On April 10, 2018, in Mumbai, India, a charity advocating menstrual hygiene helped disadvantaged women in slums get cheap sanitary napkins. At that time, Prince Harry and Princess Wang of England appealed to those who celebrated their wedding to donate money to the charity instead of wedding gifts. Photo courtesy of vision china
In civilized society, the discussion about sanitary napkins has long been a taboo topic. On the shelves of sanitary products in supermarkets, colorful packaged sanitary napkins can make people see things in a blur. In TV commercials, girls who suddenly jump out and wear miniskirts will also make your eyes shine. They are cheerful, lively, and jumping without restraint, trying to publicize the concepts of "comfort", "beauty" and "closeness".
Once consumers carefully look at the packaging and try to understand what constitutes the health products that care for women’s sensitive parts, it will not be clear at a glance. The same is true in the United States, because sanitary napkins are medical devices and are not required to list a complete list of ingredients on the product label.
On October 11th, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill requiring manufacturers of menstrual hygiene products to list all the ingredients on the labels, which is the first in the United States. The bill will take effect in 180 days. The products involved include tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual cups and menstrual underwear.
In the opinion of supporters, this is not only to protect consumers’ right to know, but also to encourage women to participate more actively in the discussion of their health. On the Weibo, a girl from China commented: "In this year, you have to look through the ingredient list when choosing cat food for cats, not to mention personal sanitary napkins."
Paying attention to it is like paying attention to food.
At the beginning of May 2017, Grace Meng, a representative of the Democratic Party of new york, proposed the "Right to Know about Menstrual Products", requiring that menstrual hygiene products (including tampons, sanitary napkins and menstrual cups) should list their ingredients on the packaging.
Prior to this, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) managed menstrual hygiene products as medical devices, which also included dental floss and condoms. The FDA advises manufacturers to provide general information about the ingredients of the product materials on the label, such as whether the product is made of cotton or rayon, but it is not necessary to indicate the individual ingredients.
It was not until some women who participated in politics found that almost all products on the market, including food and cosmetics, needed to list their ingredients. However, menstrual hygiene products that come into contact with sensitive parts of women’s bodies have never been done.
"Previously, it was entirely voluntary to disclose the ingredients of sanitary napkins or tampons." Salada Tan Ji Lala, manager of the women’s environmental protection organization Voice of Women on Earth, told the media.
In 2018, in order to support the passage of this bill, they sent six top American brand tampon products to an independent laboratory for chemical testing. Later, it was found that it was not chemicals that were frightening, but because of lack of attention, people did not have enough research to determine whether these chemicals were dangerous after repeated contact.
There are two main components that worry them. One is additives such as perfume and gel, including those used to enhance absorption or provide adhesion for pads. Another kind may be pollutants containing toxins. For example, raw cotton may contain persistent pesticide residues, and cotton and rayon may leave toxic dioxins after bleaching with chlorine bleach.
Generally speaking, women’s fertility can last for 35 years. If a woman comes to menstruation for five days every month, it is equivalent to spending seven years in her life during menstruation.
According to the Report on Market Competition Pattern and Investment Risk Forecast of Sanitary napkins in China from 2019 to 2025 released by Zhiyan Consulting, in 2017, the consumption of sanitary napkins (including pads) in China increased to 120.01 billion pieces. The market scale expanded to 52.746 billion yuan.
Joseph Merkla, an American surgeon, told the media that because feminine hygiene products are in close contact with sensitive parts for a long time, it can be compared to a "time bomb". "For women who account for about one-third of the population, this is a crucial topic that is rarely discussed."
For a long time, only some sanitary towel manufacturers in the United States will disclose the detailed ingredients of sanitary products on their own websites. Because of the lack of standardized testing methods and information disclosure channels, questions about the safety of sanitary napkins have occurred from time to time all over the world. In 2017, at the "March 15th Party" in China, Consumer Report exposed several major sanitary towel brands such as Susan, Sophie, ABC and Anerle, and all of them detected the migratory fluorescent whitening agent, with the content ranging from 54.9 mg/kg to 386 mg/kg.
In 2018, China issued four national standards for household paper products, including "toilet paper (including toilet paper base)", formulated new revised standards for "sanitary napkins (pads)", added two safety indicators of formaldehyde content and migratory fluorescent substances, used absorption speed instead of infiltration index, added absorption speed measurement method, and adjusted peeling strength measurement method of back adhesive.
Sanitary napkins may cause discomfort to its users. Angela, an American woman, had been very uncomfortable during her menstrual period for more than two years. She saw many gynecologists and received treatment for vaginal infection. By chance, she changed another brand of sanitary napkins and found that the discomfort disappeared.
