It’s a Bloody Shame: The Barriers to Period Access
On average, a person will spend around ten years of their life on their period. It’s not fun, it can hurt like a bitch and yet period products are still considered a luxury in some places.
Menophobia - no, it’s not a phobia of men. Big words never have such a simple meaning, unfortunately. It’s a fear of periods, which isn’t limited to men but even womxn, non-binary people, people with dysphoria. Anyone under the sun could fall victim to this phobia. It goes all the way back to Ancient Rome, a place we all know, and some of us love a little too much (I blame the sexy statues). Some wise guy, Pliny the Elder (or Pliny the Delusional) said that if menstrual blood touches the ground, it “turns new wine sour, crops touched by it become barren, grafts die, seed in gardens are dried up, the fruit of trees fall off…” Yes, there’s more to the quote. It’s too long to include it all. But it mentions period blood rusting iron, killing bees and turning dogs rabid and venomous. That’s some straight up witchy shit right there.
Besides confirming that Pliny could lie his mouth off, it shows that the fear of periods has lasted far longer than it should have. And it shows. Fear, embarrassment, and shame are often associated with periods. That leads to stigma about menstruation and less conversation about periods and period poverty, which is when a person doesn’t have access to proper menstruation products. Young people and those from poorer areas tend to fall through the cracks of period education. I remember one of my school’s was pretty skint, and instead of getting a health nurse to explain menstruation, they just got one of the teachers to do it. The whole experience was worse for her than it was for us (Miss, what’s a clit? Bless, she turned as white as a sanitary pad.) But many barriers make accessing period products difficult, from economic ones that lead to period poverty to the plain, good old-fashioned stigma against periods.
What is period poverty?
A joint study by the University of Auckland and Victoria University on high school students found that 12.5% of students missed out on menstrual items due to cost during their first period. Also, 7.5% of students had missed school because they couldn’t access menstrual products. In poorer areas, the figure rises to 20% of students who have a period. Among Māori students in particular, 19% of them had experienced period poverty throughout their life and around 16% had missed school because period products were unaffordable.
Would you rather: Free period products? Or no taxes on roller coasters?
After an “Access to Period Products” pilot program in the Waikato region, which provided period products to more than 3,000 school students, the New Zealand Government made the program available to all schools in 2021. The program, which covers primary, intermediate, secondary school and kura students across NZ, is expected to cost about $25 million over three years. Whilst the news comes as a huge step in the right direction, students are not the only ones that experience period poverty. Those in tertiary education, or in any stage of life, are still struggling to afford basic sanitary necessities.
Perhaps we need to turn to Scotland, for advice, who passed the Period Products Bill in November 2020, making all period products free (I know!). Meanwhile England and Wales have free period products for both high school and university students.
But some countries are lagging when it comes to tackling period poverty. 30 out of the 50 states in America have a sales tax on menstrual products, meaning they’re classified as luxury items. As if periods are a choice and we can make our uteruses not shed their linings. A fun example is Colorado, which taxes tampons but not parts for private jets. South Carolina also taxes tampons but not amusement park rides. Ah yes, the necessities of life: jet parts and amusement parks, so you can fly in style and then bleed through your fucking pants on a roller coaster seat.
Bleeding Blue: Period Ignorance and Courtney Cox Being a Progressive Icon
Besides economic barriers, there are social ones too. Stigma surrounding periods has been around for centuries. Pliny the Outrageous (it’s a new name for him) is one example of that, but others are more recent. Even in this day and age, whenever I see period ads they feature women with shaved legs, living their best life. There’s no bloating, no show of mood swings - the ugly side of periods is outta sight and outta mind. Period ads have a long history of contributing to menophobia and period stigma which can lead to social barriers regarding period products.
The first time the word ‘period’ was actually used in an ad was in 1985 when Courtney Cox did an ad for Tampax wearing a glorious work-out leotard (thanks, Courtney). It showed the evolution of period discourse from ‘that time of the month’ to ‘period’.
The most memorable ad I saw was of a guy finding his partner’s sanitary pads and using them to live out his fantasy dreams by using them to create different costumes. He turned himself into a transformer, a rockstar and a superhero. The perfect clueless and cringey boyfriend. You only have to go into any corner of the internet to find that that many are still in the dark around very basic aspects of menstruation. Critic Te Arohi, Otago’s student magazine, even went around campus this year to ask male students if they can identify what a pad is and where it goes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most people failed.
The Next Stage
Countries like Scotland and New Zealand are paving the way to starting a conversation about periods and making period products more accessible. Private companies are also beginning to take steps towards period equity like the Warehouse Group, which includes stores like the Warehouse, Noel Leeming and Torpedo 7, which offers free period products to their staff. Also, in an effort to make period products more affordable, the Warehouse sells packs of 10 sanitary pads for $1. Don’t worry, tampons will be added to the list too.
Products such as menstrual cups are also gaining attention in the mainstream market. They’re environmentally friendly but also an affordable alternative to having to buy periods/tampons each month. Sure, there’s still problems for access, such as having access to clean water in order to wash the cups, but the devices can go a long way to helping lower socioeconomic communities.
The lowering of economic barriers also means more nuanced discussions about periods other than ‘it sucks’ and ‘do you have a tampon/pad’. But other countries like Lebanon are facing increased period poverty as the price of menstrual items rise by 50%. It’s also common for cashiers to conceal pads and tampons in black plastic bags because of the stigma. It shows there is unequal progress made in the world when it comes to period equity. It shows that discourse drives demand and that a period utopia is not likely to happen, but we can get a little closer to it. These initiatives and conversations can foster inclusiveness in period products for nonbinary people, women and others who know the struggle of supporting a body that is often not supported by society.