No taxation without tamponization

Make free the tampons! I'm serious. Tampons should be free. \nI know what you're thinking -- "Sweet cheeks, nothin' comes from nothin.'" However, they shouldn't be free for everyone. That would be silly. They should be free for me and my fellow ladies of menstruating age, and Uncle Sam can pay the tab.\nI saw a distressed girl the other day in front of the tampon dispenser in a women's restroom. Terrified, she looked at this archaic piece of machinery, which read: "Feminine napkin: 10 cents. Tampon: 10 cents." I knew that sinking feeling well. I had been that girl, losing hope that obtaining the tampon I needed so desperately just might not be a possibility. Just look at all the red flags! First of all, those things look like they haven't been touched in 35 years, much less refilled. Second, the term "feminine napkin" is just plain creepy. It grosses me out, gives me the heebie-jeebies. I know you feel me on this one.\nFortunately, a very good Samaritan who understood the horrors, too, offered the poor girl a tampon, and I couldn't help but wonder about the financial ramifications this could have on the generous woman's life. Tampons are expensive. Very expensive. Not 10-cents-per-tampon expensive but up to 20-cents-per-tampon expensive. And they aren't an option; they are a necessity.\nLet's do the math. The average woman loses about 1 to 2 ounces of blood per month via menstruation. And let's say women start their periods at 13 and end them at 55 (which is being generous enough). That is 42 years (504 months) of menstruation. Let's suppose, then, the most average of women would lose 1.5 ounces of blood per month over 504 months. That is 756 ounces of blood. A regular tampon absorbs on average .265 ounces of blood, and assuming each and every tampon used is fully saturated before removal (which it never is), a woman can easily use about 2,852 tampons in her lifetime. Multiply this by the cost of the average 40-count box of Tampax Regular ($0.16 per tampon at Walgreens), and you end up with a cost of more than $456 that women have no choice but to pay.\nPlease understand: Being a woman is awesome. I love every second of it, even my more menstrual moments. However, I cannot think of one required cost men are subjected to that parallels the cost of tampons. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We didn't even discuss those girls who start their periods at 11, last until they're 60, and suffer from menorrhagia (excessively heavy periods that affect one in five women).\nSo why not make the government pay? It pays for public education, and it ought to pay for my tampons. Until my tampons are subsidized by the government, I will see it as the continuing oppression of my gender. Let's even the playing field, shall we? Pay for my tampons. Make the world a more just place.