Earlier this year, a 16-year-old Canadian girl died of toxic shock syndrome. The autopsy report found that the tampon in the girl had Staphylococcus aureus.
According to Liang Haiyan, a gynecologist in China-Japan Friendship Hospital, "Sanitary napkins with poor air permeability will also increase the risk of infection of some diseases. This kind of injury is not necessarily immediate and can be realized immediately. It may be a long-term toxic side effect and may cause some lesions. " But there is no very accurate statistical data at present.
"As a woman who uses these products every month, I want to know what ingredients are in what I put in my body, just like paying attention to food and other sanitary products." Angela said.
Sinnard, a citizen of New York, said: "If we are forced to get infected and are too sick to work, we will lose the security of life. Unless these ingredients are disclosed and fairly studied, we cannot know the impact of sanitary napkins on our bodies. "
Linda Rosenthal, another sponsor of the bill, pointed out in a statement that there are "undisclosed volatile compounds, including known reproductive toxins, such as carbon disulfide and dichloromethane" in menstrual hygiene products. She said that manufacturers will also change the composition of sliver fibers and change the ratio of cotton to synthetic materials such as rayon according to the price of cotton, which consumers do not know.
Laura Strowsfield, co-founder of the American non-profit organization Menstrual Fair, said that because women can’t accurately understand the ingredients in contact products, it will have a potential impact on their health.
The new bill of New York State will take effect in April 2020, and manufacturers must complete the transition before April 2021. Violators will be fined 1% of the manufacturer’s total sales in the state, and each unqualified package will be fined up to $1,000.
We can’t talk freely about our bodies.
On October 12, local time, Rosenthal wrote excitedly on Twitter: "Today, my bill has been signed into law, making New York the first state in the United States to require the disclosure of the ingredients on the packaging of menstrual hygiene products. We have the right to know the ingredients in tampons and pads. I am very happy to lead new york City to realize the real ‘ Menstrual equality ’ 。”
This is a sport that lasts for many years. In the past few years, many people have been insisting on correcting the name of this special period of women, believing that women have the right to equal access to health products and reproductive health education. They called for an end to the sales tax on health products in some states, and promoted the provision of free female products in schools and homeless shelters.
Menstruation is a phenomenon of periodic vaginal bleeding or uterine bleeding in women. Every other month or so, the endometrium undergoes autonomous thickening, vascular proliferation, gland growth and secretion, endometrial collapse and shedding with periodic changes of bleeding.
This physical phenomenon, which exists because human beings carry on their offspring, has long been regarded as the physical shame of women. In ancient Greece, writers at that time believed that menstrual blood had no nutrition at all and must be excreted from the body to maintain balance and health. In the mid-19th century, menstruation was considered as "dirty and shameful blood".
There are many nicknames for menstruation, such as "big aunt" and "m". In France, some people even call menstruation "the British are coming" because they have fought against the British in red uniforms. In Rosenthal’s view, these various and even ridiculous names imply social and cultural misunderstanding and discrimination.
During the 2015 presidential election, Donald Trump, the then Republican candidate, was thought to imply that Megan Kelly, the host of the Republican presidential primary debate, had menstrual cramps because she tweeted, "You can see blood coming out of her eyes and out of her body."
In April 2015, Kieran Gandhi, a 26-year-old British girl, had her period the day before running the London Marathon. She thought it was ridiculous to run 26.2 miles with a cotton cloth between her legs. For comfort, she decided not to use tampons. During the running, her orange pants were stained with dark blood, and someone ran from behind her and said to her in a low voice, "Go find a damn tampon." Her maverick has caused a hot discussion on the Internet. Some people cheered for this Indian girl who graduated from Harvard, while others accused her of being "disgusting" and "unhygienic".
In this regard, she said frankly: "In this discussion, people’s taboos and shame on the topic of menstruation far exceeded my imagination. As far as I can see, the reason why we women can’t make the best decision for ourselves is because we can’t talk about our bodies freely and easily. "
Since the invention of modern sanitary napkins, there are only three ways to handle menstrual blood conveniently, namely sanitary napkins, tampons and menstrual cups. In her view, this is "because no one wants to talk about it, people have slowed down on the road of finding how to deal with this matter better."
In 1921, before the first package of disposable menstrual products entered the pharmacy counter, women handled menstruation in a variety of ways. They use sponges, rags, cotton and other water-absorbing materials to make "menstrual belts". These handmade products are usually bulky and conspicuous, and must be cleaned and dried frequently, which can also cause infection.
With the development of society, disposable sanitary napkins are gradually popularized. But even when they enter the store counter, women’s purchases are silent. They will quietly take down the items and give them to the pharmacy counter, packing them in a box with almost no marks.
