It’s generally accepted that one of the trade-offs of living in our country is paying taxes on the things that we buy. When we buy non-essentials such as nice clothes or new toys, we have to pay a tax. That’s simply part of living in society. However, a tax is also applied to feminine hygiene products. This “tampon tax” is becoming a feminist and human-rights political issue across the United States. Feminine sanitary products are currently taxed as luxury items in the vast majority of states, including Connecticut. In several states, activists and politicians are calling for an end to this tax which they deem sexist.
I believe that this tax should be completely eradicated across the United States. Pads and tampons are not luxuries: they are necessities without alternatives that are absolutely crucial to a woman’s quality of life.
Forcing women who only make $0.79 for every dollar their male counterparts earn to pay extra money to simply exist is absolutely ludicrous. If politicians care about closing the wage gap and achieving gender equality as much as they say they do in their speeches, this sexist tax should be tackled immediately.
California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia is one of the biggest supporters of plans to abolish the tampon tax, and has recently introduced a plan to abolish the tax in California. Her office told the Washington Post that the average California woman spends $7 a month on sanitary items. While this could seem like an insignificant figure, $7 means a lot to women in poverty. They may be faced between spending that $7 to feed their family or keep themselves clean. In my opinion, it is dehumanizing for women to have to make that choice, a choice which no man would ever have to make. While the tax will not alleviate the cost entirely, it will help to make these essential products more affordable.
Though Garcia is a Democrat, this issue is bipartisan. California Assemblywoman Republican Ling Ling Chang co-authored the proposal to ban the tax with Garcia. “Government is taxing women for something that is totally out of their control. Feminine hygiene is not a choice and should not be taxed,” Chang told the Washington Post.
While Chang and Garcia are making traction in California, other states are choosing to uphold the tampon tax. According to Fusion, an all-male group of assemblymen in Utah voted against a Hygiene Tax Act that would remove the tax.
While I acknowledge that it would be difficult for states to make up the revenue they would lose because of this tax, I don’t think that gender equality is an issue we can dismiss because of math and money.
As Hillary Clinton said in what I consider to be her strongest moment as First Lady, women’s rights are human rights. It is important for men to get behind this legislation to promote equality and create a nation where girls can achieve just as much as boys.
Image Courtesy of change.org