As odd as it may seem, for several years, I noticed every, single menstrual product advertising that came my way. Actually, I analyzed the ones that were out of my way, too. I bought magazines that I wouldn’t normally peruse and paid attention to television ads that I would usually mentally tune out. I wasn’t just obsessed; I was on a mission. My mission was to research and to shine a spotlight on the messages about menstruation that are routinely sent to girls and women.

Initially, this official investigation interested me one day when I bought a box of organic tampons from my local grocery store in Pennsylvania. The tampons were quite expensive (because they have dioxins left out, for crying out loud), but the biggest insult was that, at that time, I was charged a sales tax. Yes- taxed on something that is a necessity for over half of the population. In Pennsylvania, there is neither a sales tax on food (of course) nor certain clothing. That makes sense, but a tax on tampons- really? Those, or some kind of substitute, are absolutely a life necessity at some point for the female population. The inherent unfairness of this scenario sent me reeling, because what does that say about how the state views girls, women, and their worth? The bottom line is that to unfairly tax more than half of the population implies that the state doesn’t care or recognize that women live with a special circumstance. This got me thinking about how women and girls are routinely treated in the culture because of menstruation. What other “invisible” discriminations are imposed upon women?

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