#dont ask me how i know so much about different menstrual products

[oniikabuto]

general hcs ☆ south park

-- sfw --

characters: the main 4

a/n: it's literally midnight. i need to be up at 5am tomorrow. i'm writing about south park on tumblr.

synopsis: just headcanons of sp kids! their little quirks and habits and stuff

oh also aged up

...

— ⛧ e. cartman

has all of the really good snacks in his pantry

had a phase where he really wanted to be a garbage truck driver as a kid

listens to ariana grande and lady gaga

sings his heart out in the shower

refuses to admit it if you ever overheard him

weirdly sharp canines it makes him look like an evil little rodent

allergic to picking up after himself. there's literally a trail of shoes all the way up to his bedroom

never takes stuff out of his pockets before his mom washes his clothes but then gets pissed when his earbuds and stuff go through the wash

smells like baby soap

bites his pencils and they look horrendous

one time kenny asked to borrow a pencil and he threw it back almost immediately after feeling the bumpy chewed-up wood

thinks that menstrual products shouldn't be free because "can't they just hold it in??"

kyle will fight him about it

loves chocolate milk to death

— ⛧ k. mccormick

gappy teeth

but it looks cute on him

likes cds even though he doesn't have a cd player

always packs his lunch in the morning and karen's

there's little holes on the insides of his pockets and he has a habit of sticking his fingers through them and wiggling them without realizing

which make the holes bigger

keeps a porn magazine in his school backpack and leafs through it on the bus or in the library as if he's casually reading the news

sex jokes just SLIP out. he doesn't even think before he makes a sex joke.

his backpack is a mess and he uses the little pockets to store trash and edible wrappers and crumbs

has a disposable somewhere that he hits in the middle of class

kyle gives him a disapproving look when he stumbles into class high as balls

street smart but doesn't know how to do long division

favorite food is chicken nuggets with ranch

loves ranch (i fucking love ranch fight me)

will let you paint his nails

probably listens to tiktok music like mitski and radiohead and shit

also the smiths

— ⛧ k. broflovski

4.0 gpa all the way until that one A- in pe. junior year that dropped it to a 3.9

cried about it and sulked for weeks

stan almost left him because he got so sick of it (rockin that 2.9)

"dude it's not that big of a deal"

"MY LIFE IS OVER STAN YOU DONT GET IT"

keeps really organized notes- not just for him, but for the sake of his friends who take shitty notes

he has freckles idc if they said he's a daywalker HE HAS FRECKLES.

has a 10-step hair care routine every night

spends longer in the bathroom doing his hair care thing than his mother

spends 30 minutes every day watching tv with ike no matter what

gets violently competetive over kahoot

listens to the cure and elliot smith

keeps a different notebook for each class

— ⛧ s. marsh

always has at least one earbud in

sometimes when there's a lot on his mind, he gets very easily distracted

will step in the shower with his socks still on by accident

has a little crush on kyle (sorry style brainrot....)

used to read a lot as a kid, not really much anymore

unconciously messes with little papers or napkins in his pcokets and tears them to bits

gets like no sleep ever because he can't ever get off his phone or whatever he's doing long enough to try and get some sleep

still gets nauseous whenever he's near someone he has a crush on

terrible at articulating himself through text

if you want to show him a video or post, you would have to show him irl because he won't see the tag.

smoked weed once and decided it was overrated, but will sometimes get high if kenny asks or something.

loves vanilla flavored things even though it's basic

constantly has random change and wads of cash in his backpack because he's too lazy to stuff his things back into his wallet

[palanaeum]

Unexpected side effects of being stealth while not having changed my legal name yet: my coworker jokingly telling me she's gonna call me by my deadname because she doesn't realize I'm trans, she just thinks I go by a different name for cisgender reasons

[mysmedrabbles]

RFA Comforting an MC with Terrible Period Pains

requested: by anonymous 

a/n: oh my god the header is a MOOD for this ask. enJOY and hAVE FUN READING THIS therES SO MUCHCOFFEEINMYSYSTEMHHHHH want to support my period-ic writing ayy see what i did there? then feel free to buy me a coffee!

warnings: aside from that terrible pun you just witnessed? n/a

-AAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHH mod alex

Jumin

-he finds you clutching your stomach, sweat beading your forehead as you move from uncomfortable position to uncomfortable position, mastering positions he’d figured only Elizabeth the III could do

-worry creases his forehead as he rushes to your side, touching your side gingerly, almost scared that you’ll crumble under his fingers, but all you do is let out a pained groan, unable to speak as the pounding in your head grows louder with each stab through your gut

- “mC aRe YoU dYiNg???” 

