Health4 min(s) read
Published 11:39 08 Apr 2026 GMT
Dad praised for passive aggressive response after school demanded proof his daughter was menstruating so she could skip gym class
A dad has been praised for his scathing passive aggressive reply after a teacher asked for proof that his daughter was really menstruating before she would be allowed to skip gym class.
Periods can be tough at the best of times, from cramps to headaches, they can sometimes be extremely painful and make everyday tasks more difficult.
Sometimes the best solution is to take it as easy as you can, but when one young girl wanted to sit out gym class while menstruating, her school had a very unexpected response.
They asked her father to send in a note "verifying" that she really was menstruating and that it wasn't just an excuse to avoid gym class.
Taking to Reddit, a friend of her father shared the stunned dad's response to the school - and left people seriously impressed with his passive aggressive reply.
He explained: "So, a friend of mine had to write this note for school..."
The father began: "My daughter, [redacted], informed me that I needed to write a note to you verifying that she is menstruating.
"My first thought was to simply say, 'yes, she is indeed quite difficult to deal with this week.' However, that sounds very chauvinistic.
"Then I thought a simple, 'yes, she is on her period' would suffice. However, additional moments of thought on the topic made me realize that I was merely taking her word for it. Her word was not good enough for P.E. [gym] class, so I’m not sure why her word through me as a mediator would have any more validity."
He claimed that he had "decided to investigate and determine if I could verify this phenomenon was occurring", adding: "I began by checking the trash cans in the bathroom. There are indeed used feminine hygiene products, but I live with three women so this seems inconclusive.
"Next I checked the dirty clothes hampers. Apparently feminine hygiene products do their job quite well because I could find no traces of a monthly visitor on anyone’s undergarments."
The note took a turn as he then claimed: "While checking the hampers, I got caught by my wife. I had no recourse but to explain what I was doing and why. She is a feminist and has been yelling stuff about the patriarchy for about 45 minutes now. I keep hearing the word 'divorce' and the phrase 'moving out.'"
Adding further proof, he said that his daughter had asked him to make a 6AM trip to the store on the previous Sunday morning to pick up tampons, adding: "I assume she was intending to use these for their designated purpose, but that is also merely circumstantial evidence at best."
Highlighting how ridiculous and intrusive the school's request for proof was, he added: "Short of holding her down and doing a visual inspection of her nether region, I’m not sure how I can verify this for you.
"Can we both just agree to take her word for it so I don’t have to go through a divorce AND a CPS investigation?"
He then ended his letter: "Thank you for your consideration."
People immediately flooded the comments praising the father for his epic comeback to the school's demand, writing: "I like your friend, that is some quality snark right there," and: "One can only wish to, someday, be as snarky as this dad."
Others added: "Sometimes sarcasm is the key to getting through thick skulls, bravo!," and: "I knew where this was going and was horrified by it, but I was also laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. This is perfect way to handle a situation like this, ridicule the person to the point of embarrassment and they won't know how to respond."
A Redditor posted: "This dad knows how to dad. I really admire him," while another added: "I legit snorted at this; your friend is awesome."
One highlighted the absurdity, writing: "While this is good I think it would have been even better to turn it around. Something like: 'It is my daughters body, I am unsure how you want me to verify that she is menstruating. How do you want me to proceed?'
"Because, of course, the premise is so idiotic, the teacher can't possibly give any answer and after that, I am pretty sure, one would never hear from the teacher again. On the other hand, if the teacher follows up, I can't imagine any answer that wouldn't be completely deranged."