In the past half century, the size of sanitary napkins has become smaller and smaller, the packaging has become more portable, and the discussion about it has become more and more open. But many details still reveal a bit embarrassing. In TV advertisements about sanitary napkins, advertising companies still use blue liquid instead of blood to show water absorption, which is considered by many people to affect teenagers’ correct understanding of human physiological phenomena.
Sean Patrick maloney, a representative of the Democratic Party of new york, tweeted: "My office bought tampons for female visitors and employees. Then, we received an e-mail from the internal affairs management Committee, telling us that we could not use the funds to buy necessary sanitary products. This is ridiculous. "
In a private school in Pennsylvania, Vienna Vernos, a senior girl, heard that a boy made a helpless voice when his tampon fell from his backpack. She discussed this issue with her classmates at the seminar on women’s history, and decided to launch the campaign of "Equality of Menstrual Products" and put bowls filled with tampons in public places in schools.
On the sign beside the bowl, she wrote: "These are for anyone who needs them. Never be ashamed of what your body needs. "
"hey! Is this safe? "
For many women, the high price of sanitary napkins has become a problem that affects living expenses. Women often pay a higher amount for products of a specific gender. This unequal consumption is called "pink tax".
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, co-founder of Menstrual Fairness, said: "The tampon tax is based on gender discrimination." Abolishing tax is the first step to realize women’s so-called "menstrual equality", which helps people to obtain safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) once launched a "menstrual expense calculator". Suppose a 55-year-old woman started menstruating at the age of 12. Then she will spend about 1604 pounds on sanitary products in her life, of which the total value-added tax will reach 165 pounds.
It may not sound difficult to buy a box of sanitary napkins a month, but because of the disparity between the rich and the poor, some women from Africa, Asia to Europe and America are facing the problem of "menstrual poverty".
The film "Indian Partner" released in China at the end of last year tells the story of Indian grassroots entrepreneur Arunachalam. Because of the high tariffs on imported sanitary napkins, in 2012, more than 80% of women in India were unable to use sanitary products during the physiological period. With a junior high school education, he independently searched for a low-cost production method of sanitary napkins for his wife’s health.
According to the statistics of online platform "Menstrual Hygiene Day", in Indian cities, 43%-48% girls will use reusable cloth as sanitary napkins, but most of these cloths are not washed with clean water and soap, thus affecting reproductive health.
In rural areas, many women even use unsanitary materials such as old rags, chaff, dried leaves, grass, charcoal ash, sand and newspapers to absorb their menstrual blood because they can’t afford safe and hygienic physiological supplies.
In many parts of Africa, poor women drop out of school because of menstruation, can’t work, and even have to sell their bodies to get money to buy sanitary napkins.
This is a serious problem even in developed countries. According to a report in the Mirror, more than 137,000 girls in Britain "drop out of school because they can’t afford sanitary products" every year. Last year, the average time for female students to be absent from school was five days.
At the beginning of 2016, Ms. Meng noticed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not allow homeless assistance funds to be used for feminine hygiene products, even though these products covered soap, sanitary napkins, toothpaste and underwear. She turned to the then Secretary of Homeland Security for help. The other party affirmed her proposal and told her that these items would be added to the list of allowed purchases.
Between 2016 and 2018, Nevada, New York, Florida, Connecticut and Illinois in the United States abolished the sanitary towel tax, and many other States are also proposing relevant bills. Worldwide, Canada, India, Malaysia and Australia have abolished this tax, but the EU has not yet passed the relevant regulations. Once the Brexit negotiations reach an agreement, Britain is also expected to cancel the "sanitary towel tax".
During 20 years’ medical experience, Liang Haiyan found that many women were under physical and even psychological pressure because they didn’t know their bodies well enough. Every "Women’s Day", she will always be invited to give a lecture. After a 40-minute class, there will be countless questions waiting for her, most of which belong to basic common sense. Because some social and cultural factors make it difficult for them to talk at ordinary times, I really have the opportunity to ask a doctor, and everyone can’t wait to have questions.
Christina Baubert, president of the menstrual cycle research society and professor of women’s gender and sexuality studies at Boston University, believes that "because women are ashamed of menstruation, they only want to clean it in the most effective way, and usually don’t study the impact of ingredients, quality or materials on the environment". This also provides convenience for companies that are unwilling to disclose ingredients.
"Information is power. Labels can encourage people to know more about quality and safety and have higher requirements. " She believes that when the law comes into effect, when people pick up these colorful packages again in grocery stores or pharmacies, they can see the ingredients at a glance and think, "Hey! What is this? Is this safe? "
China Youth Daily China Youth Network reporter Jiangshan Source: China Youth Daily
