Spoiler Alert: People who menstruate still need products!
/I can’t even count the number of times, with my fingers, that someone has asked me for hygiene products. Which is weird considering the big variety of hygiene products that exist, right? Wrong. It’s sadly very common, many women cannot afford it. The reasons for this are due to the outrageous prices put on them, the lack of availability and the social stigma around periods.
Photo by beth brown
When I walk into stores, my eyes are always browsing the prices. I love Walmart, they have plenty of different things to look at, apples: 3,97$, fresh ground meat: 8,78$, tank tops: 5,00$... sanitary pads: 19,97$. Wide eyes! If we compare these necessity products, sanitary pads are ~11.12% more expensive than other products. In 2000, the average price for sanitary products were ~4-5$, but why has the cost gone so high? Thank you, Inflation! “Recently, 1 in 4 women reported that they are struggling to afford pads and tampons due to inflation in North America.” (CITRON, 2023) Inflation isn’t something that we can fix easily, it requires a lot of work from our government and central bank policies. But why should we pay for something that we never asked for? Sanitary products should be at a fixed price, not matter the inflation, or even free.
Not only are the prices for sanitary products high, but the availability to the products isn’t the best. When it comes to Canada, we have a wide variety of sanitary pads, but tampons and cups are less available. On top of that, many sanitary products can cause health issues. “Studies have found that menstrual hygiene products like tampons and pads often contain harmful substances, including heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which may pose significant health risks such as cancer and organ damage, yet these products are not subject to rigorous FDA testing for toxic chemicals” (McClure, 2024.) It’s the fact that, the variety availability is low and the products themselves aren’t the safest, is a bit crazy! We should also keep in mind that many companies that are sanitary product focused are actually owned by men. Women should be able to get sanitary products that they find comfortable and healthy.
INTIMINA
In addition, the social stigma around periods is different depending on where you are and culture. In some places, the concept of a period can be foreign. Most of the time, culture overtakes the concept and turns it into evil. When that happens, it becomes hard to speak up and tell them the truth. This is seen in places that are more male dominated. This makes it really hard on the women because not only do they deal with the periods, but they have to hide them. Hiding your period can cause a lot of mental stress and physical injuries. As they don’t have access to sanitary products, they must “makeshift” a pad or tampon which causes urinal tract infections. It can also cause Anemia and Toxic Shock Syndrome. These women should be able to have someone to lean on during their periods and be safe while doing so. It’s how our bodies work; we cannot change that.
It’s quite scary when you put it in these perspectives because despite menstrual topics being a pretty loud topic on social media, there’s still many flaws in our system. Women should be allowed to afford sanitary products, those products should be safe for our health and we should give it more awareness. Many young girls aren’t given the proper education on how to actually use sanitary products safely and correctly. If we speak up more about it, maybe we could make a change. As Emma Watson once said, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”
Allison Thompson is a Professional Writing student at Ottawa’s Algonquin College. She loves films and videos, her favourite being ‘Garden State'.’ By Zach Braff. She loves the morning air and sparkly light catchers. Her biggest muse is her Aussie named Mittens. Allison writes with great humour and kindness, making sure her readers feel safe and included in her work.