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New Ohio law prohibits public buildings from having feminine products in men’s spaces
A law in Ohio that takes effect later this month prohibits government institutions from placing menstrual products in men’s restrooms in any public building, putting into question the fate of machines installed in a Kent State University men’s bathroom.
The state operating budget reads, “No government entity shall place menstrual products in the men’s restroom of a public building,” according to Dayton Daily News. This statement was approved by both the Ohio Senate and Gov. Mike DeWine.
The law will include libraries, public universities, and other public buildings, and “passed with little discussion as part of the state’s next two-year operating budget,” the News reported.
The College Fix received a tip that Kent State University is stocking feminine products in the men’s restroom located on the first floor of the Student Center. According to the campus source, the bookstore is nearby, and students and community members commonly frequent the Student Center.
Photos received by The College Fix show a dispenser containing both tampons and pads located next to the urinals.
University Communication’s Department officials at Kent State University have not responded to The College Fix’s requests for comment over the past few weeks.
As of early September, the menstrual pads in the Student Center had been restocked, the campus source told The Fix.
Ohio’s law to ban tampon machines in men’s bathrooms comes roughly a year after the state passed a law that requires bathrooms and locker rooms to be solely for male or female use only.
According to a Kent State University news article, tampons have been offered in men’s bathrooms on campus since at least 2020.
“The original pilot, which included 8 restrooms, doubled this fall to 16 restrooms, including 3 universal and 3 men’s restrooms to be inclusive to all who menstruate as well as allies,” the article stated.
A few months ago, Dayton Metro Library was caught in a controversy for the decision to stock tampon dispensers in the men’s restrooms in all branch locations, Dayton Daily News reported. Dayton Metro Library has also placed feminine products in the men’s restroom “since 2022 through a publicly funded partnership.”
Ohio House Representative Rodney Creech, R-West Alexandria, told the newspaper that libraries should be “neutral space[s]” and that there is “no reason” men’s restrooms should provide tampons.
Additionally, Creech told Dayton Daily News that the dispensers should be moved outside of the restrooms entirely, and placed next to the water fountains.
House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, told reporters that the proceedings to ban tampons in men’s restrooms came down to “common sense,” and that “men don’t need tampons, and it’s kind of silly that we continue to have certain public entities that want to pretend otherwise,” the newspaper reported.
Creech sent a statement that read, “The left continues to push the idea that there are more than two genders, which is obviously unscientific and wrong. I’ve always led on protecting southern Ohio’s family values, from keeping men out of girls sports to limiting gender mutilation for minors.”
But critics argue it overlooks the needs of transgenders who may menstruate and use men’s facilities, and it reverses efforts to make menstrual products more accessible in public spaces.
MORE: Free tampons for men will be on Cornell’s student elections ballot