-through pained gesturing, he finally understands that you’re not dying, just going through a torture worse than death

-has no idea what to do, just lays down with you, holding your hand and rubbing soothing circles on your back

-as soon as you finally fall asleep, he’s calling the doctor, wanting a professionals opinion on how best to lessen your pain

-poor doctor in his mind is probably like, “you,,,could have looked this up,,, on your phone,, that you used,,, to call me,,,,,,,, at 1 IN THE MORNING”

-he feels awkward, not being able to help you with more than a hot bottle on your stomach and keeping you company, running his hands through your hair and massaging your temples as he sits with you, helping you the only way he knows how, by rambling about the stock market

-at some point you tune out what he’s saying, focusing on his voice and the comforting patterns hes tracing on your skin

-you can bet that he buys you the most expensive german chocolate, anything that you want, anything you crave will be imported right away and be on your front doorstep the next morning

-he most likely has a calendar app on his phone where he keeps approximate track of your cycle so that he’s always prepared to give you extra special attention and care

-when he goes on business trips that last longer than a week, he has a box specifically made, kind of like a care package containing but not limited to:

-the finest chocolate (10 different kinds! with a surplus of your favourite!)

-those emergency hospital crack-and-place heat packets, good to keep on your lower back and uterus 

-oranges and broccoli (though these tend to be in the fridge)

-with a small note on how much he loves you and will see you tonight on call, telling you to take care of yourself and leaving the doctors phone number in case of an emergency 

Jaehee

-she KNOWS the pain,, she K N O W S 

-im not saying that at some point your cycles start happening at the same time, but thats exactly what I’m saying (i have no idea how this happens irl but it does and?? idk its odd)

-so generally the two of you are sitting home together, laying sprawled on the couch, 4 Ibuprofen between the two of you as you watch Zen’s old musicals, watching Jaehee sleepily hum along as she holds you against her chest, stroking your hair and bringing up your hand to her mouth, kissing your knuckles as the two of you fall asleep together 

-she knows you have a harder time than her when your period rolls around, so she has a tendency to insist that you don’t stress yourself out at work, keeping you mostly behind the counter where you’re not carrying hot liquids for too long. 

-helping you out whenever she can, hugging you from behind as you struggle to stand on your feet, giving you momentary support as she takes the cup from your hands, instructing you to sit down

-no one has ever seen her so lenient with someone when it comes to work

-you log onto the server to gush about Jaehee, posting pictures of her running around at work, helping customers, “ThAtS mY wIFe Y’aLL”

-she has a special coffee brew that she only breaks out when you’re in severe pain, added her secret ingredient (which she refuses to tell you about) that somehow make everything better 

-practically begging her to judo kick you in the spine because goddamnit it hurts so bad (she doesn't, opting for a soothing massage instead)

-kisses and cuddles galore, she puts the care in “caring for you,” to the point where she doesn't complain about her own mediocre periods upon seeing just how bad the pain is with you (please take care of her anyways she deserves the best)

Yoosung

-listen,, this boy grew up with sisters and a mother, he’s practically a pro when it comes to helping you out

-the second he sees you rush into the restroom in a panic, he’s already getting the pill bottle and hot bottle out, doing the bed the way you like it and pulling out your favourite blanket and warm stuffed animal 

-insists to take care of you the whole time, and is willing to skip school to stay home with you,, its only after threatening him from the bed, wagging your finger weakly at him does he actually go, however he’s one to send you worrying text messages through the whole day, and silly photos of a leaf he saw or a funny cat meme

-he cooks for you like theres no tomorrow, and is always extremely apologetic when he gets home an hour later than normal due to grocery shopping, only to find you having finally fallen asleep, stuffed animal discarded neatly on the bedside table, hugging his pillow instead

-his eyes soften, heartrate slowing down as he gazes on your sleeping form

-trying his best not to disturb you, he tiptoes out of the room, getting your favourite dinner ready, and trying his best to make something with your preferred chocolate

