On April 2, during the program “Anatomy of Liberalism,” host Giorgi Akhvlediani and journalist Mariam Gventsadze discussed projects that, according to them, were funded by the Biden administration. They claimed that Donald Trump had canceled a $600,000 contract in Louisiana that aimed to study the menstrual cycle in transgender men. The journalist and the host also repeated a widely circulated claim that the previous U.S. government allocated $8 million for the creation of transgender mice.
The information about a grant allegedly allocated for studying menstruation in transgender men was also spread by Russian-language accounts (1;2;3) on March 8-9. Some of them cited Fox News as a source.
The claim that the Biden administration issued grants specifically for studying menstruation in transgender men is false: 1) In reality, the research focused on studying the fibers used in female hygiene products; 2) The repeatedly shared claim about transgender mice is also manipulative – in fact, the study examined the effects of hormone therapy alongside various treatments, rather than creating transgender mice.
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The Study Was Not Aimed at Examining Menstruation in Transgender Men
The claim that the Trump administration canceled funding for a study focused on transgender men’s menstruation is manipulative. This claim was spread based on U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ statement. On March 8, Rollins wrote that they had halted a grant intended for researching the menstrual cycle in transgender men.
However, fact-checking organizations have already investigated Rollins’ claim (1;2;3). The project, titled “Project Farm to Feminine Hygiene,” was designed to address growing concerns related to menstruation, including the potential health risks posed to users of synthetic feminine hygiene products. This information is also stated in a U.S. Department of Agriculture document. The grant recipient responsible for the study was Southern University, based in Louisiana.
Southern University responded to Rollins’ claim on April 9. According to them, the grant’s purpose was to research, develop, and utilize three alternative fibers – regenerative cotton, regenerative wool, and industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa). The goal was to develop sustainable, reusable, and disposable feminine hygiene products, including pads and underwear. According to them:
“This grant, which was reviewed by researchers from throughout the country, is not a study on or including research on menstrual cycles. The term ‘transgender men’ was only used once to state that this project, through the development of safer and healthier feminine hygiene products, would benefit all biological women.”
Notably, the project description contains no indication that the grant was allocated for studying menstruation or transgender men’s menstrual cycles. The section mentioning transgender men explains that menstruation typically begins around age 12 and ends with menopause at approximately 51. Based on calculations, biologically female individuals experience an average of 450 menstrual cycles throughout their lifetime. That section also states:
“It is also important to recognize that transgender men and people with masculine gender identities, intersex and non-binary persons may also menstruate.”
This discussion is relevant in explaining why the study of fibers used in manufacturing hygiene products is necessary. The next section of the project description focuses specifically on hygiene products and, consequently, the individuals who menstruate were mentioned to make readers realize the significance of the issue.
Thus, the allocated $600,000 was not intended for researching transgender men’s menstruation. Instead, the study focused on the fibers used in hygiene products, which transgender men may also use.
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The Study Was Not Aimed at Creating Transgender Mice
In “Anatomy of Liberalism,” the host and journalist repeated the manipulative claim that the U.S. Department of Health funded a study aimed at creating transgender rats/mice.
This claim was initially spread by U.S. President Donald Trump. Later, after foreign fact-checkers verified his statement, the White House published information about various projects related to the claim. In reality, these studies aimed to examine the effects of hormone therapy. All of them involved medical experiments on mice to make the researched treatment methods safer for humans. For example, the studies aimed to:
- Test the effects of hormone therapy on HIV-vaccinated individuals;
- Study the reproductive consequences of steroid hormone administration;
- Study the influence of testosterone therapy on breast cancer risk and treatment outcomes;
- Analyze the effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy in mice through microbiome research. This research was not intended to create transgender mice; rather, its purpose was to evaluate the effects of treatment methods.
For more details on these studies, read the report by Myth Detector:
After the Trump administration halted USAID’s operations, numerous manipulative claims and disinformation about the agency’s grants spread on social media. Read more in Myth Detector’s reports:
- Some Information About USAID Grants Is Being Spread Out of Context and Manipulatively
- What Do We Know About USAID’s Activities in Afghanistan and Its Gender Program Focused on Women’s Empowerment?
- Disinformation Claiming That USAID Paid Actors to Travel to Ukraine
- Information About USAID Funding Opium Production in Afghanistan Is Spread Manipulatively
- What Do We Know About USAID’s Funding of Western Media?
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