Why we should all be talking about periods

Let’s just start off by saying that this is probably going to make a decent amount of people very uncomfortable.

I went to an all girls’ school for six years and have no filter, and I’m not afraid to talk about the important things.

Listen up y’all, cuz this is it

Did you know tampons are taxed as a luxury good? That is some of the most insane bullshit I’ve ever heard. I did not ASK to menstruate, I did not ASK to have to shove a piece of cotton up my vagina several times a day for a week every. single. month. So why the fuck should I have to pay EXTRA on an item that I really shouldn’t have to pay for at all?

The feminine hygiene industry is one of the most ridiculous industries in the world. The price of tampons and pads is so much higher than it needs to be because the industry is allowed to run ad campaigns that literally tell us that shoving one piece of cotton up there versus another is going to alter our personality.

Somehow, the brand of tampons you use says something about you. What a load of crap.

Use this tampon and become a better athlete!

One of the presidential candidates for ASUCD last quarter was running on a platform that would have made free pads and tampons available in all UCD bathrooms and even though he didn’t win, it shocks me that an institution that willingly admits female students would not make an attempt to adopt this policy. In my opinion, feminine products should be free everywhere and readily available in all public bathrooms.

If you’re a female still embarrassed about asking for a tampon or pad, or worse, if you’re someone who actively makes females feel embarrassed about asking for such items, KNOCK IT OFF.

I’m the person who will stand up in a crowded room and yell, “does anyone have a tampon?!” Why? Because there’s no reason I should be ashamed not to. Menstruating is the sign of a healthy and functioning female body and if someone is going to shame me for that, they are not someone I want to interact with at all.

Ladies, if you have tampons on you and you’re giving one to someone else, first of all, kudos, and secondly don’t act like it’s some secretive drug deal. Just calmly hand the tampon to the other person. I have seen some crazy-ass secret handshake looking shit go on between two females just trying to hand off a small piece of plastic.

The secret “behind the back” tampon handoff

I know we’ve all had that PTSD moment where some idiot old male teacher accused us of trying to carry off some illicit item into the bathroom and demanded that we show the class what was in our hand, but it’s time to shake off the stigma and hand off our tampons proudly.

To the guys out there that carry a stash of tampons on you and hand them out to those of us that forget them, you are the real saints of this world. You are few and far between, but we love you. Keep doing you.

It’s time for females everywhere to rise up and demand that our vaginas be treated equally as penises. Guess what get handed out for free everywhere? Condoms! Am I against that? Absolutely not, but I think that the same premise should be applied to tampons and pads, which are far more of a necessity.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go listen to The Vagina Monologues and re-stock my backpack with tampons.