-you hobble out of the room sleepily, the smell of food drawing you to the kitchen

-he’ll immediately drop everything, running to you as he helps you to a chair, chiding you for getting up and straining yourself when you could have just called for him

-playing video games together lazily, him joking that he should let you win, but this just drives you to beat his ass in mariokart, absolutely demolishing him with no mercy

-he sits there shell shocked as you sit next to him grinning 

Seven 

-he’s versed in over five languages, survived the worst years of his life, is number one in the Shooting Star Server, the best hacker on the planet, and yet he has no preparation on how to help you through periods

-he knows the basics, but seeing you in such pain makes him rethink everything he thought he knew

-he sees you constantly shifting, arching your back in a vain attempt to crack it, crack any bone for momentary relief, and decides this is his time to shine and help you somewhat

-he gives the best back massages, working the pressure points on your lower back, and getting out all the knots in your shoulders, pressing kisses to your shoulder blades as he goes along, fingers working on the entirety of your back.

-shares his Honey Buddha Chips with you, even letting you take three or more bags, as long as you promise to not waste any that is.

-keeps you away from spicy foods, dairy and phD pepper, his technical knowledge had gotten him that far at least, and even though you’re more than happy to eat junk food for a week straight, for the first time ever he insists on eating better, giving you foods such as salmon and oranges,, only after heavy persuasion and multiple times of you threatening him does he let you have chocolate 

-he stays with you the whole time, making sure you’re laughing and taking care of yourself, trying his best to ease the pain with terrible terrible jokes and horrible Saeran impressions

-he knows that you dont like having a heating pad on your stomach because its so weird barely being able to move and having to stay in one place, so he places his laptop on your stomach, letting it overheat on your pelvic area as the two of you play fireboy and watergirl

Zen

-before we start i just wanna say Zen is 100% the type of guy who would hold no disgust or immature “ew thats icky”type attitude to the thought of buying his s/o menstrual products and he looks down on any man that does have that attitude

-he’s not quite versed in how to help you, but he’s a fast learner, and would rather rely on your own reactions to his help and seeing what works for you as opposed to just asking the void that is the internet what is supposed to help

-he’s one to carry you everywhere while you’re on your period, not letting you strain yourself for fear you’ll get off balance, fall and hurt yourself, and he’s constantly referencing you as his prince(ss), even more than usual

-singing you to sleep, letting his melodious voice wash over you as he holds you close, letting his natural body warmth keep you warm

-strokes your hair as you lay down, exhausted from all the pain, your body physically not able to stay awake anymore, practically blacking out

-if you cry, he’ll hold you, massaging your back and whispering soft comforts in your ear, but inside he’s pained by the distress this is causing you, and is mainly frustrated that he can’t do more

-sometimes he wakes up early in the morning to go for a jog or get breakfast for the two of you, and he’ll leave multiple sticky notes with sweet messages, ensuring that he’ll be back soon and to take it easy until he’s back home

-this man with Refuse to let you strain yourself in Any way, and will drop Everything to run over if he sees you so much as bending over to pick up something, practically throwing himself over the dropped item and insisting to pick it up for you

[nandabell]

Mother nature strikes.(headcanons)

Bnha boys to the rescue!

Notes: so I'm currently dying from my own monthly friend(my craps are hell right now). And that got me thinking about how how the boys of bnha would take care of their s/o on their's. Enjoy yall. *hugs heating pad*

♡WARNINGS♡

if periods make you uncomfortable or gross you out then please dont read. I just wanted to write some of the struggles we go through everyday when menstruating.

♡characters♡

Aizawa

Iida

Midoriya

Shoji

Tokoyami

☆ aged up boys

☆ talks of menstrual cycles

☆fluff

☆humor

☆period symptoms

Muscle aches

Bloating

Abdominal cramps

Head aches

Diarrhea/constipation

Trouble sleeping

Mood swings

Food cravings

Fatigue

Acne

Aizawa

This guy is possibly the most caring person when your on your period.

Your cramps hurt like hell? Dont trip boo.

The tired hero will prepare your heating pad and bring you pain meds.(he wont admit it but he hates seeing you in any kind of pain)

Will affectionately tell you to shut up when your complaints begin to annoy him.

Always has your favorite snacks that you crave during your monthly blood sacrifice to satan.

Makes sure you drink plenty of water.

