DISCLAIMER: This article is going to talk about periods and tampons. If that grosses you out (which it really shouldn't because it's completely natural, grow up and), then I suggest you go check out a different article.
For this article, I decided to do some research. I asked at least 6-7 girls from my hall about their periods. I know this doesn't really qualify as extensive research, but I found some interesting things. I asked my friends if they think that having their period is a luxury. Shockingly (sarcasm), all of them said no, having a period is not a luxury. One friend of mine brought up the point that not all young women our age have a period due to other circumstances, so in some aspects, having a period can be a luxury.
When I told my friends about the fact that tampons, pads and other items used for periods (such as menstrual cups or sponges) are taxed as non-essential items, the pretty uniform response was "Huh, that sucks."
Women are already treated unfairly enough in the marketplace because of "the pink tax." For example, a razor that a man buys would cost him $8.56. A razor that a woman buys, even if she buys the same brand, will cost her $9.97. Perfume for him costs $87.00 while perfume for her, by the same designer, costs $106.60. A California study in 1995 suggested that women can spend upwards of $1,000 on the same products that would cost men less. When this unfair "pink tax" creates bias for how we price items in our economy, it's no wonder that 40 states think it's fine to tax tampons as a non-essential item.
Recently, within 2016, President Obama was interviewed about the tampon tax. He also thinks that these taxes are unfair and that it is very sensible for women and men to work to get these taxes removed within the states where they are taxed unfairly. He continues by discussing the Affordable Care Act, saying, "What we also focused on is making sure everybody who has insurance, from whatever source, can’t be discriminated because they’ve got a pre-existing condition. That women can’t be charged more than men for insurance coverage (which previously was not the case). That pregnancy isn’t treated as an illness. That contraception is part of a standard package of care that you receive because the basic idea is that women should not be at a disadvantage in the healthcare system."
The tampon tax is a state tax, not a federal one. So even if President Obama is on our side, there is little he can do to help make any change. A representative from the Idaho State Tax Commission addressed these concerns and said, "Tampons and pads are used for feminine hygiene and not for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of feminine diseases."
Tampons may not be as essential as band aids or vaccines, some would argue. But they are still an important part of our everyday lives as women. This isn't just a battle for women; in order to make an actual change, we need many voices combined. Find your state senator or representative here. Let's make a change.
