If you're on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram or any other kind of time-killing social network you've most likely
seen many a selfie of people, famous and civilian alike, posing with tampons
along with the hashtag, Just a Tampon. You may have also seen the word
'Trousers' been thrown around, slightly confusing if you’re not aware of the
background story…
Plan UK have partnered with V
Point News to break the taboo around menstruation and women’s sanitary items by
inviting people to share selfies with tampons (or pads, whatever floats your
boat) and text TAMPON to 70007 to donate £3 to Plan UK. The aim of the campaignis to raise awareness of, and hopefully abolish, the VAT on these ‘luxury’ (as if) items. This will hopefully empower women
to feel that the period is no longer a subject to be ashamed of, the word no
longer muttered from the corner of your mouth to friends when the monthly cramps
inevitably grace you (hurrah if you’re already in that place - confidence not cramps). There are two
painful memories that spring to mind when I think of periods, my first when I
was in Year 5 of primary school (I developed at the speed of light) and I had
to run into the disabled toilet at school to change. Embarrassing not only
because I didn’t personally know any other girls suffering this (however I knew they existed from the cute range of bags hanging on the back of the toilet door, each holding our
precious sanitary items – I still remember mine was white with blue seashells
on it) but also because the toilet was directly opposite the staff room. GOD
FORBID I was caught sneaking out of the ‘teachers only except for poor little
girls on their period’ toilet, it would have crushed my ten year old soul. The
other is when, at a much older age, I came on unexpectedly and had to rush to
Boots to try and purchase some much needed tampons. I say ‘try’ – I was
completely broke. I went to pay with my Boots points and to my horror, and of the
woman who was serving me, I was something like 4p too short. What followed was
a look of pity and an uncomfortable few hours till I went home.
Just because men aren’t lucky
enough to have the monthly gift from Mother Nature this isn’t a campaign that excludes
men; V Point News website states that ‘sharing different viewpoints,
experiences and ideas: that is how real gender quality is achieved.’ Okay, so
it isn’t likely that when you’ve run out of tampons a man is going to be the
saviour handing you the emergency one, but it would be nice to have a little
more understanding around the subject that affects women worldwide every month.
The wonder that is Jon Snow
(Channel 4, not GoT) was one of the recent celebrities appearing slightly flummoxed
while posing with a tampon in aid of #JustATampon. His photo stirred outrage
from one twitter user, Bruce Everiss. To Jon Snow’s tweet supporting the
abolition of tax on tampons, Everiss responded ‘Why? Many other necessities of
life are taxed.’ Other users chimed in, trying to illustrate the point that
tampons are a necessity to women, so being taxed on the item was essentially
being taxed for being female (you can read the full conversation here). Everiss
finally retorted to one tweet that asked him what male only taxes there were –
his answer, a simple one word response – ‘Trousers.’ So, it’s far to say the
point V Point made about sharing experiences and ideas didn’t account for the
views of the charming Everiss. Feeling so enraged about the subject of tax free
Tampons, he felt the need to go write a blog post on the subject.
Everiss introduces himself on his
little corner of the internet with the statement that his blog is a ‘reasonable person’s sensible commentary on the political environment.’ Few words of this
are accurate; he definitely commentates but there isn’t much of his article ‘Nutty
Feminists and their Tampons’ that strikes me as ‘reasonable,’ much less so ‘sensible.’
In fact, Everiss’s short blog (thank gosh for that) strikes me as the view of a
man who hasn’t really ever encountered an everyday woman. Literally, ever. It
makes me wonder about his dear mum, or perhaps a lack of sisters and the
(SURELY) distinct absence of a female gender offspring. The lack of
empathy for women and misguided ideas on feminism borders on hatred for
females. There is a dangerous lack of awareness and compassion in his blog - read with trepidation.
He begins his blog by boldly
stating that the feminist movement ‘doesn’t care and is doing nothing about’
the young girls and women being raped in the Middle East, or girls being
subjected to FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). Apparently we’re more concerned
with ‘growing then dying [..] underarm hair.’ These unfounded views are enough
of a reason for Everiss to brand the feminist movement as ‘utterly pathetic.’
He fails to acknowledge the work of Amnesty International, an organisation recognised
as fighting for the basic human rights that every person should be entitled
to, often focusing on women and girls rights as they are so routinely
denied to females around the world. The video below is of an art event Amnesty International held in an effort to end FGM.
I don’t know if the women who
attended would label themselves as feminists, but they’re definitely women
fighting for a cause they care passionately about – there goes Everiss’s point
that women ‘don’t care.’ What baffles me about this flippant point of his is
how he can disregard, and ultimately shame women for being feminist in the same
sentence that he describes the atrocities that many women face. His definition
of feminism is dangerous; it’s his kind of ignorant attitude that makes people
think feminism is a dirty word, applied to extremists who loathe men. Feminism,
as simply as I can put it, is the principle of advocating rights of women to
equal those of men. Anyone can be a feminist. Men can be (and are, believe it
or not - click here to see some friendly male famous feminist faces) feminists. However for the likes of Everiss it seems it is easier to dismiss
women as image-obsessed, callous individuals ignoring the bigger picture rather
than admitting we might, actually, have a really good point about sanitary
items being tax free. ‘Trousers,’ to me, is a very weak dispute for women’s
liberation.
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