What Your Mother Didn’t Tell You About: Menstruation

Periods: So many people get them, yet they are stigmatized and made out to be unnatural. Menstruators are thought to be un-pure and moody. Periods are something that are so natural, but we are taught to be disgusted, even scared of our own bodily functions. Menstruation products such as tampons and pads are highly taxed and deemed luxury items as if we have options other than to  BLEED EVERYWHERE. It baffles me that a product that is 100% a necessity for folks who get periods is made highly expensive and, in some cases, unattainable. With that being said, I sought out my favorite meninist, Ryan Williams, to gain knowledge as to why the tax on period products is so crucial. Williams, a 19 year-old self-proclaimed meninist from England, claims that tampons should be taxed because women should “just learn to control their bladders”. He goes on to say that our lack of ability to control our bladders is not a taxpayer’s problem. Aside from William’s apparent failure to pass 7th grade Biology, there are deeper issues within his ideology.

First, women are not the only people that have periods. Due to the medicalization of trans identities we often forget that there are trans men that menstruate as well. In fact, menstruation can be an almost traumatic experience for trans men who don’t have the means or desire to medically transition. Although his belief that a person’s ability to control urine somehow equates to our blood is problematic, what really frightened me was William’s claim that period products are not a taxpayer’s problem. This goes so much further than the surface because what he really means is that women are not a taxpayer’s problem; therefore, women and people who menstruate are a problem. He and people that support the tax on period products completely erase the experiences of homeless people who don’t have access to them, young girls that are forced to miss several days of school while they’re menstruating, and virtually any person that has ever had a period. Items that are truly luxurious such as viagra and condoms are tax free and sometimes complementary, so why is it that people who have periods are having to pay for something that is involuntary. Free period products are a fundamental human right. They should be tax-free better yet, entirely free. Every person that menstruates deserves access to these products. I encourage Williams and like-minded individuals to do some research on the effects that using unsanitary period products, which is the only option for some menstruators, has on our bodies. Furthermore, I encourage folks to speak up about menstruation. Share your stories and connect with other people who have periods. If you have the ability consider donating to organizations like Free the Tampons, which actively works to equip public restrooms with free tampons. On a larger spectrum, we need to change the way menstruation is viewed and show people like Williams that our blood makes us powerful.