(NSFW) How much can sanitary products possibly cost in the US?

There were 8 million women of childbearning age (15 – 44) in California in 2008. $20 million on mentruation products is probably a very low estimate.

The video states “women spend…” which can mean “women in total”, or “every woman”. That would mean that one woman spends either 20 million a year, or, if there is eight million of them, every woman spends 4 million a year on period products.
Sounds insanely expensive either way.

“Freebleeding.”

So menstruation is a sport.

Edit: 20/8= 2.5

If there are 8mil women one shoud spend 2.5 mil a year.

Sorry for the brainfart.

20 million divided by 8 million is 2.5, not 2.5 million.

Oh yeah.

Wait that is 2.5 dollars.
How is that expensive?

it’s not a remotely reasonable figure.

@Sneki95, $1 is expensive if you don’t have it. There are women who are living on the streets and can’t afford food let alone tampons. Women who put themselves second because they need to put food on the table for their children. Or a woman who has had to go to a shelter with her kids because of domestic violence and left home without even a toothbrush. There are lots of reasons women might forgo spending money on sanitary items. It’s pretty sad that such an essential item should not be available to all women, at a minuscule cost, but it is the reality for some women. Such products are also taxed.

Nothing like a bit of research and some facts. Most women will go through about two boxes a month so if they cost roughly $5 to $10 a box that’s $10 -$20 a month or $120 – $240 a year.

I don’t buy anything super fancy or anything but I can expect to spend about $15 a month on tampons and pads. You should be able to understand how that can be a strain on women in extenuating circumstances, right? You were asking that question earlier about how to live with no income.

And don’t forget that women have daughters, a group of women (for example, I had two sisters and a mother, four of us menstruating every month for many years) can use a lot of product.

Wel…that is expensive. I do get that now. I’m shocked that it’s that expensive.

still don’t get the freebleeding, though.

@Sneki95 I doubt that many women will participate but it is a way they are making a point. I certainly couldn’t have done it. I think as the video says they are trying to make the point that men can get condoms for free in certain places. And it’s possible that sanitary products may be taxed in some states.

I think for we men, this is the single topic on women for which we remain blissfully ignorant. Those are the only products I can recall right off the bat that no woman has ever sent me out to shop, and believe me, I’ve been assigned some doozies.

The wife says they’re taxed here, but so are condoms and anything else not categorized as food.

It’s only expensive because women don’t reuse their tampons. ~~

#GLAD TO BE A MAN

Shouldn’t have ate the apple. It’s caused constant problems for women. ~~

Don’t get me started. First the products are expensive. Second, you can’t use your HSA account for them. Why the fuck not?! Tampons are medical devices that are overseen by the FDA. The government agency that decides HSA rules looks at them like bandaids I guess rather than medically necessary. Seriously, I think they should at least be tax free.

I think I spend $5 a month on supplies. So, let’s see, standard for women is $5—$15 on sanitary supplies, easily $200 a year in make-up, twice as much shampoo as men on average. Add another $100 a year styling products. Probably 6 times the toilet paper compared to men.

We really don’t get a fair shake.

^Yeah. It’s not fair. If I was a female, I’d have to spend a lot more money, just to maintain basic hygiene…

And….. If men really loved vaginas, they would make caring for them easier/affordable /free…

@Earthbound_Misfit :: Don’t forget that that this is a ongoing cost that starts at a early age. How is that 13 year old girl supposed to come up with 15 a month? What if the mom isn’t around and you have to ask your dad to buy you tampons? What if your parents are junkies and they would rather get high than buy you tampons?

There is government cheese. The same should apply to tampons. Maybe have a school nurse or something that could hand them out for free.

I agree that women get the really short end of the stick when it comes to maintenance expenses. They get hammered from all directions to an extent that still springs surprises. For example, I was in my 30s when I discovered that laundries & dry cleaners charged significantly more to clean a blouse than they did a shirt! Wtf is THAT about?

I saw a variation once, perhaps in a National Lampoon magazine, on the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (of R. Crumb, I believe) and it was called the Fabulous Furry Freak Sisters. One held up a box of Cotex, another a box of Playtex (or some other), and the third held up a box of Kleenex.

I agree @johnpowell. There are so many reasons a female might find purchasing sanitary items impossible. And this is before we start looking at third-world countries. Sanitary protection is probably even lower on the list of essential items for women in some countries.