Is both amused and annoyed by your mood swings. Giving you chocolate usually calms you down. So he always makes sure he has a candy bar on hand when your menstruating.

You feel extremely insecure about your acne breakouts.

He'll just stare and tell you that your still pretty.

Expect tummy and lower back rubs.

Will suffer watching all your favorite Disney movies that make you feel better.

Oh you ran out of supplies? Girl he got chu.

He's not embarrassed to make a quick run to get your pads/tampons You need them so he ignores the stares he gets while walking through the feminine product section.

Will cuddle you even though you feel gross and bloated.

BRING THAT MENSTRUATING ASS HERE GIRL. *hugs*

Iida

Iida would probably be that guy to keep track of your cycles tbh.

And you find that kinda cute but also kinda weird....but whatevah.

Looks up everything he can on natural remedies to ease your cramps.

Will come running when you text him and ask to pick up some supplies from the store.

He'll end up buying more pads/tampons than you asked for.

"These tampons are 100% made from cotton! And look these pads are ultra thin and super absorbent! But I wasn't sure if you preferred wings or not. So I got several different kinds."

Dont worry about staining your clothes or bed. He understands that you cant help it sometimes.

He'll just grab you a new pair of clothes and usher you to the bathroom. "Theres nothing to be ashamed of dear. Accidents happen."

He'll make you your favorite meals when your feeling down.

Will let you wear his largest hoodie because he knows you hated how bloated you looked during your cycle

Gives you space when your hella moody.

Always tells you how beautiful you are even though you feel like trash.

Gives you plenty hugs and kisses.

Shoji

He'll be a little clueless on how to help you.

But he does his best.

Makes you some tea when your stomach is feeling bad.

He gives the best head massages EVER.

Will panic when you double over and groan as a painful cramp hits. "I'm fine shoji, it just a cramp."

Will check the back of your pants when you ask. "I didn't leak did i?" "nope all clear!"

He too, will buy your feminine products. But he's a little more awkward about it. "E-excuse me ma'am, where can I find these brand of tampons?"

If your body is aching he'll gently rub you down.

Is surprised when you jump him and initiate a heavy makeout session. (Hormones got you all over the place)

This guy will sit there and help you find an outfit that covers your bloated body. Even if it takes hours.

Your favorite takeout food will be waiting for you when you come home after a long day. (He leaves a little note with hearts on it)

Tells you he loves you regardless if your a bleeding moody mess.

When your angry he throws you candy bars and runs like hell. (He ain't ready to die today)

Izuku

This lil cinnamon roll will not leave your side!

Is a 1 in comforting you.

Always asking if you need anything

Is a little overbearing at times. But it's kinda cute.

He will back off when you tell him too though "Baby, I love you but your hovering and it's kinda annoying. Chill."

You get super constipated during your cycle. So he makes sure you eat foods with plenty of fiber.

He also makes sure you exercise a little to help with the constipation and aching joints.

You can bet this boy tears up when your cramps hit you hard. "A-are you sure your okay? You look like your in a lot of pain, honey."

If you guys are out he always keeps a spare pad/tampon on him. He knows you carry plenty with you during your cycle but it never hurts to carry around 1 extra.

He notices how self conscious you are around him when menstruating. "I just dont want you to think I'm gross."

"I'll never think your gross! Besides, periods are natural!"

Dont cry hoe! Keep those hormones in check. You ain't no bitch....*sniffles*

Tokoyami

You really just try and act natural around tokoyami when your period starts. Like, yeah sure your uterus is literally trying to kill you but you gonna just grin and bare with it.

Tokoyami still notices though. You ain't slick girl!

You make faces wherever your cramps get uncomfortable. Tokoyami will always ask if you are okay. "Y-yep! Never better!"

He doesn't believe you and goes to fetch you some midol.

Has an extra heating pad at his place in case you come over.(also has a small stash feminine products in his bathroom)

Tokoyami knows how much you hate to go anywhere where during mother nature's curse. Tries to convince you not to go out. (He doesn't have to try hard)

You dread about dropping anything because bending over to pick it up.....ooooo bitch.

Thankfully tokoyami will pick it up for you. But only because you will just stare at the item you dropped with a doomed look.

He'll watch you trying to sit down awkwardly. trying not to grin while you find a comfortable position. You end up looking like a weirdly shaped pretzel. Hell just pull you close to him and cuddle you.

