Jessica Valenti makes a compelling case for somehow figuring out how to give women a break on the cost of mopping up the blood we expel several days every month for decades, because its health care. In developing countries, for example, girls often fall behind in school, or even drop out, because they stay home during their periods since pads and tampons are unavailable or too expensive. In the U.S., pads and tampons arent covered by food stamps, so poor women have been known to resort to selling their food stamps in order to pay for supplies so that they can function in the world without having blood running down their legs all the time. In Britain, razors are tax free because they are considered a necessity, but tampons are taxed at 5% because they are a luxury. Its amazing how revolutionary this idea is - I went through all those years (before my uterus was taken over by aliens and I bade it farewell) just accepting all the extra expense, but shes right that this should be considered health care, and even if such things arent given out free, they should at least not be taxed. I dont think men realize how much a part of a womans life is taken up by trying not to bleed in public and dealing with the aftermath of being caught out by a sudden onset without the proper equipment (yes, guys, theres a reason that every woman you know can give you a litany of ways to get blood out of your clothes). As a side note, this article really brought out the flying monkeys on Jessicas Twitter feed, because so many people apparently think womens bodies are disgusting and we shouldnt talk about how to make things better. theguardian/commentisfree/2014/aug/11/free-tampons-cost-feminine-hygiene-products
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 20:33:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015