There is an interesting debate happening online about the price we pay to menstruate.
It all started from a tweet, which stated:
“If you can afford to give boys free condoms you can afford to give girls free tampons. Menstruation is a lot harder to refrain from than sex.”
Although the tweet has been circulating since late October, I am not going to post the screen grab of it here because the profile associated with it has set her Twitter to private. And that likely means that the glare and pushback were probably too much.
Poor thing. Folks do not fully understand the abuse women, in particular, receive online just for the mere infraction of making a good point in public (message!).
Still, the tweet has sparked months of debate, particularly on the Facebook page of 99.9 FM The Sun in Canada.
Those who disagreed with the tweet left comments like this:
“I think women should stop complaining really.. we chhoose to buy deodorant fake tan pay for our manicures etc… surely it doesnt hurt to pay $15 a MONTH to feel hygeinic… just something else for the world to whinge about.”
And this:
“Pissing and sh–ting is a lot harder to refrain from than sex but we all have to pay for our own toilet roll.”
And this:
“Half true.. Condom are there to protect you from STDs and STIs. But hey if girls should get free tampons because menstruation is unavoidable then everyone should get free food because hunger is unavoidable, or toothpaste and spot cream…”
Those who were in support of the tweet left messages for the contrarians like this:
“Condoms, lubricants,sunscreen and nicotine patches are all tax-free because they are classed as ‘important’ health goods. Why aren’t sanitary products viewed in the same light?!”
And this:
“We aren’t saying that condoms shouldn’t be free!! It just seems ridiculous that something we cannot abstain from costs us so much money!”
And this:
“I love how everyone getting upset on this post is male! We’re not saying they should stop giving away free condoms, that would be terrible! But they should consider other basic needs. What it’s saying is, if you don’t have a condom you can go get one, or not have sex that day and get one for next time. When your period comes, it comes, tampon or not. Basic tampons should be provided for free. Then if you want nicer ones you go and buy them! I don’t understand why so many guys are arguing against this??”
To be fair, not all who objected were men, and not all who agreed were women. Still, the question about the price we pay for feminine hygiene products and if it’s fair is, I feel, an important one to consider. And it is an issue I discussed before in a post from 2012 entitled, “The Business of our Periods: Why Are Feminine Products so Darn Expensive?”
As I wrote back then, concern over the cost of feminine hygiene products goes far beyond any shallow thinking, which suggests women are trying to get something for free just because we are women.
More specifically, I wrote:
Thousands of those young girls regularly miss school because they can’t afford the convenience of feminine hygiene products. And then what about the sisters on lockdown, who have to suffer through budget cuts, which means that women-specific products like tampons and sanitary napkins, are among the first to go. According to a recent article in Ms. Magazine about the shortage of feminine hygiene products in some of our nation’s prisons, “Women described to me the discomfort and smell, especially in the summer, of living in close quarters with other women who are often menstruating simultaneously.” Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.
And how can we forget about how many first world countries level a tax on feminine hygiene products. In Canada, which recently instated the Harmonized Sales Tax, feminine hygiene products are taxed at 5 percent. This means that women have been unfairly penalized by an estimated $69 million dollars per year since the law was enacted in 2010. After some outcry, certain parts of Canada began offering tax rebates for feminine hygiene products including tampons and maxi-pads. Closer to home, several states in the union have longed taxed feminine products as they are seen as luxury (non-essential products). But if you ask me, there is nothing luxurious about having your friend pay an unexpected visit while you’re wearing white pants in the middle of a board meeting.
It should be noted that the Canadian federal government ended its tax on feminine hygiene products in July of this year. And also in July, a city councilwoman in New York City introduced a measure that would ensure that free tampons were “widely available to teenage girls — including in high-school restrooms.”
It’s a start, but honestly, more needs to be done.
And while it is true that condoms address a serious public health need (in this case, stopping the spread of STIs) and are made available for free to both men and women, it is also true that feminine hygiene products address an equally important social need. More specifically, the needs of women and girls who have to deal with, and pay for, a heavy biological burden in life that men and boys – because of biology – just don’t have to deal with or pay for.
And before anyone, particularly a man, starts talking about how having a period “is not that bad,” trust me when I say that there is nothing more debilitating than first-day cramps (yes, Midol should be free too). Well, besides the constant fear that your monthly blessing is going to find a way to humiliate you in public in a culture that still regularly mocks, belittles and ostracizes a woman for doing something that she can not biologically help (I’m talking about bleeding).
And miss me with the toilet paper comparison, as it really doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario. Condoms should be free. Tampons should be free – or at the very least, untaxed. And while we’re at it, toilet paper too.
