Letters to the Editor: Republicans target 'period talk' in schools. So let's discuss menstruation

To the editor: Oh, the irony of Republican lawmakers’ efforts to silence "period talk" in schools under the guise of "parental choice."

Menstruation is a normal part of female maturation. In my school days, pads and tampons were referred to as "sanitary products." Soap in restrooms is another example of a sanitary product.

Menstrual blood is the blood of fertility, the blood of life. Blood from bullet wounds inflicted by guns in school shootings is the blood of death, and no parent chooses that for their child.

Cathy O'Krent, Sherman Oaks

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To the editor: Having menstrual pads and tampons available, especially for free, in schools shows respect for and an awareness of the reality of a girl's life. To call providing such necessities "liberal" or "woke" is just one more example of the discomfort so many people have with females.

I am 80 years old now but I clearly recall being in middle school and having to walk to the bathroom with a blood stain on my skirt and kids looking at me, and nothing to help me but toilet paper. At that young age, periods are unpredictable, and girls are new to the experience.

Girls will do better with all the practical, straightforward support we can give them.

Ruth Silvieira, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.