Why feminism has interests to attack the industry of tampons?

Essay

TOPIC

Why feminism has interests to attack the patriarcal industry of tampons?

With more and more cases of toxic shock syndromes (an infection caused by the use of tampons), the VAT tax unchanged in UK and France and their controversial composition, tampons are the new trending topic for months.

Represented by big brands owned by bigger groups, such as Tampax belonging to Procter & Gamble, or Johnson & Johnson with Vania, social networks are getting more and more demanding of informations and transparency about a product that is designed to be introduce into the body and to be in contact with blood; a product from the trust industry.

Tampons aren’t a major crisis such as the Attacks in Paris or the Syrian affair, though many consumers talk about it on social networks and on blogs; there are real debates around this product and what we can notice is that the industry of tampons doesn’t participate to them. In this trust industry, women are getting sick or sometimes killed by a piece of cotton (at least this is what industries want women to think it is). So since then, we can be more likely to ask « why tampons are getting the new feminist struggle which can lead to a better appreciation of the women in our society?»

THE VAT AFFAIR THAT REAFFIRMED THE POSITION

OF WOMEN IN THE ECONOMY

In the night of the 14th of november, the National Assembly refused the bring the VAT of tampons to 5.5% despite the request of Catherine Coutelle, actual president of the Woman Rights in the French Assembly. Although Catherine Coutelle supported the petition launched by the association called Georgette Sand (which got 17,000 signatures) in order to bring the VAT of tampons to the same as basic needs products, Christian Eckert, actual secretary of Budget, opposed this decrease because of the loss of 55 millions euros for the French State. To justify this opposition, Christian Eckert mentioned the shaving foam products also taxed to 20%. What Christian Eckert forgot is that lots of women also use shaving foams products (that is more expensive when it is announced « for women »), and many women don’t understand the comparison between shaving, which is more of an esthetic problem, and the use of tampons, which is an hygiene problem.

This decrease represents 60 cents by box of tampons. It’s not a big difference, indeed, but it’s a matter of appreciation by the society. Many women think that this decision to not accept to bring the VAT to 5,5% is a patriarchal and economical decision and results in making woman self-guilty of shameful for their body and that it’s completely fair to make they pay for what nature cursed them to have each month. The debate in UK led to the same result than the French one. However, the actions in UK are about more than just a VAT issue; women ask for free tampons in public toilets; why is there free toilet paper and no free tampons? Since the two are an hygiene matter, it should be treated as the same.

THE WORLDWIDE POISONING OF WOMEN

In june 2015, Lauren Wasser, model, is interviewed by the magazine Vice and tell her story with tampons. She got an agressive infection which quickly led to the amputation of her right leg. Three years after this event in her life, Lauren, using her fame to bring it on the public scene, decides to sue the american company that distributes the brand which infected her; Kimberley-Clark and its brand Kotex.

This news is supported by another one 3 months later; Jemma-Louise Roberts, a 13 year old girl died because of her firsts tampons.

Today, women alla round the world are calling into question the guaranteed safety of tampons, and a french petition is getting more and more signatures since it brings attention of Procter & Gamble on the fact that no one can have access to the actual composition of its tampons. This petition is widely supported by feminist associations and even the very known french consumer association « 60 millions de consommateurs »; this association has the power to kill a product in France by publishing a very bad review in their monthly published magazine. Today, this association announces its will to investigate into the tampons industry and its composition, and we can already assume it won’t be a good promotion.

American consumers have been inspired by these actions and are planning to put those tampons industries into heavy pressures; the phenomenon is getting worldwide each day and a real « tampon-industry bashing » is born.

Like Kimberley-Clark and its brand Kotex which is questioned because of Lauren Wasser, answers brought by Procter & Gamble don’t satisfy people’s needs of informations, and just reaffirms the perfect safety and the security of tampons in terms of composition. However, on october the 27th, Kimberley-Clark and Procter & Gambler accept to tell a bit more about the composition of their products; « for a perfect transparency and in response to recent consumers’ questions, we published the composition of Kotex on our website » says a representatives of the brand. As far as Procter & gamble is concerned, a product manager of Tampax declared that their products are only made of cotton and of viscose. Those actions, without reassuring worried consumers, made the tampons affair even bigger. A few days following these statements, a disturbing study is published by an argentinian laboratory of La Plata University proves that 85% of tampons and pads actually contains Round Up. Round Up is a very controversial chemical created ans distributed by Monsanto and used as an herbicide. This Chemical product is acknowledged as highly carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Right away, the news is widely spread worldwide and consumers are more worried than ever. Let’s remember that a women has to use 10,000 tampons or pads in her life. This means that women are 10,000 times exposed to a highly carcinogenic products for hours, and they put it directly into their blood system unknowingly.

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