Access to feminine hygiene and care products can affect a person’s health and education. Graphic by The Signal reporter Estefany Sanchez.
Recently, on both college campuses and on social media, a battle of ideas has broken out about fairness in feminine issues, and it is a bloody one. Two noteworthy positions oppose each other on the topic of feminine hygiene product accessibility in public restrooms.
On one side, there are those who believe that since women’s menstrual cycles are natural bodily functions, there should be free feminine hygiene products provided in every public restroom. Just as no one has to carry toilet paper around in case they need to use a public toilet, some would argue that women should not have to supply their own hygiene products to deal with their periods.
On the other hand, there are those who stand for personal responsibility of bodily care, including, for women, purchasing and maintaining their own menstrual supplies.
Menstruation sucks, period. It is especially inconvenient when “Aunt Flow” shows up unexpectedly or catches its receiver unprepared. Nuisances like unexpected period problems can create stress, cause embarrassment or lead to missed class or study time when the required supplies are unavailable. This is why the current provisions for those who menstruate on campus are somewhat dissatisfactory.
Acknowledging the understocked, out-of-date, and often, out-of-order feminine hygiene vending machines currently installed on campus, the University of Houston-Clear Lake now faces the issue of how to best move forward to improve the experience in campus bathrooms for female students and employees. Currently, feminine hygiene products are available for free in case of emergency in at least two offices on campus, including the Office of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Health Services.
While these offices’ consideration and generosity should be much appreciated, a woman’s urgent need for supplies when the restroom’s out-of-order vending machine fails to meet it makes the trek across campus for a tampon or pad difficult. The issue certainly deserves discussion, but to what length should school leadership, facilities and funding go to improve the situation?
Should all campus restrooms provide tampons and pads to students and employees free of cost? Should a significant time and money investment be made in the name of “fairness,” so that the span of supplies provided for natural bodily functions is more encompassing?
If so, where then will the line be drawn? What about those who deal with much heavier menstrual cycles, requiring different supplies than the standard? What about those with specific allergies to products’ materials? What about those with particular preferences toward certain products’ qualities?
To freely provide hygiene products in campus restrooms opens an entirely new can of worms in which a well-intended operation to better serve those who menstruate turns into a frustrating realization that as more is given, more is demanded. As the illusion of entitlement and deservedness heightens, it becomes unmanageable.
Unquestionably, the broken machines on campus should be restored to working order. Understocked machines should be continually restocked with fresh and up-to-date products to ensure safe use and so that no student should have to suffer the stress or humiliation of a messy situation with no immediate relief.
Possibly, better signage could also be implemented to direct students in need to the different offices on campus which supply feminine products in case of emergency, free of cost. Those without the financial means to provide products for themselves should know that there are resources available at the Hawk Food Pantry that can help meet their need.
Beyond that, those who deal with menstrual cycles should be responsible for maintaining their personal supply of preferred hygiene products to best care for their bodies on a continual basis.
Difficult, annoying and inconvenient things are simply unavoidable fixtures of life, no matter who you are, and a woman’s menstrual cycle is a lovely example. Personal responsibility is paramount for individuals to care for the predictable personal issues they encounter, like periods. Sadly, it seems to be a waning concept in 2020.
Thankfully, this modern world offers astounding resources to help individuals take control of their personal matters, including nifty digital apps that help women track their cycles and be better prepared with hygiene supplies or loose change to operate restroom vending machines. From time to time, no matter how accurate a person’s tracking or how prepared they have committed to being, surely there will be instances when a period problem arises, and they find themselves without the supplies they need. For only this reason, UHCL should simply fix and restock the machines already in place.
It is undeniably awesome that senior leadership and students alike are openly talking about once-taboo topics, like the female menstrual cycle and how to be more considerate of women’s needs. What’s even cooler is that such a discussion opens the floor for a broader, less approachable discussion in 2020 – the one about personal responsibility versus entitlement. Not only in their decision regarding feminine hygiene accessibility on campus, but in all things, as an institution of higher learning, UHCL should consider how to best educate people to help themselves.
It is a privilege to have access to education, to freely voice public concerns or to hold such helpful technology in the palm of a hand, as it is a freedom to have working plumbing, freely supplied toilet paper, sanitary toilet seat liners, soap and paper towels. These advantages are much too easily forgotten and underappreciated.
As more and more privileges seem to rain from the sky, awareness and appreciation of their value is diluted at the expense of federal, state, foundation and corporate funding sources. “Free,” unlimited, feminine hygiene products available in campus restrooms might sound like a noble idea to many, but the long-term implications create a snowball of entitlement which represents a much bigger problem than menstrual cycle inconveniences and one that should be intentionally and vigorously avoided.
