The jubilation is followed by mockery: the Scottish region of Tayside drew malicious and outraged reactions on Wednesday when it appointed a man as the first representative for menstrual articles.
The Regional Council tasked Jason Grant from Dundee with promoting access to free toiletries in schools and universities.
“It’s just ridiculous,” tennis star Martina Navratilova commented on the appointment on Twitter. “Have we ever tried to teach men how to shave or how to take care of their prostate?” she asked. “That’s absurd”.
Grant’s appointment as a period dignity officer came two days after Scotland was internationally acclaimed as the first country in the world to have access to free toiletries.
Since Monday, city administrations and educational institutions have been legally obliged to provide menstrual items such as tampons and pads free of charge.
Gina Davidson of Scottish radio station LBC said that having a man fill the post was “the epitome of mansplaining” – situations in which men, despite their lesser knowledge, feel they have to explain something to women.
Davidson was responding to a photo of Grant talking to a woman and her daughter about menstrual products.
Newspaper columnist and suffragette Susan Dalgety tweeted, “I don’t know why anyone thought appointing a guy was a good idea.”
