An app created to help women track their menstrual cycles is under fire after it was revealed biological males were using private chat functions within the app to communicate with women on intimate matters.
Flo is a popular period tracking app that allows women to track their menstrual cycle allowing them to predict their next period, track their fertility, and to better understand their reproductive health. Though it is ranked the #7 most popular health app in the Apple Store, Flo is now sparking backlash after it was learned males who identify as “women” are being welcomed to use the app.
On January 12, a feminist account on Twitter kicked off the upset, calling attention to the fact she had witnessed self-described “trans women” using the app’s forums to communicate with female users about menstruation.
Flo responded to the user saying: “We aim to support everyone with periods – regardless of gender.”
Despite Flo’s tweet that the app is suitable for “anyone with periods,” screenshots from the apps message boards, known as secret chats, began to circulate showing the app was being used by biological males who were communicating directly with the female users.
On Twitter, women began to rally under Flo’s posts, asserting that males do not have periods and thus should not be accepted on the application where women are discussing intimate details of their reproductive healthcare. Some insisted they would uninstall the app, disappointed with Flo’s response.
“That’s me uninstalling Flo App then. Can’t use an app that gaslights women into thinking men can have periods,” one Twitter user responded.
“Right. And since males don’t have periods they have no business being in chats with women who do,” stated another.
Faith commentator and influencer Allie Beth Stuckey similarly called attention to the ordeal, reporting to her more than 390,000 followers that Flo was allowing men to take part in chats with women discussing intimate healthcare. Stuckey posted screenshots showing she had been blocked by the app’s official social media page after them “‘trans women’ don’t have periods. Women do.”
But Stuckey was just one of dozens of women Flo quickly blocked for issuing criticism of their “all genders get periods” mantra. Reduxx discovered our social media account was preemptively blocked by Flo despite never having interacted with it.
Screenshots rapidly began to circulate from women showing they had been blocked by Flo after pointing out that males do not have a uterus, and thus, do not experience menstruation.
“Flo App blocked me, a woman who uses their app for my period tracking and fertility, for asking why they allow men on their period app. They allow ‘transwomen’ in their chats,” said one user.
Reduxx has obtained further screenshots from Flo’s “secret chats” which show men discussing their “periods” and bathroom access with female users.
In some conversations held in the “secret chats,” trans-identified males discussed the possibility of getting uterus transplants. In one post seen by Reduxx, a trans-identified female offered up her womb to a male who was expressing a desire to have a baby.
A common theme amongst the trans-identified males using the app is the insistence they experience the symptoms of menstruation, including “cramps.”
But, according to the National Health Service of England and Wales, the “cramping” commonly associated with menstrual pain is the contraction of the muscular wall of the uterus.
“When the wall of the womb contracts, it compresses the blood vessels lining your womb. This temporarily cuts off the blood supply – and oxygen supply – to your womb. Without oxygen, the tissues in your womb release chemicals that trigger pain,” explains the medical authority.
The revelation that Flo welcomes males onto their app comes at a time where there has been a pointed uptick of males on social media platforms like TikTok claiming they experience “periods” or period-like symptoms as a result of taking cross-sex hormones. Many women have taken issue with this calling it a mockery, appropriation, and fetishization.
Despite males not having a womb, it has become commonplace on social media for trans-identified males to report having accessed healthcare services to relieve them of their uterine cramping.
According to Flo’s terms of use, “Flo Secret Chats is a special feature of the App that allows users to communicate with each other on a set of different topics related to women’s health and wellbeing.” In the secret chat rules it states that users as young as 13 years old are allowed to participate in the chat community, potentially
This is not the first time Flo has received backlash in 2021 a lawsuit was filed against the organisation alleging they were disclosing their users intimate data to third-parties.
Flo Health allegedly violated users’ privacy by disclosing their information to third parties through software development kits incorporated into its app, despite the company’s privacy policies and “public assurances” that it would not share data, stated the complaint.
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