He's very patient. So he'll wait for you as you run off to the ladies room for the millionth time.

Sleeping on your period is so difficult. Your so uncomfortable. So tokoyami will talk to you all night until you drift off.

End.

Lol okay I'm done. Hoped you like this.

[fem-mem-mine]

At the posthumous retrial of Joan of Arc in 1455, two decades after she was burned at the stake as a witch and a heretic, she was declared an innocent martyr. During the trial, a personal valet offered evidence of Joan of Arc’s piety and purity during her 19 years on Earth: “She never suffered from the secret illness of women.” As far as the people closest to her knew, he claimed, she never got her period.

Saintly qualifications aside, amenorrhea—the abnormal absence of periods—has historically been linked with misfortune. In 400 b.c., Hippocrates wrote that “when the menses are stopped, diseases from the uterus take place.” In 1652, the physician Nicolas Fontanus identified amenorrhea “as the most universal and most usual cause” for palsy, melancholy, burning fevers, nausea, headaches, and a distaste for meat. Some 18th-century physicians believed that suppressed menses could cause a married woman to spiral into deep hysteria, and even in 1961, the epidemiologist Frances Drew proposed that a young woman might manifest mental anguish by losing her period.

But some doctors today offer amenorrhea to patients as young as age 14 or 15: Menstruation has now become an elective bodily process. “Once your periods are established, we can turn them off,” Sophia Yen, a pediatrics professor at Stanford Medical School, told me. “We now have the technology to make periods optional.”

Few are as passionate as Yen about the possibility of a world with far less cyclical bleeding. “It’s my crusade,” said Yen, who also co-founded and runs Pandia Health, a birth-control-delivery company. “This is my moonshot.” People who have periods spend an average of 2,300 days of their lives menstruating. If more people chose to silence their period—or even just dial down the volume—that would mean a decrease in iron deficiency (which women experience at far higher rates than men), and fewer plastic tampon applicators littering landfills.

Yen envisions the period of periods soon coming to an end. But even though menstruation is often messy, painful, and expensive, it’s a meaningful fixture of adulthood for some, and one that can be hard to let go of.

Gabrielle, a 24-year-old who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, got her first period in fourth grade. (The Atlantic allowed her and others in this story to use their first name only, to protect their privacy.)

“It felt incredibly, incredibly unfair,” she told me, to have been the first among her friends to menstruate. “There were all these little moments where it was embarrassing and bad and painful and weird”—sneaking off to the bathroom with bulky pads stuffed in her shirt, swimming while on her period, learning how to use tampons. Then, at 20, Gabrielle got a hormonal IUD (intrauterine device) for birth control and, as a side effect, stopped getting regular periods. “It feels really good to not worry” about keeping the bathroom well stocked or missing a day of work, she said. “I will keep getting an IUD until I’m ready to get pregnant.”

Today, any doctor will tell you there is no medical necessity for periods unless you’re trying to conceive. The body preps for pregnancy by thickening the uterus’s lining, like a bird building a nest for her eggs; hormonal birth control prevents pregnancy, in part, by keeping the uterine lining from ever building up. Many of the roughly 19 million Americans who rely on the pill, the shot, IUDs, implants, patches, or rings see a change in their period—often it’s lighter, but it can also disappear altogether. In clinical trials, more than 40 percent of the Liletta IUD’s users no longer menstruated by the end of the product’s six-year life. More than half of people who get the Depo-Provera shot every three months will become amenorrhoeic within a year, and almost 70 percent in the second year. And anyone using the pill, patch, or ring can safely skip scheduled withdrawal bleeding.

But getting a lighter flow as a side effect of birth control is different from choosing a contraceptive method in the hopes of turning off a period completely, and there are all sorts of reasons someone would want to do so. The cost of so-called feminine products can add up to thousands of dollars over a person’s lifetime: A recent study found that nearly two-thirds of low-income women surveyed in St. Louis couldn’t afford menstrual-hygiene products during the previous year. (This study, and others cited in this story, did not specify whether participants included trans men or nonbinary people who get periods). Amenorrhea can be a medical necessity for people with certain health conditions—such as those born without an intact uterus and vagina. It’s also a treatment option for heavy bleeding or otherwise painful periods, which afflict about one in five women, and can help relieve symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects 6 to 12 percent of U.S. women of reproductive age. Or a period simply may be one burden too many, especially during a pandemic: A tweet in March proclaiming that “menstrual cycles also need to be suspended until this ordeal is over” started racking up hundreds of thousands of likes.

