Being a male...I never thought that there would be a problem

[dezii]

Actually I thought if I was of the other sex, I would always have a few pads or tampons in my pocket book..

[Almost all the woman in my life or who I am acquainted with,  carry pocket books...and never thought the cost of such items would be a problem...possible because , while not rich, rich...have always been able to take care of basic financial demands..]

After reading article let them be in rest rooms free throughout the country...though with most legislatures filled with woman and so many filled with conservatives where any change seems to be a no no...possible the wife's, mothers and daughter...[possible girl friends too]will have to get involved too...


After reading this article I realize I didn't have a clue...

===================================

www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-period-parity-20191014-6nwkwxh33rgtnlanckmod63muu-story.html

[Tennesseer]

From the linked article:

"Asked why the taxpayers should pay for menstrual products for students, Hallisey had a ready answer. “You don’t ask how much toilet paper costs, and you don’t look at the budget for soap,” she said. “These are just things that everybody needs, so you have them. Menstrual hygiene products should be no different. That’s why they should be in the bathrooms.”"

Makes perfectly good sense to me.

[justme]

My work has the dispensers in our bathrooms - but you don't pay anything. 

As for always having them around - the individual wrappers they come in aren't hardy. When I used to keep more in my purse I would frequently have to throw some away as the wrapper came undone. Hell, I even kept some in my glove box in my car and some still managed to become unwrapped in there! 

And they're not freaking cheap either. The cheap ones aren't that cheap and they most likely are ineffective and uncomfortable. Ugh I hated running out and getting stuck with the ones that are like diapers. 

[Tennesseer]

Just saw this news article.  Shameful police action.

Woman to settle with San Antonio over alleged inappropriate body search

A woman is expected to settle with the city of San Antonio after filing a lawsuit claiming an inappropriate body search by police. 

Natalie Simms accepted the city's settlement offer of $205,000, The Washington Post reported, which also cited reporting from the San Antonio Express-News.

Simms sued San Antonio and a detective involved in the search after she said she was subjected to a public vaginal cavity search when police stopped her as they were looking for drugs in August 2016.

Police allegedly asked Simms to "spread your legs" and took out her tampon in front of male police officers and other bystanders, according to her lawsuit, the Post reported.

In her suit, Simms called the search a "blatant violation" of her constitutional rights, saying it caused her "significant and lasting harm."

Simms also claimed that the police conducted the search without a warrant or medical staff present and on a public street.

Rest of article here: Woman to settle with San Antonio over alleged inappropriate body search

[NastyWoman]

You think that is bad dezii . How about this:

Julie Abbate didn’t hesitate when members of the ABA Criminal Justice Section asked her to draft a resolution about prisoners’ access to tampons and sanitary pads in 2018.

She had spent most of her 25-year legal career advocating for prisoners’ rights—particularly female prisoners’ rights—and knew from experience that they often lack access to feminine hygiene products.

Even if state prisons and county jails provide sanitary pads to women, quantities are often limited and not always available when needed. Tampons and extra sanitary pads can be purchased at a commissary, but that isn’t a realistic option for many female prisoners.

The consequences of restricting access to these products can be severe. Women are often forced to barter with other inmates or even correctional staff in an underground economy, sometimes for coveted items but sometimes for sexual favors. They can be left with no choice but to visibly bleed for five to seven days in front of everyone around them. ..."

www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/abbate-prisoners-access-women-hygiene

Just google the subject of female hygiene products in prison, but hold on to your seat while you do. It is disgusting what has been allowed to go on there.

[dezii]

Oct 15, 2019 12:43:02 GMT -5 justme said:

My work has the dispensers in our bathrooms - but you don't pay anything. 

As for always having them around - the individual wrappers they come in aren't hardy. When I used to keep more in my purse I would frequently have to throw some away as the wrapper came undone. Hell, I even kept some in my glove box in my car and some still managed to become unwrapped in there! 

And they're not freaking cheap either. The cheap ones aren't that cheap and they most likely are ineffective and uncomfortable. Ugh I hated running out and getting stuck with the ones that are like diapers. 

just a thought...if become unwrapped...keep in plastic food  bags...they come in all sizes..they seal well and would keep product pristine...just saying.

[haapai]

Oct 16, 2019 22:37:56 GMT -5 dezii said:

Oct 15, 2019 12:43:02 GMT -5 justme said:

My work has the dispensers in our bathrooms - but you don't pay anything. 

As for always having them around - the individual wrappers they come in aren't hardy. When I used to keep more in my purse I would frequently have to throw some away as the wrapper came undone. Hell, I even kept some in my glove box in my car and some still managed to become unwrapped in there! 

And they're not freaking cheap either. The cheap ones aren't that cheap and they most likely are ineffective and uncomfortable. Ugh I hated running out and getting stuck with the ones that are like diapers. 

just a thought...if become unwrapped...keep in plastic food  bags...they come in all sizes..they seal well and would keep product pristine...just saying.

Ugh!!! You are so male and so unacquainted with feminine hygiene products.  The complaints about them being flimsily wrapped are quite valid and smaller-sized food bags are quite a recent invention.  There are also some peculiarities of adhesives and compression to be considered. 

Putting several adhesive-lined pads into a plastic bag will keep them dry and away from the crumbs and crud that accumulates in women's bags doesn't really mean that they will be usable when needed.  The pads need to be contained in a fairly tightly-wrapped bundle in order to keep the crucial adhesive bits from separating from their protective covers and becoming quite non-adhesive.

Plugs have something similar going on.  They also tend to be delicately (i.e. flimsily) under-packaged.  They also tend to collect purse-gunk when this flimsy package is compromised.  But just like pads, confining them to loose plastic bags does not preserve their utility.  Tampons really need to remain compressed to be of any use.

I can't go on any longer.  I'm hot and uncomfortable and just not willing to go into any more gross details.  A younger woman needs to take over from here. 

FWIW, I haven't even addressed costs -- so there's a whole lot to talk about.  These paper products are not cheap at all for young women, even when purchased in bulk.  I really don't want to gross you out too much by telling you how much of my 1982 allowance was devoted to buying such products and how much babysitting it took to pay for a day of bleeding. 

[TheOtherMe]

On our local Freecycle site yesterday, there was a woman asking for feminine hygiene products so she could go to work.

Some man wrote that she should be able to afford those.  Many women ganged up on him telling him where to go.  

Towards the end of the month, there are always women asking for milk to see them through until they get their WIC and nobody shames them.  

[Bob Ross]

I dunno.  If I were a woman, I'd still carry my own.  Do you really want to insert the equivalent of gub'ment cheese up in there?  

[bean29]

Oct 18, 2019 8:45:59 GMT -5 Bob Ross said:

I dunno.  If I were a woman, I'd still carry my own.  Do you really want to insert the equivalent of gub'ment cheese up in there?  

In an emergency situation, you use whatever you can to save yourself from embarrassment. A dilemma all women share/have experienced which is why it is pretty common for women to ask each other for supplies in an emergency, and why they are readily shared without regard to cost or an expectation of a return. 

 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yep, I have a stash in my locker, in the bathroom locker room at work.  I do not lock my locker and I've had people ask for pads. 

My daughter is just starting to use them so I have a variety of pads and tampons at home, while she figures out what's right for her. 

Tampons are considered a medical device by the FDA and have standards.  I'm not a tampon fan but most of the differences I've seen in tampons are how tight they are wedged into the applicator and how comfortable the insertion end is. 

[toomuchreality]

As I waited for Soc Sec to kick in (2 yrs with no income), I often wondered how women on foodstamps and no income get by.  
It was horrible!