Why The Menstrual Equity For All Act Of 2017 Is More Important Than Any Period Postulating On The Internet

I have to admit I’ve grown tired of period talk, of women doing yoga in white pants with red blood stains; of women running marathons without pads, of women painting pictures with period blood. I have a menstrual cycle every month and no amount of Motrin could ever make me forget that. I’m not ashamed of my period, nor do I feel society has taught me to feel as such. I just don’t need everyone to see me bleeding– especially when I’m in the fortunate minority, it seems, of women who can afford sanitary supplies when Aunt Flo rolls around.

Because period postulating has become such a thing on social media, I’d almost forgotten the privilege inherent in being able to choose to bleed all over one’s self to allegedly remove the stigma surrounding periods without acknowledging the women for whom such a reality is not a choice. On February 13, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) introduced the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2017 to help women and girls better access menstrual hygiene supplies. And in an essay on Cosmopolitan today she wrote plainly of the reasoning for the bill: “Eliminating the tampon tax is not enough for the 86 percent of women who start their period unexpectedly without necessary supplies.”

Eighty-six percent is a huge number, and as should come as no surprise, the women who comprise that population are not the ones who can afford luxurious self-care practices like yoga. It’s the homeless, the low-income earners, and the imprisoned who don’t have access to what most Americans consider to be a basic necessity, Congresswoman Meng stated.

“You would not believe what female inmates go through to access menstrual hygiene products,” she wrote. “The ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of 8 female prisoners at Muskegon County Jail because (among other things) the prison denied inmates access to menstrual hygiene products, a condition considered inhumane and degrading. Female inmates in Connecticut only get five pads per week to split with their bunkmate, which means they may have to use a single pad for multiple days. I cannot imagine how humiliating that must feel. My bill would require each state to give female inmates and detainees as many tampons or pads as they need, whenever they need them—at no cost. If Congress has to deny states certain federal funds to get their prisons to change their current horrendous practices, then so be it.

“Homeless women also face serious problems when on their period. A report issued in 2014 said that homeless women experience the ‘degrading condition of not having access to adequate facilities during their menstrual cycles to be able to use hygiene products and change them on a regular basis.’ Some homeless women resort to using rags or…nothing. Congress should be outraged by these conditions. Shelters should be able to use federal grant money to purchase tampons or pads—that is exactly what my bill ensures.”

On her government website, Rep. Meng outlines the five provisions of her bill which now has 21 co-sponsors, all of whom are democrats:

1. Allow individuals to buy menstrual hygiene products with money they contribute to their flexible spending accounts.
2. Provide a refundable tax credit to low-income individuals who regularly use menstrual hygiene products.
3. Allow grant funds from the Emergency Food and Shelter Grant Program, which can be used by homeless assistance providers for essential household items, to be used for menstrual hygiene products.
4. Require each state to provide menstrual hygiene products to female inmates and detainees, at no cost and on demand, as a condition of receiving funds from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
5. Direct the Secretary of Labor to require employers with 100 or more employees to provide menstrual hygiene products to their employees free of charge.

“It is definitely not a luxury to menstruate,” Meng stated in news release for the bill, “and my legislation acknowledges this reality by making it easier for women and girls to access the products that their anatomy requires.”

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