Awareness

Paying For Sanitary Products.

No real trigger warning in this chapter needed.

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I went out today to the shops to buy a packet of sanitary towels, standard, with 9 inside. I payed two pounds fifty for nine sanitary towels that can be used up in 2-4 days. At the end of these days, I have to go out and spend another two pounds fifty on some more. On a heavy period, this means I could spend nearly seven pounds in a single week - simply so I don't repeatedly bleed through my clothes.
Above this, these £2.50 sanitary towels were the absolute cheapest in the shop, and believe me, I looked.

I am repeatedly told by men that sexism, inequality and injustice no longer exists for women, but none have given me a good, backed up argument when it comes to this: if men had periods, would sanitary items be free?
Let's be honest, yes, they would - Because you can't help having a period, so why should you have to pay to live your daily life? All I say to that is exactly.

My favourite example: At the start of COVID-19, continuing until quite recently and still a common practice in other countries, face masks were made utterly free. Why were face masks made free? Because it  would be too much to expect for us to pay for something we had to wear. They were free for men and free for women alike.
Now, do you think if only women could catch covid, face masks would have still been free? And if you think they would have, then why should they have been? there is no evidence to confirm that. Sanitary wear isn't free, and that's something we have to wear. So why are we expected to pay for it? Why are we expected to pay so we can live as normal and comfortable a day as we can? Why are we expected to pay for something we have no control over, something in which we have no choice?
Why? Because we are women. And this is a 'women's issue', one in which men have no part in - except for when they rake in the profit afterwards.

Men make money off my toils, off my monthly pain and suffering. The men who will never have to suffer the same way. It's easy for those men in their offices, rich and untroubled by our fight, who price sanitary wear, and enjoy the money it brings them. It's our pain that brings their pleasure.

Now tell me that "there is no sexism, inequality and injustice''.