The Tampon Tax: Promoting Stigma & A Barrier to Human Rights
Three British women recently made headlines by “free bleeding” outside the Parliament building in London. The women wore white pants and no feminine care products – making a statement on their pants about the importance of feminine care products (Gruff, 2015). In the UK –as in 40 U.S. states– there is a tax on tampons and other menstruation related products, including sanitary napkins and cups, justified under the general sales tax. Of the 10 states that do not tax feminine care products, five of those states have no sales tax. Meaning just five states have decided to abolish the sales tax on feminine care products. The sales tax applies to feminine care products under the belief that such products are “luxury” or “non-essential” purchases. (Hillin, 2015).
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It is rooted in sexism and unethical double standards and is a barrier to basic human rights. The tax in one of many examples of women-specific needs being ignored by policymakers and instrumentally used for profit in the form of tax dollars (Freedman, 2015). This only further stigmatizes menstruation. For centuries women have been told to hide their periods as they are viewed as an unclean, disgusting, and shameful burdens. The shame and stigma associated with women’s bodies is only reinforced by policy that declares menstruation and the products needed to have a healthy period as luxury or non-essential – as anything other than a normal function of
2. “After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single, and the owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government which recognizes her only when her property can be made profitable to
Research Question. The main research questions proposed in this study are: 1) does a woman’s menstrual status inhibit an unfavorable response from surrounding people, and 2) does said menstrual status increase the overall objectification of women? The hypothesis affirms that when participants dropped the tampon from their bag there were lower appraisals of the participant’s proficiency, decrease in affinity, and a minor impulse to avoid sitting near her. To the point,
In the mid-1800s American women united to participate in social reforms movements more than ever before. This movement’s involved: struggle to abolish slavery, outlaw alcohol, and ban child labor among others (Rupp, 1987). Despite the failure of the women's movement to attain one among its primary goals, the passage of the ERA , the movement overall accomplished an excellent deal. For several women activists, management over their bodies was a central issue in the campaign. Women needed to be liberated to explore and control their gender, while not being judged by society. An oversized a part of management during this arena concerned having access to birth control, or contraception ways (Fishman, 1998). The contraception pill, associate inoculant,
The tax punishes the most vulnerable in society – the poor, sick, bereaved and disabled. Whether you are recently separated and sharing care of your children, using the space to recover from illness or a disabled person in an adapted home, if you are deemed to have a “spare” bedroom, then you will lose out. The tax has spawned legal appeals from the disabled, countless protest
he most significant reason against this policy includes the violation of female rights in behalf of the government deciding the number of infants a family have to have and the increment of crime against women. Since, 1979 the law has prevented around 250 million births since ultrasound tests and abortions became easier to access (Doc E). Also, since ultrasound tests are more accessible this policy created sex discrimination and the number of abortions increased since they could find out earlier if they were expecting a male or female (Doc E). It is imperative to mention that since there's fewer woman, woman became more vulnerable to suffer a crime against them and it represents the power the government is capable of using. This information
As previously mentioned, there are many laws and regulations that interfere with a woman’s right to reproductive
Every woman has the right to make any decision that involves her body. Our government has always respected the individual’s right to privacy. A woman’s reproductive system should not be regulated by the government. In the
Although tax isn’t all that much in some states, it does add up over time. Some women only make a certain amount of money and have to rationalize it for important things, such as food. Pennsylvania even went as far as not taxing toilet paper and diapers anymore because they view those items as a necessity. So why can’t tampons be viewed the same way? An Illinois law that took effect
In the article “If men could menstruate,” Gloria Steinem explores the idea of how menstruation would be glorified if it would happen to men. Institutions would change their principles in order to benefit men. By benefiting men, institution would continue to maintain gender differences. As a result, society would use menstrual to justify women subordination.
The “Pink Tax,” the bane of women everywhere, and especially in corporate America. Women’s products and health lies in the hands of corporations who charge more for products geared towards women than their male counterparts. This is usually by a few cents on the dollar, but keep in mind that women are paid less than men. So, this can add up over time, and cause many frustrations.
Birth control has been a controversial topic since the 1960’s, when the pill arose on the scene and gained popularity. Men and women of certain religious faiths have sought to prevent other women from using birth control. However, most women want to be able to choose when the time is right for them to have a child. This is why birth control is essential, because it allows women and couples in general the freedom to choose and plan their families. In many cases the need to control women by controlling their access to birth control goes all the way to the federal government. The federal government determines what types of birth control are allowed on the market and who has access to them. Some Presidential administrations look more kindly
Let’s begin with the obvious, all women have had their period. This process is as natural as eating, peeing, drinking and sleeping. Now have any of you ever walked into a bathroom and had to pay for the toilet paper? No, you haven’t. I’m sure that it also never occurred to anyone to carry around toilet paper in case they had to do their business away from home. For sanitary reasons we want people to wipe their behinds. For sexist reasons, we don’t offer the same concern for women who don’t want to bleed on furniture or their clothes. After years of women being shamed into not talking about periods more and more are speaking up.
Women have been using birth control methods for over thousands of years. Today, we have various effective birth control methods available to woman. Such as the pill, patch, shot, or IUD. Birth control is a safe way to prevent pregnancy. You can purchase birth control at your doctor’s office, planned parenthood, a clinic, or a public health care provider. They will first discuss your medical history with you, then check your blood pressure and finally you will discuss which birth control method is right for you, and they will send you on your way with your prescription. Birth control can be purchased at your local drugstore and costs up to 50 dollars. In a lot of cases though, young girls and even older women cannot afford or access these types of birth control. There are concerns about being unemployed which results in no income coming in for birth control, lack of health insurance the woman may have and whether or not the woman can afford having a child, even more during an economic crisis. By having women’s birth control free it will not only decrease the chances of abortion, help women financially , help with women’s menstrual cycle, and also by lowering the teen pregnancy rate, and having them have the power to decide when they want to have children. Many people can argue that the government shouldn’t have to provide another free service and that the cost
Identities do not exist in a vacuum. They are thrust upon us, formed and reinforced through all manners of social pressures but, in particular, through consumption itself, as well as how we consume. This is particularly true for the binary way in which gender is defined – ouridentities as “male,” “female,” or otherwise. Our possessions, things, come to have personal significance and meaning to us and how we exist in this world. More than that, we come to view people the same way we view a product – one more thing to be consumed and added to our collection. This system does affect all genders, but in many ways does seem stacked against femininity or gender non-conformity. Moreover, the commodification of women and women’s bodies has been normalized to such an extent so as to be made out to be feminist in its own ways – one needs to look no further than the porn industry or sex work, or the rhetoric which suggests to women that all they need to do to subvert patriarchy is to put on some makeup, go out, get drunk, and sleep with whomever they want. This brand of liberal “choice” feminism seems to free women from the bonds of the expected and from society, and yet it simply is a form of control that comes from within, rather than from some governing body. Empowerment is important in its own ways, but it is served to the public as a soporific, something to distract from the systematic discrimination and objectification of women, and prevent any sort of criticism on the matter. It
The most controversial field of feminist’s actions is women’s rights to the control over their bodies with respect to fertility, sexual relationships, rape and medical power over women’s health. Male control over women’s bodies has also traditionally expressed itself through