Last week, an all-male group of lawmakers, in the state of Utah, voted 8-3 to uphold the state's sales tax imposed on tampons. Invoking a slippery-slope fallacy that claimed that supporting the change would open the door to all sorts of "crazy requests for exemptions," the measure failed, according to CBS News.
Here, in my home state of California, two Assembly Women, Cristina Garcia and Ling Ling Chang, put forth a bill, which would make tampons, pads and panty liners exempt from sales tax. The tampon tax bill, as now commonly referred to as the "pink tax," took the form of California Assembly Bill 1561. California, along with Ohio, New York, Utah and Virginia hope to follow the lead of tax-exempt feminine hygiene product states such as: Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In most states, items, which are already exempt from taxes, include "non-necessities" such as prescription drugs, most food and grocery items and a long list of medical equipment. But, according to legislation in 45 states, evidently having our periods is a "luxury." A luxury? On what planet?! I can see it now: Come to Planet Period! Luxuries include bloating, cramping, mood swings, acne breakout, weight gain and stained clothing! And, if that's not luxurious enough, the icing on the cake is that you get taxed!
Women, according to the New York Times, spend roughly $7.00 per month on tampons and pads. That's a lot of money over the course of women's menstruating years. Let's also contextualize the tampon tax. In 2016, according to figures published by CNNMoney.com, women already make roughly .74 cents to the dollar on men. In addition, because men don't menstruate, this tax can be viewed as a material form of gender discrimination. This means, then, that there are many women who are literally choosing to purchase feminine hygiene products, or put food on the table.
To prove the point that periods--a monthly visit from Aunt Flo aren't "luxury items," protests, taking various forms, have recently been enacted. In August of 2015, as covered in the Independent UK, a woman, Kiran Gandhi, "ran with blood dripping down my legs for sisters who don't have access to tampons..." More recently, in November of 2015, People Magazine highlighted a "free bleeding" protest that was staged outside of the Houses of Parliament in London, England. Two women, Charlie Edge, and Ruth Howarth, donned white pants and let it flow for three hours. Since their protests and live tweets, with full images, they have been receiving hate mail and threats. Being "grossed out" by the natural phenomenon of bleeding, and engaging in period shaming is another blog entirely. However, for the purpose of this essay, this strategy certainly points to the ludicrous nature of tampons being viewed as luxury items, and not as a necessity.
Let's look as some other taxed luxury items, in order to have a point of comparison. What about this statistic? According to Time magazine, ten of our fifty nifty United States tax tampons, but not soda pop! Make sure you have extra cash, if you are on your period, in the states of: Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming. So, again, in case you didn't follow the logic: soda is a necessity. Tampons and pads are not. Another fun fact? The great state of New York will tax you for having your period and needing to purchase a tampon, but not admissions to live circus performances, purchases of American flags or dry cleaning expenses. Evidently, periods are not considered patriotic. But, look on the bright side, when you ruin your white pants from not being able to afford a pad, you won't get taxed on your dry cleaning trying to get that stain out!
It looks as if this anti-pink tax movement has gained momentum. California will most likely repeal the tampon and pad luxury tax. And if/when it passes, it will indeed be an important step in the ongoing struggle for gender equality. Other states will, then, hopefully follow suit. We must be vigilant until the tax is removed in all 50 states. In addition, we must continue to address the other related forms of gender discrimination referenced earlier... 74 cents to the dollar. And what about pushing this movement even further? How about free feminine hygiene products in all public restrooms? This way, women don't have to choose between food or hygiene products.
Achieving gender and economic equality? Well that, would, indeed be luxurious.