Normalize Menstruation, End Period Poverty

Audience Analysis: The audience for this paper will be all people who menstruate. Even though my paper is specifically addressing solutions to period poverty, it is still an important issue for those who are unaffected because they can use their privilege to help those less fortunate by enacting these solutions. Furthermore, though period poverty is undoubtedly a global public health crisis, the scope of my paper focuses on the United States. So, my paper will likely be more relevant to menstruators in the United States. However, that isn’t to say that these solutions cannot be applied to other countries. At a larger scale, an additional intended audience could be American policy makers, educators, and period product companies who have the power to make an official, societal impact. The goal of my paper is to suggest a possible solution to period poverty in the United States.

In today’s society, women and girls are all too familiar with the need to hide their menstrual cycles from everyone around them. This is especially prevalent in middle and high schools where the mere idea of menstruation is so taboo that girls are forced to secretly exchange tampons in the bathrooms, wait for others to flush the toilet before opening up the wrapping on a pad, or have their friends check to make sure that they haven’t bled through their pants. Even though menstruation is a natural occurrence for the female human body, young girls are trained to feel a sense of shame surrounding their menstrual cycle. This menstrual stigma is what originally inspired me to help lead an affinity group within my high school’s community service corps dedicated to initiating conversations with underclassmen girls about menstruation and organizing drives for period products. Over the course of a semester, my affinity group spoke to representatives from No More Secrets, a nonprofit created to address period poverty in the Philadelphia area, about the issue of period poverty in order to better understand how we could use our privilege to help those in need. However, because of the scope of our group, the primary way we could help was by becoming more educated on the issue and organizing collections for menstrual products to be donated. I hope that this paper can act as an extension of the volunteer work I did in high school. My goals include to educate people about the dangerous effects of period poverty, to spread awareness on how we can help those who are struggling to access menstrual products, and to normalize creating open conversations on menstrual stigma.

At its core, the term “period poverty” encompasses inadequate access to menstrual products, educational resources, and sanitation due to various cultural, social, and political factors (Casola 374). Though it is not a very well known public health issue, period poverty affects millions of people around the world. In fact, more than 800 million people menstruate throughout the world, but around 500 million of those people don’t have access to safe sanitation products necessary to safely manage a period (Cousins). Furthermore, according to an article published by Women in International Security, 84% of girls in various Tamil villages in India reported to have felt a sense of “fear, panic, and confusion” during their first few menstrual cycles (McLoughlin). Strictly speaking, this panic and confusion is not caused by the lack of products, but rather a lack of information and education which ultimately exacerbates the lack of access to appropriate hygienic products. As a result, many of those people resort to using dirty rags and towels to manage their periods out of desperation which leads to greater chances of contracting bacterial infections with dangerous complications such as Toxic Shock Syndrome (Cousins). Even though period poverty affects more people in third-world countries, it is still a very prevalent issue in developed countries such as the United States. In the United States alone, 1 in 5 teenagers claim to have struggled to afford period products and more than 4 in 5 students have either had to miss school or know someone who had to miss school because they didn’t have a sufficient way to manage their period (Thinx). Menstruation is a natural biological function and should not be interfering with young students from receiving an education. 

The disruption of education caused by period poverty has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a UN policy brief, COVID-19 left more financial detriment on women than men because women tend to hold less secure jobs (Boyers 15). In terms of menstrual products, repeated lockdowns during the pandemic created “severe supply chain bottlenecks” that used up supplies of pads and tampons thus resulting in drastic price increases which, as stated in the UN brief, put low income and low educational attainment populations more at risk (Boyers 15). Furthermore, for some families, financial complications from the COVID-19 pandemic have only decreased the accessibility of menstrual products which have risen nearly 10% in cost to between $6 and $8 over the past year (Cousins). In fact, according to a study by the National Organization of Women, the average woman spends over $20 on feminine hygiene products each menstrual cycle and about 50% of those women reported having to choose between buying food and menstrual products at some point in the years since the pandemic (Park). Thus, the potential loss of income has led many women to struggle to afford basic necessities, ultimately leading them to not buy the necessary period products. Though there is much debate on how to end period poverty, most sources agree that this issue must be addressed in order to promote women’s rights and health.

