Feminine hygiene products in the USA today are in need of radical change. In the US, there have been massive campaigns that seek to correlate shame and uncleanliness with menstruation in order to increase profits for manufacturers. Today, the remnants of these campaigns lingers in the back of every woman’s mind each month and has resulted in a lack of knowledge and awareness on this topic. Today, 16.9 million people in the US face “Period Poverty” due to low income and/or the inability or difficulty in obtaining necessary products. Many states, including my state, West Virginia, levy a “Tampon Tax” on these products. This is in addition to the Federal Tax that is levied on them already. Many US states have large amounts of homeless and unemployed women who cannot afford the burden of these taxes. Similar products for male sexual health are not taxed in the same way, reinforcing negative stereotypes about the relative value of the sexual health of men versus women.

Unplanned production and profit driven distribution have led to serious supply shortages, and an increase in “hoarding behaviour” by those who can afford these vital, but ever more expensive products. Additionally, the US imperialist wars and economic sanctions abroad have only worsened this problem, along with the effects of climate change and the extreme weather events that we see today. These issues force women to resort to “Do it Yourself” methods, which can often be un-hygenic and unhealthy alternatives.

The most common and widely used products for sale today are those that were developed nearly 100 years ago. Not only should these products be free and available to everyone, we should be investing in the development of innovative, healthy and modern alternatives. A recent study at UC Berkeley found that tampons from 14 different leading market brands, contain toxic metals such as arsenic and lead, leading to an increased risk of diseases, such as dementia, infertility and cancer. This only emphasizes the need for safe and sustainably sourced alternatives. Women across this country need to fight back, not only against “Period Poverty” and “Tampon Taxes”, but for a radical change in the feminine hygiene products industry as a whole. These are necessary products which must not be used to divide women or make us feel unclean or shameful. We need to demand access to these vital products as a matter of dignity and human right.

Some US states have already abolished the “Tampon Tax” such as Vermont, Maine, New Mexico and California. A Virginia Tech researcher has recently created an eco-friendly and biodegradable material that may offset some of the sustainability and cost issues we face as well. However these efforts are not widespread and are clearly only the beginning steps in this struggle. We all came from a person who menstruated and we should respect and honor this fact for the betterment of society as a whole.

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It is clear that religious biases have been entrenched into our local and national governments for years; it’s clear that we currently need to fight for a separation of church and state that treats religion as a individual private affair. Any attempt to encroach upon the rights of others becomes the business of others. Who shall stand up for working women in America, surely not the Republicans who, surely not the Democrats who talk of resistance, yet when conflict rises, they collapse and allow our hard earned rights to be eroded. Both parties have clearly shown the only “people” they fight for, are those of Wall Street and big industries.

What working women need is a government that provides financial and social support when it comes to abortions; when pregnancy becomes a risk to a woman’s health, or becomes life threatening; when accidental conception becomes occurs and the woman is in no desire to carry out pregnancy. Here is what women can do to take action.

• Contact your state senators and local representatives
• Join the Women for Racial and Economic Equality (WREE)
• Stage demonstrations

Women have a rich progressive history in America and worldwide, we must struggle to advance and defend democratic rights won by working women. No to the erosion of working women’s rights! No to patriarchy!

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