For those whose periods are not just a monthly nuisance, but a medical complication in and of itself, amenorrhea can be a revelation. Valentina, a 20-year-old in Medellín, Colombia, was diagnosed with PCOS at 14, after her periods became practically intolerable. “The cramps were so, so strong; I couldn’t walk. I went through one tampon in one hour. I couldn’t sleep at night,” she told me. “It was traumatic.” In 2017, Valentina got a hormonal IUD and has since stopped menstruating. “After losing it, you see how much easier life is,” she said. “I’m not sure I want to have a period again.” For Nik, a 20-year-old transgender man living in Chicago, getting an IUD to suppress his period provided both mental and physical relief. “You don’t want the physical reminder every month that you weren’t born in the right body,” he told me. He went from doubling up on pads and tampons to, now, the occasional spotting.

For more than a decade, associations of obstetricians and gynecologists have assured doctors that it is safe for patients to try to reduce or eliminate menstrual bleeding—for personal or medical reasons—with hormonal contraception. There is far less certainty about how often that’s actually happening.

A 2013 survey asked 4,039 women of reproductive age in North and South America and Europe about hormonal contraception and periods; one-third said they knew it was possible to regularly reduce menstrual bleeding with birth control, and about 10 percent of respondents had done so. Other, much smaller studies have also documented the use of birth control to suppress periods. In 2016, researchers examined menstrual suppression among 400 Iranian Muslims who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca; they found that all but a few reported taking birth-control pills to quiet their period, and three-quarters of them successfully. A 2011 questionnaire of 500 U.S. veterans found that two-thirds of them had wanted to suppress their cycle during their deployment, and almost all of the subjects expressed a desire for mandatory education on how they could use birth control to avoid menstruating in combat zones.

Yen sees a future in which many more people know they can opt out, and do—in which no one menstruates unless they’re within two years of their first period or are trying to get pregnant. “In my ideal world, it would be about 28 periods over the course of a lifetime,” she said. Right now, that figure is in the hundreds. For Yen, a mother of two daughters—a 10-year-old who hasn’t gotten her period and a 13-year-old who has—that rebalancing would place her own children on a more level playing field with boys. Without periods, she says, they won’t miss two days of school or work each month, or get cramps during the SAT or swim meets, or deal with any of the other related stresses. “I want them to be competitive against those who don’t have uteruses,” Yen said. “Teenage years are so turbulent and horrific as is. I don’t want them to suffer unnecessarily—and I can alleviate this for my child.”

But a period-free future still remains a radical idea. “Menstruation can limit some people, but I reject that’s true for everybody,” says Colleen Krajewski, a family-planning specialist for the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Contraception and Family Planning. Many people, for example, rely on periods to know they’re not pregnant. Those recovering from eating disorders might see them as a sign that they’ve begun recovering from malnourishment. And some just enjoy the feeling of being in touch with their monthly cycle.

One key reason people will continue to opt in is the persistent, deep-set discomfort about not having your period. Last October, a group of researchers in Indiana and South Carolina reported that across a mix of focus groups, individual interviews, and online surveys, “most found the idea of not menstruating strange, unhealthy, and worrisome.” In a small, 2016 experiment, Canadian researchers discovered that a majority of the participants were suspicious of ads that presented the pharmaceutical suppression of cycles as a lifestyle choice; many specifically cited health concerns. “I know my body is healthy when it bleeds every month,” one participant told researchers, “and I would be very concerned if that didn’t happen.”

Patients tend to have a lot of questions about what not menstruating means for their reproductive health, says Margaret Nachtigall, a reproductive endocrinologist at NYU’s Langone Health. Do I risk infertility? Am I losing bone density? Am I clogging up with trapped menstrual blood? Some people harbor the unsettling misconception that without a period, toxic blood will build up inside them, Chelsea Polis, of the Guttmacher Institute, has found in her research. “That’s very scary for someone to worry about that,” Polis told me.