This essay will explore the reasons why erasing the stigma around menstruation would be the most effective means of reducing period poverty in the United States. I am focusing the scope of this essay on advocating for the need to reduce period poverty to the United States because tackling period poverty on a global scale is not realistic because of all of the variables specific to each country, including whether the government itself would be supportive of such actions. However, this is not to say that principles of the solutions proposed in this paper cannot be applied to other countries, but merely that my solutions will be primarily directed towards the US as it is the community that I am most familiar with. I will begin by reflecting upon three different proposed solutions for period poverty, then explaining why erasing stigma is the best solution. Next, I will explain why stigma around menstruation affects people’s ability to access the products that they need to manage their periods. I will then elaborate on the importance of reducing stigma around menstruation in schools and how educators and administrators can best facilitate menstrual health discussions. Finally, I will expand on the effects that erasing stigma around menstruation could have on official United States legislation. Ultimately, because of its cause-oriented approach, the most effective solution for reducing period poverty is to reduce stigma around menstruation by providing resources and education to all people so that periods can become normalized as natural and necessary in society.

Proposals for tackling period poverty typically fall into 3 categories: distributing products, reducing cost, and erasing stigma. The first solution advocates for an open distribution system that directly connects people who menstruate to the products that they need to safely manage their menstrual cycle (Gruer et. al 9). This system will provide pads and tampons in clearly labeled locations throughout the city so that women in homeless shelters can directly take whatever products necessary during their periods. In this way, people who struggle to access feminine hygiene products will have free and easy access to the physical products that they need. However, others believe that a more effective solution is to reduce the cost of period products. Most of the time, menstrual products are unaffordable due to the idea of the “tampon tax”, an upcharge of between 4.7% and 9.9%, depending on the state, placed on menstrual products because they are considered to be luxury items (Rodriguez). Advocates for this solution believe that by eliminating the tampon tax, more people who menstruate will be able to afford the products that they need (Ooi 120). Finally, the third solution addresses the issue more by the root and encourages a societal redefinition of what it means to menstruate (Casola 374). This solution focuses on erasing the stigma that typically prevents people who menstruate from openly asking for help obtaining the products that they require. While all three solutions would undoubtedly help reduce period poverty in some way, eradicating stigma will be the most effective solution for period poverty.

Erasing the stigma around menstruation is the most effective solution for period poverty because stigma is the most consequential reason why people struggle to access the period products that they need. However, before analyzing why stigma leads to period poverty, it is important to discuss why there is stigma around menstruation in the first place. According to an article published by Health Care for Women International, menstrual stigma is a result of objectification theory, or the societal standards that have trained women to self-objectify and form a perception of themselves that is centered around their physical attractiveness (Grose & Grabe 678). As a result, many young people who menstruate are ashamed of their periods because, even though periods are signs of feminine health, blood and bodily fluids are generally considered gross and unattractive. Therefore, those people feel a need to do whatever they can to hide their menstrual cycles even if it puts their health at risk. This often involves either using unsanitary products to manage their flow or not asking for help finding products because asking for help is just an open confession that a person is on their period. 

Due to the cultural stigma that leads people to perceive menstruation as dirty, many people have a hard time speaking up and asking for help locating menstrual products. For example, a study done on period poverty among homeless people in New York City found that homeless women often felt embarrassed to ask for period products because they did not want to disclose their menstruating status to others (Gruer et. al 8). So, even though many homeless shelters in New York City supply free period products to those in need, the stigma around menstruation often makes it very hard to ask for a pad or tampon. Furthermore, the New York City study shows that though period poverty is defined as the inaccessibility of period products, the actual reason why people cannot access those products is because of the inclined shame that they associate with menstruation. If American society was able to erase menstrual stigma, then impacted people would be less likely to put themselves at risk by using unsanitary products out of desperation, and instead, would feel more comfortable asking for help finding the products that they need. 

Reducing stigma will also improve people’s knowledge on feminine health and hygiene. Although period poverty is often perceived solely as the inadequate access to period products, it also encompasses the lack of access to menstrual education resources. So, erasing stigma around menstruation will not only make people more comfortable asking for products, it will also encourage school administrators to improve sexual and menstrual education curriculums within organizations. According to a survey done by US News & World Report, more than 4 in 5 teenagers believed that they were taught more about animal biology than the human female body in classes (Wood). This idea highlights a nation-wide lack of comprehensive sexual education in schools. Despite many US school administrators’ mediocre efforts to provide sexual education lessons to their students, the majority of American students are dissatisfied with the level and quality of sexual education that they received (Astle 92). In fact, in a survey conducted on students across the US, many reported that their teachers only taught topics that they were comfortable with, which often excluded topics related to feminine health such as menstruation and female reproduction (Astle 93). Therefore, it is clear that the stigma around menstruation is not only preventing people from accessing period products, but also restricting them from receiving a full sexual education. If even the adult teachers are uncomfortable talking about menstruation, then the students will be even less likely to be comfortable reaching out for help if they are struggling with period poverty. These instances show that it is incredibly important to erase menstrual stigma in order to educate young people who menstruate. This demographic is likely already overwhelmed by recently starting their periods or dealing with period poverty, so providing extensive menstrual education will show them that they are not alone and should not feel embarrassed asking for resources to safely manage their periods.

