Haley Altgilbers

PLS 1153G
Writing Assignment #1
February 17, 2016
The most common example of gender inequality in todays society is the wage gap where
women are said to make roughly 75 percent of what a man would make doing the same work
with the same education. Women pay more for soaps and razors and basically anything that
comes in a pink version.1 The most glaringly obvious and incontestable example of gender
equality is the taxation of feminine hygiene products like tampons and sanitary napkins.
According to a press release from Cristina Garcia, an assembly member in California, women
pay an average of seven dollars a month for roughly forty years of their adult life, resulting in
over $20 million annually in taxes in the state of California.2 Feminine hygiene products are
currently taxed in all but four states. While taxable items vary from state to state, untaxed items
generally include necessities like groceries, medical purchases, and food stamp purchases.3 Some
examples of nontaxed items in Texas are antacids, sunscreen, coffee beans, and marshmallows.4
Any woman would agree that feminine hygiene products are just as necessary as any of these
items. Less-privileged girls in African countries sometimes resort to using unhygienic rags or

1 Paquette, Daniel. Why You Should Always Buy the Mens Version of Almost
Anything, The Washington Post, 22 December 2015.
2 Assembly Member Garcia Introduces No Tax on Feminine Hygiene Products
Measure on the First Day of Session, 5 January 2016.
3 Larimer, Sarah. The Tampon Tax, Explained, The Washington Post, 8 January
2016.
4 Combs, Susan. Grocery or Convenience Stores: Taxable and Nontaxable Sales,
November 2012.

missing school altogether for the week which is an alarming example of how very necessary
sanitary products are.5
The obvious solution is to get rid of the tax on tampons. Women, not only in the United
States, are beginning to take a stand publicly. Three girls in the UK, where there is a government
fee on top of the retailers cost for tampons, made a protest by standing outside of parliament
while on their periods wearing white pants with no sanitary napkins or tampons carrying signs
saying Does your tax make you feel awkward? and No uterus, no opinion.6 In addition to
public protests like this one, there are several internet petitions and many states already have
proposed legislation waiting to be passed. Men outnumber women in government positions;
women make up 51 percent of the United States population but only 17 percent of Congress.7
This subject likely makes a large percentage of lawmakers uncomfortable, but eliminating the tax
on feminine hygiene products could be the next step to eliminating gender inequality.

5 Biriwasha, Masimba. In Africa, Menstruation Can Be a Curse, RH Reality Check,

25 March 2008.
6 York, Chris. Tampon Tax Protest Outside Parliament Sees Three Women Wearing
White Trousers On Their Period, Huffington Post, 7 November 2015.
7 Dawn, Aurora. The Gender Gap: Percentage of Women in Government Worldwide.
Were Number One, Right? Not So Much, Daily KOs, 27 September 2012.

Bibliography
Assemblymember Garcia Introduces No Tax on Feminine Hygiene Products Measure on the
First Day of Session, 5 January 2016.
Biriwasha, Masimba. In Africa, Menstruation Can Be a Curse, RH Reality Check, 25 March
2008.
Combs, Susan. Grocery or Convenience Stores: Taxable and Nontaxable Sales, November
2012.
Dawn, Aurora. The Gender Gap: Percentage of Women in Government Worldwide. Were
Number One, Right? Not So Much, Daily KOs, 27 September 2012.
Larimer, Sarah. The Tampon Tax, Explained, The Washington Post, 8 January 2016.
Paquette, Daniel. Why You Should Always Buy the Mens Version of Almost Anything, The
Washington Post, 22 December 2015.
York, Chris. Tampon Tax Protest Outside Parliament Sees Three Women Wearing White
Trousers On Their Period, Huffington Post, 7 November 2015.