Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Prishenko
"If men got their periods and women did not, “[m]enstruation would become an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine event,” Gloria Steinemwrote nearly 40 years ago. “Men would brag about how long and how much. Boys would mark the onset of menses, that longed-for proof of manhood, with religious ritual and stag parties. Congress would fund a National Institute of Dysmenorrhea to help stamp out monthly discomforts. Sanitary supplies would be federally funded and free.”
For all the satirical conjecture, she was likely right on the money, especially on that last point. The bad news is there’s still no pending national bill to give away period-related products. The better news is the so-called tampon tax is currently being challenged all over this country and beyond.
Right now in the U.S., of the 45 states that impose sales tax, 40 levy it on sanitary napkin and tampon purchases. That’s not terribly surprising, considering that most items are taxed under individual state laws. But while sales tax codes are notoriously complex and often nonsensical, they are not immutable. Nearly every sales-taxing state offers exemptions for items that are deemed necessities, a list that should include sanitary supplies, considering that biology drives women’s menstruation, and thus the sales of tampons and pads. Yet just five states—Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New Jersey—don’t make women pay an additional fee for the monthly occurrence of their periods. Everywhere else, sanitary supplies are essentially considered “luxury” or “nonessential items.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