And that confusion makes sense, because amenorrhea can be a symptom of medical conditions such as eating disorders, pituitary or thyroid disease, and hepatitis. “Not getting a period is normally something worth investigating,” Nachtigall says. She and other gynecologists told me many of their patients struggle to feel normal without a period. I certainly did. I haven’t had a regular period since 2017, when I got my hormonal IUD. After so many years of ebbs and flows, I felt inert, as if my body couldn’t tell time once unmoored from its monthly cycle. It was an uncomfortable realization: I hated having my period, and I also hated losing it.

Yen fields similar concerns from her patients. “I tell them, ‘It’s okay to bleed less,’” she said. “The reason people feel like it’s quote ‘unnatural’ is that so many of us have had one every month for so long.”

[themoneybuff-blog]

The pink tax: The hidden cost of being female

Women working to achieve financial independence face an extra hurdle: the hidden cost of being female. Though its cheekily referred to as the pink tax, the additional cost women incur for personal-care products, toys, clothing, dry cleaning, health care, mortgages, and vehicle maintenance is no joking matter. It inflates our budgets, limits our ability to save, and sometimes hinders our ability to access affordable and safe sources of credit. Based on that semi-intense description of the pink tax, you may think its already been made illegal to charge someone more on the basis of their gender. But thats not true. Theres no federal law prohibiting companies from charging different prices for products that are identical (or very similar), but which are marketed by gender. At least not currently. Only one U.S. municipality Miami-Dade County has banned this practice. California enacted a similar restriction in 1995, but it applies only to the pricing of services. New York City followed in 1998. On top of the pink tax, women still earn less than their male counterparts. The average woman is paid 82 cents for every $1 her male colleagues earn; the discrepancy is much worse for women of color. When youre paying more for basic goods and services from birth until death just because youre female its easy to understand why so many women are pushing to Ax the Pink Tax.

What Is the Pink Tax? Twenty-five years ago, in 1994, the State of California studied the issue of gender-based pricing. They found women pay about $1300 more each year for the same services as men. Accounting for inflation, that figure is now closer to $2135 per year. If that figure doesnt shock you, maybe this will: By the time a woman turns 29 (like me), shell have spent an estimated $39,203 on the pink tax alone! Can you imagine how much money I could have right now if Id put the money I spent on the pink tax in a savings account? Especially one with compounded interest!? In 2015, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) published a report on the pink tax entitled From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer. The report found that womens products cost more than mens products 42 percent of the time. 42 percent! By comparison, mens products cost more than the female version 18 percent of the time. According to the DCA report, products for female consumers were likely to cost more across industries: Girls toys cost more 55 percent of the time, while boys toys cost more 8 percent of the time.Girls clothing cost more 26 percent of the time, while boys clothing cost more 7 percent of the time.Womens clothing cost more 40 percent of the time, while mens clothing cost more 32 percent of the time.Womens personal-care products (shampoo, conditioner, razors, lotion, deodorant, body wash, and shaving cream) cost more 56 percent of the time, while mens products cost more 13 percent of the time.Senior home health-care products (supports and braces, canes, compression socks, adult incontinence products, and digestive health products) cost more for women 45 percent of the time and cost more for men 13 percent of the time. Nowhere is the pink tax more evident than when it comes to personal-care products. Personal-care products geared toward women cost approximately 13 percent more than similar products marketed toward men. Similarly, women are financially penalized for having their menstrual cycle. The U.S. government has deemed menstrual products a luxury item despite the fact that menstrual cycles are a monthly reality for all women, not a luxury. For comparison: Prescription and non-prescription drugs and medical supplies are exempt from sales tax. This includes aspirin, DayQuil, ChapStick, gauze, Viagra, and condoms. But all hell breaks loose if an end to the tampon tax is proposed even though a study published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that two out of three low-income women in the U.S. couldnt afford menstrual products at least once each year. The study also found that tax breaks on tampons are extremely beneficial for low-income women. Despite this growing body of research that it costs way more to live as a woman than a man, proposals to eliminate tampon taxes or other pink taxes dont get very far. In New York, where a tax on menstrual products was eliminated, the state has recorded a $14 million loss in tax revenue as a result. In California, former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill in 2016 that would have eliminated the states tampon tax for fear that the state would lose $20 million in annual taxes. The Pink Tax in Action What does the pink tax look like in action? At Target, a red Radio Flyer My 1st Scooter marketed at boys retailed for $24.99. The My 1st Scooter Sparkle, the same Radio Flyer but painted pink with glitter, retailed for $49.99.

