Menstruation is natural. Bleeding every month isn’t a political act. And yet—somehow, it often ends up as one. From tampon taxes to “Tampon Tim,” to now being name-dropped in federal proposals to boost fertility rates, periods are weaponized by the powers that be.

The Trump administration’s latest pronatalist agenda includes a pitch for government-funded menstrual education. At first glance, this sounds like a step in the right direction: Actual, factual education about menstruation would be a meaningful reform in a country where shame and misinformation still reign supreme.

But this isn’t just about education. It’s about control.

The motivation behind this “health initiative” is to push up the birth rate and spur reproductive output, not to advance rights. Menstrual cycles churning the national economic policy gives off serious Handmaid’s Tale energy.

Something as fundamental as menstrual literacy is being twisted into a social engineering experiment. You can’t fight for real equity, while cutting access to birth control or defunding women’s health services. You can’t claim to care about education, while promoting fertility-tracking apps as a replacement for full-functioning contraception. That’s not empowerment—it’s gaslighting.