FOX NEWS IS STILL TRYING TO FIND OUT WHO ‘A’ IS

Since the destruction of USAID, Fox News has been the vocal cheerleader screaming Elon Musk’s DOGE ‘findings’ into the void of MAGA. The so called ‘fraudulent’ discoveries have been debunked, not only the dollar amount allocation, but their funding purposes. Their latest attack, exaggerating on a study of women’s menstrual cycles that included transgender men (persons assigned female at birth but identify as men), that was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Fox News headline in question “Agriculture secretary cancels $600K grant for study on menstrual cycles in transgender men.”

Being that it is the USDA, this does raise some concerns. Mainly, why is the USDA using resources to study the menstrual cycles in transgender men? The short answer, it is not. Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College of Baton Rouge, Louisiana was awarded a $600k grant to study the potential health risks of synthetic feminine hygiene products and how they impact the female menstrual cycle. It is also important to recognize that transgender men and people with masculine gender identities, intersex and non-binary persons may also menstruate (Weiselberg 2022). A brief synopsis of the study:

This integrated project involves research, extension, and teaching components proposed to address the growing concerns and issues surrounding menstruation, including the potential health risks posed to users of synthetic feminine hygiene products (FHP), advancing research in the development of FHP that use natural materials, as well as providing menstrual hygiene management (MHM) education for young women and girls. The specific objectives of this project are: a) to produce three natural fibers; regenerative cotton, regenerative wool and industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa); b) to develop patents for sustainable feminine hygiene sanitary products using the three natural fibers; c) to evaluate the FHP made from each of the natural fibers in comparison to the standard synthetic product; d) to educate young women and girls about MHM through an extension program; e) to enhance instruction for students in the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences and f) to provide a local fiber processing center for fiber growers in Louisiana.

This is yet another example of right wing media’s continuing war on the transgender community and a poor attempt to bully a disenfranchised group. The reason? To aggravate their base and win cheap political points for a group of political hacks.

Since the court ruling in the Tucker Carlson defamation case of 2020 (McDougal v. Fox News), it is no wonder the news network’s use of hyperbolic opinion has run amuck. In this court case, Fox News successfully argued that Tucker Carlson engaged in rhetorical hyperbole and that reasonable viewers would not take his statements as factual. The judge ruled in favor of Fox News saying that Carlson’s show is opinion-based and exaggerates rather than delivering verifiable news.

So, the next time you see a cherry-picked headline from Fox News, understand it is a media outlet still trying to figure out what Pretty Little Liars is all about.