I was born a female, my mom was born a female, my grandma was born a female and so on.
Being female has a lot of positives, but one of the negatives is menstruation. For generations, females have had to either make or buy their sanitary pads.
I understand that it would cost taxpayers more money to provide the entire female population with sanitary pads, but couldn’t we, as females, get some kind of compensation?
Many will argue that since the government doesn’t hand out free toiletries such as soap and toilet paper, why should it hand out tampons and pads?
When one uses a public restroom, one doesn’t pay for the toilet paper used or for the soap and water to wash one’s hands. But if a female uses a public restroom and starts her period, there is a vending machine for a tampon or pad. Why can’t these be handed out free of charge?
I don’t believe we should have to pay for something we use to aid in a bodily function. It’s bad enough females must deal with this sometimes embarrassing monthly visitor, but must we also take money from our own pockets to deal with it?
This article appears in Apr 17-23, 2008.
Diva cup!Check it out!
Yep, that’s the way it blows, !. Just be grateful you don’t have to use rags and wash them out afterwards like our grandmothers did. Now, if you were talking eliminating taxation on such products, I’d agree with you.
I don’t agree they should be handed out free of charge to everyone…although I can’t really explain why.Maybe there should be a “tampon/pad” bank as well as a food bank, for women who are having a hard time affording these supplies. Although for all I know, some food banks already pass them out.And yes – Diva cup = awesome. It’s not for everyone but I’ve never regretted purchasing mine.
Here’s the thing. It’ll start out as free tampons and/or pads and end with: why should I pay for food? I need it to live.
I agree with TTFN.Should the tax be removed from them? Yeah, sure, that’s a better argument.Should they be free? No, I don’t think so. Tampons and pads are wasteful and this will just encourage people to be even more wasteful. If you’re having financial issues check out the diva cup or check out how to make your own pad tutorials online. There are many!
I’d rather be a woman than a man! But ya having that time of the month is a drag. They should give maxis and tampons out for free.
Eliminating taxation is a great idea. If we don’t have to pay tax on “essentials” like milk, why should we have to pay it on pads/tampons/cups? It’s pretty easy to argue that these things are even more essential than milk, etc.
If men bled out their asses 4-7 days out of 28, things would be little different – not only the price/taxation, but I dare say there would be some pretty kickass protective products on the market.
Yeah, but they don’t bleed out their assholes. So do something about it or fuckoff. Women are CEO’s too, what the fuck? Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Whoa… harsh.
Yeah….so many women CEOs out there, compared to male ones. It’s staggering.
Diva cup?!? How have I not heard of this before? Oh, right, I’m a dude. Women are such mysterious creatures.
I know it isn’t a 50/50 split. But fuck, fight the power or shut the fuck up. PBR!
You don’t want to know, Miles.
God Help me, I went and googled it. I just threw up in my mouth a little too. That’s like a raspberry jello shooter gone awry. Seems like an aweful messy contraption…but at least it’s environmentally friendly.
I know. I’ve been meaning to pick one up though, in case the end of civilization as we know it occurs during my childbearing years and tampons become unavailable.
I find it much less disgusting than pads or tampons, myself. You just empty the contents into the toilet and be done with it. They don’t smell, like pads do, because nothing is exposed to the air. And they aren’t excessively absorbent for the environment they’re inserted in, like tampons are. Also, no wasting time worrying about running out of supplies. As for why I don’t agree with them being free, I think TTFN summed it up pretty well.Toilet paper and stuff like that is free (in public bathrooms) because everyone needs bathrooms on a regular basis, but no one is going to carry their own toilet paper/soap around with them.It’s nice when people at least equip the bathrooms with special receptacles in the stalls for menstrual waste.
I have a friend who loves them too, Spike – I guess the thought of the retrieval process skeeves me out a bit. I agree with pads = disgusting.
Yeeeah…I have to admit, the removal process is not the cleanliest. You got me there. I guess some people would find that pretty gross. At least it’s not shit, I guess…lol
I guess I’d still rather have blood on my fingers for 30 seconds before I wash my hands, than be wearing what is, to me, the equivalent of a diaper, for hours. But obviously it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
As gross as that sounds, I would prefer that too. I think I might have worn pads for the first 2 months I had my period, but I can still remember how disgusting it felt. Fucking nasty.Does the cup have a string, like a tampon?
So do those same bloody fingers have to touch the bathroom stall door, toilet handle and sink knobs before they get clean too? I guess my ass hands touch all those places too…Great, now I’m grossed out by the men’s washroom too.
I agree removing the tax on necessary toiletries is a better idea. Us dirty ‘ol boys would like some relief on razors. New parents would probably love free diapers and who couldn’t use free soap and T/P?Sadly, the soap and t/p in public washrooms isn’t “free”. It’s an expense to whoever is providing it and expenses always get passed along to the end user in one form or another.Ladies, you got a raw deal on this one.
After reading all that….I would like to be reminded of the “positives of being female”…YuuuuCKKKKKhhhhh
Erm…so, being a femal and never hearing of this ‘diva cup’ before… Would it be a wise investment..?
Raoul, would you mind paying extra tax on milk?You’re right, public bathrooms aren’t “free.” Miles, I can leave my cup in for most of the day with no leakage which means I rarely have to use a public bathroom to empty it. When I do, I’d wipe off my hands with some toilet paper before using the faucets, if I was in a bathroom with stalls. Only one hand usually gets messy so I can use the clean one to turn on the faucets. FFF, I am pretty happy with mine. Maybe research it and see if you think it’s right for you. There are other brands such as the “Keeper” as well. Manufacturers claim they can last for up to 10 years. If so, then it’s a pretty good investment for $40 or so.Also, I got mine at Venus Envy, and they said that if you keep the receipt, you can return it anytime up to a year from when you bought it and get a refund, if you find that it’s not working out. (PS I don’t work for Venus Envy or anything lol)It may take a month or two to get used to how it works.
And there is no string. There is a small sort of knob at the tip that you can pinch and use to pull it out.
Hmm, interesting.I’ll have to look into this for sure, then.Thanks Spike.