Subsidize Menstruation, Period.
Menstruation is taboo. It’s likely that the etymology of the word ‘taboo’ even stems from the Polynesian word for menstruation, “tupua” (Boosey and Wilson 2013:19). Even though it is “one of the most important physiological changes” for women, it is stigmatized (Garg, Goyal, and Gupta 2011:767). In the United States, advertisements for feminine hygiene products, such as pads and tampons, use blue dye to represent blood (Rutter-Jensen 2012:71). Commercials skirt around this issue because it is considered improper, shameful, and disgusting. Billions of people menstruate, and yet, conversations about menstruation must be done in private. Women internalize this and consequently feel ashamed and disgusting; what’s worse, millions of women cannot afford feminine hygiene products, making them feel just as unclean as how society sees them. The cost of these products is a barrier that results in the violation of women’s rights to health, education, work and economic equality, and privacy, perpetuating inequality.
by Zoe Jacobson
