They will not be made to feel embarrassed or ashamed, the young activists who’ve been advocating for free menstrual products in public spaces, especially in elementary, middle and high schools. Students like Natick High School’s Hannah Kara Schwichtenberg, who worked with the nonprofit Dignity Matters last year to make hygiene products available and free in her high school. The then 15-year-old freshman class president was responding to a need expressed by her fellow students who missed class or had to leave school premises because they couldn’t get — or, in some cases, afford — these products.
Last May, Schwichtenberg explained to the Metro West Daily News why not having ready access to the products was disruptive, saying, “You cannot learn or be in a learning environment if you are having this issue.” Now because of her effort, Natick High School’s bathrooms have special containers built by her fellow students which can hold a half a month’s supply of pads and tampons. The containers are replenished and offer enough products for 85 people at Natick High, where, according to the 2021-2022 census numbers, 805 female students attend. While that amount of the products doesn’t cover all of the need, it is an important stopgap.
What Schwichtenberg accomplished at Natick High School is the core of a Massachusetts bill known as “Increasing Access to Menstrual Products,” commonly known as “I AM.” Last week the State Senate unanimously passed the bill. If the House approves the final version of the bill, every public school, shelter for the unhoused and prison would be stocked with free monthly hygiene products. And Massachusetts would become the 6th state to pass this kind of legislation.
This is not a new issue. What’s changing is an old sense of shame linked to the struggle to pay for the products and stigma surrounding the natural process of menstruation. State Senator Patricia Jehlen, one of three co-sponsors of the "I AM" bill, explained to GBH’s Mike Deehan that the young people are refusing to be embarrassed, saying that they told her, “This is the way our bodies work, and we're going to talk about it and we're going to get what we need.'’
The Massachusetts bill and the various independent advocacy projects are part of a global movement to combat what’s described as period poverty, defined as a lack of access to sanitary pads, tampons and toilet facilities. Girls who don’t have or can’t afford the monthly products are often bullied after suffering embarrassing accidents, and adult women have been forced to use makeshift materials that are not always hygienic. State Senator Jehlen told Mass Live that some have suggested people who menstruate “just bring your own tampons from home.” She says lawmakers have responded by asking, “Are you carrying your own toilet paper?”
As someone fortunate enough to be able to buy the products, I didn’t pay close attention to how the cost can add up — an estimated $10 a month for tampons and sanitary pads — but that does not include panty liners, pain medications or heating pads. Massachusetts considers feminine hygiene products medical products and exempts the sales tax. But many states consider period products nonessential goods and tax them as a luxury. Not taxed? Products like Rogaine for male hair restoration or Viagra, for erectile dysfunction.
By the way, the language in the Massachusetts "I AM" legislation is inclusive, referring to a “menstruating individual.” Period poverty is a significant factor affecting productivity at work, success at school and dignity for all. I hope the bill quickly makes its way through the final vote to put period poverty in the past.
