purposes of this section, “menstrual products” means pads, tampons, or other similar products used in connection with the menstrual cycle.
While the law did not specifically mention boys’ bathrooms, it also did not restrict the rule to female or girls’ bathrooms. Paired with the laws protecting children’s access to gender-affirming care, schools that do not provide gender-neutral restrooms would have to stock boys’ bathrooms with such products to allow transmasculine students — that is, students who are either trans boys or students born female whose gender expression is masculine — to access them. Therefore, the claim is true.
‘Tampon Tim’ Goes Viral
Megyn Kelly, the conservative television show and podcast host whom former U.S. President Donald Trump once attacked for having “blood coming out of her wherever,” embraced the monicker “Tampon Tim” as criticism of this and other of Walz’s policies (archived):
But in 2024, talk of menstruation was no longer taboo in the public and political sphere. Far from putting people off, the fact that Walz supported such a law was, to many, a demonstration of empathy and good judgment, including from former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (archived):
https://x.com/HillaryClinton/status/1821189725849276644