Until, that is, the DCA study came out. When questioned about the price difference between the two Radio Flyer scooters, Target referred to the extra $25 cost of the pink scooter as a system error. The retailer now sells both scooters for $29.99. Even childrens short-sleeved uniform t-shirts showed a gender price difference, with boys tops retailing for $10.95, while girls tops retailed for $12.95. Anyone have a clue why the girl version costs $2 extra?

The gender-based price difference is even more blatant when it comes to adult clothing. Womens clothing costs more than mens clothing in six of seven categories! The only category where men pay more than women is underwear men typically pay $2.44 more for underwear than women. However, women are paying more than a $2.44 difference when it comes to dress pants, dress shirts, sweaters, jeans, shirts, and socks.

Its not just retailers though that pass along costs onto female consumers, for really no other reason than to boost their own bottom line. Its also service providers like dry cleaners and car repair shops that are guilty of charging women more than men. Suzanne McGee knows all too well the additional cost thats incurred when a female goes to the dry cleaners. Ive been hit with the pink tax again, she wrote in a column for The Guardian. I knew it was coming; I should have been prepared with better arguments. But I couldnt avoid itI ended up getting charged $7 for cleaning my female shirt and not the $3.25 a man would have been charged. To prove her theory, McGee had a male friend return to the dry cleaner with an identical shirt to see how much he would be charged to have the same plain, cotton, long-sleeved shirt dry cleaned. McGees male friend was charged just $3.25, while McGee had been charged $7 to dry-clean the same top. Mortgages, Cars, and Loans While its illegal for your gender to play a role in determining your mortgage rate, theres a slew of studies showing women pay higher mortgage rates than men in relation to their risk of defaulting. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, because income was once a determining factor in ones ability to obtain credit, women were often denied as a result of earning less than men. A similar trend was found in the small loans market. Studies found that women were rejected more than men when applying for loans. When women were approved, they were given smaller loans, but because so many women feared being rejected, most didnt apply for loans in the first place, the Times reported. A similar occurrence happens in the auto industry. It sounds clich, but a study from Northwestern found that women who acted uninformed when asking about having a radiator replaced were charged more. Women were quoted at $406 for a service that should cost around $365. Men who acted unfamiliar with the repair, just as the women had done, were quoted $383 for the same service, the study found. No Evidence of Discrimination? In 2015, New York officials concluded that because the pink tax is largely unavoidable, its a greater financial burden for female consumers than for male consumer. Consumers dont control the textiles or ingredients used in the products marketed to them, the DCA report noted. Additionally, consumers can only make purchasing decisions based on whats available in the marketplace. However, a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded differently. Because there isnt a law preventing companies from charging different prices for men and womens versions of products, and companies have a legal right and responsibility to maximize profits, the GAO couldnt conclude the gender price disparity was unfair. The GAO even argued that its up to consumers to understand any price differences. I may have been able to let that ill-informed conclusion slide if they hadnt added this part: Concerns about gender discrimination were not studied due to very few complaints. Stop Paying the Pink Tax! Until the gender pay gap and gender tax are eliminated, is there anything we can do to try to level the playing field economically? To start, you can choose to purchase the mens version of many personal-care products in order to save money. Or, if youre like me and prefer to stick to feminine versions, many female-centric online retailers now offer pink tax-free personal-care products via subscription services. This way you can save money and still enjoy a pink razor. The other thing we can do is use our voices on social media especially to speak up. When youre shopping, check to see if theres a price difference between the womens and mens versions. If there is, look to see if the size and ingredients are comparable. If theyre the same, take a picture of both products and use the hashtag #AxThePinkTax. Some companies whove become aware of the price discrepancies of their own products have made changes to level the economic playing field.

Author: Katie Utterback Curious is one word to describe Katie Utterback, a former investigative reporter, who fashioned a microphone from cardboard at a young age and perused her neighborhood with a hand-held camcorder looking for stories to share with the world. Katie now uses her writing skills to further improve financial literacy in the Greater San Diego area, while sharing insights from her own debt-free journey at DebtWave Credit Counseling. https://www.getrichslowly.org/pink-tax/

[topreview2016]

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