Since When Have Periods Ever Been Luxurious?

What do arcade games, candy bars, and Viagra all have in common?

40 out of the 50 states consider at least one of these items to be a necessity.

But when it comes to tampons, these same 40 states consider tampons to be luxury products and are therefore subject to a special sales tax.

Let that sink in the way our flow sinks in a sanitary napkin.

The tampon tax is just one of the many ways our society seems to go out of its way to punish women for being just that – women.

With unanimous support from the New York State Senate and State Assembly, a new bill will make feminine hygiene products exempt from the state’s sales tax.

By ruling in favor of this legislation, not only do consumers win, but so do women who have carried the weight of the tax for decades.

The bill is now on its way to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a vocal advocate of overturning the tax, calling it a “regressive and unfair tax on woman [that] is a matter of social and economic justice.”

The law stipulates that existing legislation that places a luxury tax on tampons, sanitary napkins, DivaCups, and panty liner be abolished. Instead, these items will finally be classified as necessities just as any other health care product.

Critics have called the state’s current 4 percent sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products prejudiced and misogynistic, putting a hefty burden on low-income consumers.

Even when President Obama was asked about the tampon tax earlier this year, he responded, “I have to tell you, I have no idea why states would tax these as luxury items. I suspect it’s because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed. I think it’s pretty sensible for women in those states that you just mentioned to work together to get those taxes removed.”

Tampon taxes have triggered protests worldwide. Lack of appropriate menstrual hygiene plagues young women in more ways than one. And while sparking the conversation is critical, real action has to be taken before there can be true change.

According to The Peace Corps, menstruation for a young girl in the developing world is not just a monthly inconvenience but a major concern.

Menstruation is the leading reason why girls miss school. Without money to buy sanitary napkins, girls use makeshift substitutes like old clothes, tissue, and even mattress pieces. Without proper alternatives, they soil their clothes and suffer public humiliation so many days, they would rather opt to skip school and “manage” their periods at home.

Schoolgirls in Kenya may lose as many as 500,000 schooldays a year because they are unable to cope with their monthly periods at school.

While some girls will attend school anyway, they will remain standing or once seated, refuse to move in fear of being embarrassed. As it is, many schools do not provide adequate facilities for these young girls to tend to their cycles in a healthy way. In some cases, bathrooms are shared by both sexes and girls are often victims of shaming during their menstruation.

In developing countries, menstruating women and girls are wrongly considered to be “contaminated, dirty, and impure.”

You know what’s contaminated? The minds of the old white men who feel that there is ANYTHING luxurious about menstruating.

This lack of basic health education ultimately stands in the way of letting a young girl learn.

When young girls do not understand puberty and the way their bodies change, naturally, they are adorned in shame.

When young boys are not included in the same health conversation, they inadvertently echo the stigmas they have been raised to accept.

When young girls cannot manage their periods, they are unable to participate and contribute to daily life.

It is no secret that menstruation has been cloaked in shame for centuries.

But if New York is any indicator, 2016 may be the year of menstrual change. Everyone from activists to politicians to celebrities and even scientists are working to not only stir up change but ensure that public policy moves forward. For the first time, Americans are talking about gender equality, feminism, and social change through women’s periods.

Gloria Steinem calls it “evidence of women taking their place as half of the human race.”

Addressing menstruation through health education, positive reinforcement and dispersing management materials reduces these gender specific barriers, starting with the worldwide recognition of May 28 as Menstrual Hygiene Day for girls in all corners of the world.

While menstruation matters everyday, May 28 is designed to break taboos and shatter stigmas surrounding menstruation and raise awareness of the why good menstrual hygiene management is absolutely necessary.

The hope is to empower our women and girls by creating a world in which they each can deal with their cycle in safety, privacy, and integrity.

Looks like New York will be celebrating a little early!