How Much Does it Cost to Be a Woman?

Hello, Gorgeous!

I know I have readers across all genders. YAY! If you don't identify as a female, THIS IS STILL IMPORTANT. Why? Because unfairness is gross and we all need to be unified in the face of it.

FIRST--we all know there is a wage gap, right? Meaning women earn less than men.

GENDER GAP RELATIVE TO WHITE MEN:

• American Indian and Alaskan Native women earn 75¢ to the $1

• Asian women earn 95¢ to the $1

• Black women earn 75¢ to the $1

• Hispanic women earn 75¢ to the $1

• Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women earn 80¢ to the $1

• White women earn 81¢ to the $1

So here we are, already making less than men. Got it.

But wait! There's more!

Women also PAY MORE for loads of things while similar--or exact--items sell to men for much less! (Hmmm...earn less. Pay more. Wha?!)

THIS IS REFERRED TO AS THE PINK TAX.

What is the pink tax, you ask?

Sometimes it is an actual tax. Sometimes it simply refers to an item costing more than a similar item due to the fact that the item is being marketed to women.

RAZORS are a common example. Have you ever noticed that men pay a lot less for their razors than women do?

And we all know we pay more for dry cleaning and haircuts than men do. (Grrr)

It isn't just razors though. The pink tax shows up from the time we are born, often with identical toys being priced differently when the item is pink...

BUT THAT'S NOT THE MOST ANNOYING THING ABOUT THE PINK TAX. (Although getting charged a higher price for the same item is maddening, for sure.)

All US states EXEMPT non-luxury items from tax such as groceries and prescriptions. HOWEVER. 34 states TAX MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS. Excuse me! When did pads and tampons become a friggin LUXURY?????!!!!!!! WHO IS MAKING THESE LAWS?? Oh wait. Men. White men. (White men hold 4 times the political power than people of color and women.)

State governments are helping to pay their bills by taxing women on their "luxury items" of pads and tampons. Because, you know, it's such a luxury to be able to CREATE LIFE INSIDE OUR BODIES.

I probably sound a little pissed off. You're right. I'm pissed off. This tax hurts women in poverty in a huge way.

Women Forced to Choose Between Food and Menstrual Products

Rags Instead of Tampons. Here’s What Period Poverty Looks Like in the U.S

A place to help: https://www.helpingwomenperiod.org/

Of course, this goes beyond the tax. But the tax certainly doesn't help.

“This is not a luxury,” said Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, an associate professor in the College for Public Health and Social Justice at St. Louis University. “It’s a need. It affects a woman’s sense of self, her sense of dignity and her ability to participate in life.”

In case you were wondering--no, Viagra ISN'T taxed.

WHAT TO DO?

Check to see if your state taxes menstrual products. If they do, contact your Congressperson and ask them to take immediate action! Period.

The Pink Tax is an example of the Patriarchy, pure and simple. I want you to start recognizing these signs when you see them. We are starting to pull back the curtain and see what has been hidden from us--and what we hide from ourselves!!

The more we dismantle this crap, the more the world changes and comes into balance. The more we do this work, the better off the world, and all the living beings in it, becomes. No small matter.

xo,

Elijah