COMMENTARY: Period problems persist but personal responsibility prevails
Addressing the accessibility of feminine hygiene products on campus
Recently, on both college campuses and on social media, a battle of ideas has broken out about fairness in feminine issues, and it is a bloody one. Two noteworthy positions oppose each other on the topic of feminine hygiene product accessibility in public restrooms.
On one side, there are those who believe that since women’s menstrual cycles are natural bodily functions, there should be free feminine hygiene products provided in every public restroom. Just as no one has to carry toilet paper around in case they need to use a public toilet, some would argue that women should not have to supply their own hygiene products to deal with their periods.
On the other hand, there are those who stand for personal responsibility of bodily care, including, for women, purchasing and maintaining their own menstrual supplies.
Menstruation sucks, period. It is especially inconvenient when “Aunt Flow” shows up unexpectedly or catches its receiver unprepared. Nuisances like unexpected period problems can create stress, cause embarrassment or lead to missed class or study time when the required supplies are unavailable. This is why the current provisions for those who menstruate on campus are somewhat dissatisfactory.
Acknowledging the understocked, out-of-date, and often, out-of-order feminine hygiene vending machines currently installed on campus, the University of Houston-Clear Lake now faces the issue of how to best move forward to improve the experience in campus bathrooms for female students and employees. Currently, feminine hygiene products are available for free in case of emergency in at least two offices on campus, including the Office of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Health Services.
While these offices’ consideration and generosity should be much appreciated, a woman’s urgent need for supplies when the restroom’s out-of-order vending machine fails to meet it makes the trek across campus for a tampon or pad difficult. The issue certainly deserves discussion, but to what length should school leadership, facilities and funding go to improve the situation?
Should all campus restrooms provide tampons and pads to students and employees free of cost? Should a significant time and money investment be made in the name of “fairness,” so that the span of supplies provided for natural bodily functions is more encompassing?
If so, where then will the line be drawn? What about those who deal with much heavier menstrual cycles, requiring different supplies than the standard? What about those with specific allergies to products’ materials? What about those with particular preferences toward certain products’ qualities?
To freely provide hygiene products in campus restrooms opens an entirely new can of worms in which a well-intended operation to better serve those who menstruate turns into a frustrating realization that as more is given, more is demanded. As the illusion of entitlement and deservedness heightens, it becomes unmanageable.
Unquestionably, the broken machines on campus should be restored to working order. Understocked machines should be continually restocked with fresh and up-to-date products to ensure safe use and so that no student should have to suffer the stress or humiliation of a messy situation with no immediate relief.
Possibly, better signage could also be implemented to direct students in need to the different offices on campus which supply feminine products in case of emergency, free of cost. Those without the financial means to provide products for themselves should know that there are resources available at the Hawk Food Pantry that can help meet their need.
Beyond that, those who deal with menstrual cycles should be responsible for maintaining their personal supply of preferred hygiene products to best care for their bodies on a continual basis.
Difficult, annoying and inconvenient things are simply unavoidable fixtures of life, no matter who you are, and a woman’s menstrual cycle is a lovely example. Personal responsibility is paramount for individuals to care for the predictable personal issues they encounter, like periods. Sadly, it seems to be a waning concept in 2020.
Thankfully, this modern world offers astounding resources to help individuals take control of their personal matters, including nifty digital apps that help women track their cycles and be better prepared with hygiene supplies or loose change to operate restroom vending machines. From time to time, no matter how accurate a person’s tracking or how prepared they have committed to being, surely there will be instances when a period problem arises, and they find themselves without the supplies they need. For only this reason, UHCL should simply fix and restock the machines already in place.
It is undeniably awesome that senior leadership and students alike are openly talking about once-taboo topics, like the female menstrual cycle and how to be more considerate of women’s needs. What’s even cooler is that such a discussion opens the floor for a broader, less approachable discussion in 2020 – the one about personal responsibility versus entitlement. Not only in their decision regarding feminine hygiene accessibility on campus, but in all things, as an institution of higher learning, UHCL should consider how to best educate people to help themselves.
It is a privilege to have access to education, to freely voice public concerns or to hold such helpful technology in the palm of a hand, as it is a freedom to have working plumbing, freely supplied toilet paper, sanitary toilet seat liners, soap and paper towels. These advantages are much too easily forgotten and underappreciated.
As more and more privileges seem to rain from the sky, awareness and appreciation of their value is diluted at the expense of federal, state, foundation and corporate funding sources. “Free,” unlimited, feminine hygiene products available in campus restrooms might sound like a noble idea to many, but the long-term implications create a snowball of entitlement which represents a much bigger problem than menstrual cycle inconveniences and one that should be intentionally and vigorously avoided.