Any woman knows that your period is the biggest bitch in your life, and perhaps the worst part is the lack of accommodations that schools and businesses offer women while they’re on their periods.
For example, LSU only has 13 specific locations on campus that offer free supplies, one of which is the Women’s Center.
Though the Women’s Center has made some strives through its Period Project, every bathroom on campus should have pads and tampons. It shouldn’t only be the Women’s Center devoted to helping women in their times of need.
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Accidents happen. Sometimes, periods appear out of the blue, and someone may not have any supplies in their backpack. So having these supplies in the bathroom would be a perfect resource. However, you’ll be out of luck most of the time, because products are only offered in 13 locations on over 1,000 acres of land, which is utterly ridiculous.
No matter your socioeconomic status, everyone deserves access to feminine hygiene products, including college students.
Perhaps the saddest part of this whole issue is that I’ve seen more on-campus organizations handing out contraceptives than period products. Though contraceptives are incredibly important, so are period supplies.
Why can’t more student organizations or LSU work to get the funds for these and offer them to students? Or put them in all of the bathrooms across campus? Yes, period products are expensive, but that’s another reason why having a university spend some money in that department helps everyone.
Not only is the lack of feminine products an issue on campus, but so are the uncomfortable plastic chairs that women are forced to sit in throughout class.
For any guys reading this, just imagine getting a vasectomy and having to cross your legs while sitting in a plastic chair. That’s pretty much the same feeling as sitting in a plastic chair while on your period.
I mean, come on, LSU. It’s 2024. I feel like we can upgrade the chairs a little bit. I’m not saying that we need to have gaming-quality chairs, but maybe something with more cushion (especially in Lockett Hall).
Unfortunately, not only are college students facing issues when it comes to their periods, but so are female employees.
Though I’m not currently working at any sort of company, I can only imagine how it feels to have to put a smile on your face and go into the office while in excruciating pain.
What kind of world do we live in that women feel the need to do that just to get some work done?
I realize that having a job and paying the bills is vital to survival, but hello, there’s a popular video conference program called Zoom. That was the best thing that came out of COVID-19: realizing that people can work from home.
So, why can’t women work from the comfort of their homes while on their periods? Periods typically only last for about two to seven days, so it’s not like women would be working from home for too many days out of the month.
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Spain has been the best at dealing with this issue.
According to the Washington Post, women in Spain can take three to five days off for monthly menstrual leave. Yes, you read that right, every month. And they even get paid during that time frame, so it’s pretty much paid maternity leave—without the birth.
Yet here in the United States, we don’t have anything related to menstrual leave, or even the notion that women could work in the comfort of their homes while on their periods.
Is it because some men would get their little feelings hurt if women took a few days off every month for their periods? Or is it because U.S. companies are lazy and don’t want to help women?
Either way, we must do better to provide supplies and accommodations for women while they endure a significant amount of pain. And the fact that we don’t simply demonstrates how little we as a society give a damn about women’s needs.
Taylor Hamilton is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Tallahassee, Florida.
