Women have always been looked down and considered inferior. Woman from the start of humanity have been considered the “other” and men were considered the “one.” This thinking started way back when women stayed home and cooked meals and took care of the house, while men were out working in fighting wars. However, now women are equal to men. They can do everything and anything a man can do. Even though, they can do anything and everything men can do, they are still not considered equal in society today.
This can be seen in day-to-day basis. Woman on average make less than men, women are still expected to take care of the house and the people living in it, women are less likely to get hired just because they are a woman, and examples like these can go on forever. However, one systematic injustice I noticed with woman, in general was when I was out with my sister, and she was buying tampons. She told me and I noticed there is a luxury tax on them. Luxury tax is a type of tax that is applied on luxury items. Hearing that I was shook. Menstrual cycle is something that every woman goes through in her life. Therefore, it’s a necessity, the government cannot tax a tampon as a luxury item as it is an item that every woman requires. Luxury tax should only be applied on expensive cars, private jets, yachts, etc. This is clearly systematic injustice towards women. This also goes along with de Beauvoir’s theory of one and the other. In this scenario, Men are the one and Women are the other.
The solution for this is that the law should be repealed. Tampons should not be taxed as luxury item as it is a thing that women require and need. Fortunately, Ohio has repealed the law and now tampons are no longer taxed as a luxury item. However, there are many other states in the United States that are still taxing tampons as luxury. So, I think the laws should be repealed and tampons should not be taxed as luxury.
“Sign the Petition.” Change.org, https://www.change.org/p/ny-state-legislature-make-pads-tampons-exempt-from-ny-state-sales-tax?redirect=false.
This is a fascinating post! I had no idea that this type of taxation was in place, and it boggles my mind to imagine how it was ever enacted in the first place. I actually wrote my Diary Showcase on a very similar topic, called “The Pink Tax”, in which products marketed to fit a feminine gender stereotype are priced significantly higher than comparable “masculine” products. I think that your our posts together go to show a deep and widespread economic injustice towards women, who have been historically underrepresented and misrepresented while economic legislation is being made about them.
WOW! This post was super informative especially because I never knew anything about this. I find it crazy that there is a luxury tax on tampons. Women are already treated differently compared to men and no this is just sad. Making an extra penny off of women due to something that they can not control. This actually made me sorta upset to think that this would be a problem.
Thanks for sharing the gender inequality. It’s common in every culture that women are considered as “inferior” than men, either historically or currently. Even in developed countries like US, there are still subtle discrimination against women
Thanks for your post Singhal. The issue of pads as it relates to women’s health and justice is a broad topic that needs to be addressed. Women need not feel as inferiors in the society but should feel equal to men. Imposing a tax on pads which are only used by the females can be viewed as sex-based injustice or discrimination by the government in both state and federal constitution. I feel that it is like women are being taxed for having to be born as females. Such laws should be analyzed fully before being put into action.
This is my first time hearing about this taxing on feminine menstrual products. I think it’s ridiculous how women still have to pay for these products it should be free in general. I noticed a headline a while back where these products became free for all women in a different country. I think it should not only should it be tax free but also be more affordable and accessible to all women.