![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/community.scrippscollege.edu\/invisible\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/02\/bloodytrump-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Portrait of Donald Trump made out of period blood in response to Trump\u2019s comments on Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly\u2019s period. By artist Sarah Levy<\/p><\/div>\n
Walking down the hall of almost any Scripps dorm, you\u2019ll notice a bowl of condoms and occasionally a few remaining packs of lubricant sitting on a table. These items, provided by our RAs, are considered a necessity to our health, as protected-sex should be. However, at our college, there is no free or paid access to tampons in bathrooms or hallways. This led me to question to what extent do society, our schools, and the government\u2019s taxation policies view periods as an option, but sex as inevitable? <\/span><\/p>\n In the US and Australia, <\/span>feminine hygiene products are taxed up to 10%<\/span><\/a>, while \u201cnecessary\u201d items like condoms, lubricants, and sunscreen are categorized as \u201cessentials.\u201d In the UK, they receive an additional sales tax, as they are classified as \u201cluxury goods\u201d along with fine olives and jams, but other items, like pita bread and rare meats such as crocodile and kangaroo, remain exempt. So should we all start to use pita bread as pads for extra coverage to avoid this extraneous tax?<\/span><\/p>\n This July, <\/span>Canada was the first to take a stand<\/span><\/a>. Tampons, pads, and other sanitary products were released from the country\u2019s 5% \u201cgoods and services\u201d tax, leading feminists in the UK and many other countries to question their own countries\u2019 current legislation. Right now, 40 states in the US have a current sales tax on tampons, five have labeled them a necessity along with diapers and toilet paper, and the remaining five do not practice any form of sales tax at all. <\/span><\/p>\n On January 8, California Assemblywomen Cristina Garcia and Ling Ling Chang <\/span>introduced a bill<\/span><\/a>, currently in review, that would classify feminine hygiene products as medical necessities. In the US, the tampon tax brings in about 20 million dollars of revenue every year, which in the scheme of things, isn\u2019t that large. However, a box of tampons costs an average of $7, not to add the additional cost of panty liners, medication to cure cramps, and the many new pairs of underwear we\u2019ll need to buy because we didn\u2019t make it to the bathroom in time. Including the additional taxes, this can total over $11,000 spent on materials associated with periods in one lifetime. <\/span><\/p>\n For an individual, the extra pennies every month start to add up. The average working white woman in America makes 78 cents to every dollar that a man makes. Hispanic and black women earn even lower average wages of 64 cents and 56 cents respectively. \u00a0The gender pay gap exists, and what the tampon tax has brought attention to is the overall \u201cpink tax\u201d that women pay simply for being women. As Jezebel Magazine\u2019s Tracie Egan Morrissey puts it, <\/span>\u201cHow much does owning a vagina <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> cost?\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n