Finally, reducing stigma around menstruation has the potential to lead to both of the other solutions typically presented: reducing the cost of tampons and pads and providing a more open distribution of products. As of June 2019, 35 states in the US taxed menstrual products at rates up to 9.9% and 1 in 4 students in the US have struggled to afford period products at some point in their lives because of that tax (Rodriguez). Reducing the stigma around menstruation could lead to reducing the cost of tampons and pads because legislators would begin to see that period products are, in fact, necessary to the lives of people who menstruate; and thus, legislators would understand that it is their responsibility to prevent tampons and pads from being taxed as if they are luxury items. So, instead of facilitating the increased cost of products such as pads and tampons, representatives and senators might write legislation that exempts those products from sales taxes under the justification that they are essential items. Not only would normalizing periods help make people more comfortable asking for help obtaining products, it would cause a societal redefinition of menstruation and menstrual products which will help make them more affordable and accessible to people. Furthermore, reducing stigma could also lead to a more open distribution of the physical products because more and more administrators and policy makers would recognize the necessity of providing free or cheap pad dispensers in public restrooms. Specifically, according to an article by NPR, only 5 states require schools to provide free menstrual products as of December 2021 (Khurana). Hopefully by reducing the stigma around menstruation, more representatives would be willing to challenge existing practices concerning the taxing and provision of menstrual products where affordability of those products is low. Thus, erasing menstrual stigma is only step one in making period products more accessible.

Erasing menstrual stigma is just the first step in making menstrual products more accessible. Although some state legislatures have taken steps to make these products more accessible by eliminating sales taxes on feminine hygiene products, many are still hesitant. This may be due to the immense economic consequences that taking away the tampon tax would have on state economies. For instance, the government of Illinois approximates that $14.7 million is spent on period products each year, which would lead to over $1 million lost in tax dollars if the tampon tax is repealed (Ooi 122). However, this economic impact is not very significant in the big picture. In 2017 the state of Illinois made nearly $8.2 billion from the sales tax system, so in light of this number, the $1 million that could be lost by removing the sales tax on pads and tampons seems almost insignificant as it accounts for only 0.02% of tax revenue (Ooi 122). Furthermore, this debate raises the moral question of whether women’s health or the United States economy should be given priority when it comes to legislation involving period poverty. If the only reason for not exempting period products from the sales tax is because it would cause state governments to lose money, then each state’s legislature is implying that it values monetary wealth more than the feminine need to purchase menstrual products. By keeping the sales tax on tampons, state governments are actively enforcing the idea that tampons and pads are luxury items, even though millions of people menstruate throughout the world and they cannot control it as it is a natural bodily function. In doing this those state governments are actually perpetuating menstrual stigma because branding pads and tampons as “luxury items” might subconsciously convince people who menstruate that those items are not necessary to sanitarily manage a period and that they can get by on their own. So, states should consider repealing the tampon tax under the basis of supporting basic human rights. 

Menstruation is not merely something that can be ignored- it plays a major role in women’s health and daily lives. In order to support women’s rights, period poverty needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The most effective first step that can be taken is to erase the stigma around menstruation. Specifically, by erasing menstrual stigma, people who menstruate will not only be more comfortable and willing to ask for help finding menstrual products, able to afford tampons and pads, and, most importantly, less at risk of jeopardizing their own health caused by mismanaging their menstrual cycle. Even as more and more Americans are becoming consciously aware of how the healthcare system has mistreated women in the past, it’s shocking to see how taboo menstruation still is despite it being a very common occurrence. People are always going to menstruate, so we should begin working on a redefinition of menstruation in order to begin normalizing periods and period poverty as soon as possible. Access to safe period products should be a basic human right.

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