Life is just different as a woman. Now this is not a political story. No talk about politics of gender equality, just how life comes at women in a different light. Everyone knows it’s a man's world so what are some everyday problems of just being a woman?
Senior Rylie Dix first response was.
“People don’t take you seriously, people don’t ask me to do heavier things or physical things,” said Dix. Most people tend to look at women as ‘doll like’ meaning they don’t ask women to do hard things. Now who would you ask the tiny girl or the big dude, yeah there’s your answer.
More everyday problems added by Junior Amanda Gurule.
“Brushing hair, makeup, picking a nice outfit,” said Gurule.
Women are judged harshly by how they look. Everyone is but women have higher expectations. A man can have short hair all you have to do is brush it, no make up required, and a button down shirt and dress pants and you’re set.
On the other side women have to straighten or curl hair, makeup and such. Now for clothes it’s harder a dress could work unless you don’t want to look too feminine because that’s a thing also you need to decide on heels or flats in some business it is mandatory you wear heels because people like how they look.
Looking good came up again with Sophomore Ashley Bassett
“Girls tend to judge each other by their looks. If you don’t have the “good looks” then they won't accept you. Boys don’t judge other boys by how they look,” said Bassett.
Girls often see each other as competition rather than friends. Women sometimes use each other to climb the ladders in life. We can’t be seen with a slob or someone who doesn't fit the social standards.
Now the ball is sometimes in our court. Life is sometimes easier being a women.
“You don’t have to do physical stuff, people will offer to do stuff for you. I guess that’s a double though because you're not challenging yourself,” said Dix.
With people holding doors and paying for dates it makes it a little bit harder to feel bad about being a women. Only a little.
Now taxes are important because they help pay for roads and other stuff that is important. Most people have heard of the Pink tax. Should products such as tampons and other female hygiene products.
Senior Kaitlyn Pfeifer said, “Certain things like medicals supplies and food items are tax exempt because they are deemed as a necessity but the government won’t make sanctuary products necessity.”
With products like men’s razors being tax exempt you don’t have to reach far to see why some women would get upset. Money doesn't grow on trees.
“I didn’t ask to have a period, give me free tampons,” said Dix. When the only reason we use tampons it to keep us clean. Also no one wants blood everywhere.
Junior Laney Kerstetter said, “ Tampons should be widely available to everybody, free of charge.”
With 25 cent tampons available in some bathrooms it is expected that we carry change. No one does that. Most the time these machines are not filled and or not there. Most of the time the one in the girl’s bathrooms here are empty.
Life gets in the way of things sometimes girls are here at school when Aunt P comes to town. What do you do when you have no back up? You can’t get it in the bathrooms, the machines are not an option. The thing is the fact that these are taxed as a luxury product is frustrating.
Life is a shade of pink. Women are often given the short end of the stick. With lower pay and other things it’s not easy. Maybe it’s time to like they say “walk a mile in someone else's shoes” before you dismiss a woman's complainants.
Side bar
“ On average, a woman has her period from three to seven days and the average woman menstruates from age 13 until age 51. That means the average woman endures some 456 total periods over 38 years, or roughly 2,280 days with her period — 6.25 years of her life.
midol
You can only take up to six caplets a day, and for those who have cramps they last on average up to two days. You can get a pack at $8.99 at Walgreens.
12 caplets x 456 periods = 5,472 caplets. At 40 caplets per container, that’s 136.8 Midol purchases x $8.99 = $1,229.83
Tampons
There are other options, but 70 percent of women use tampons. We need to change them up to 4 to 8 hours, so that's about six hours as an average. A box containing 36 tampons costs $7 at Walgreens.
1 tampon every 6 hours = 4 tampons per day x 5 days of a period = 20 tampons per cycle x 456 periods = 9,120 tampons. At 36 tampons per box, that’s 253.3 boxes x $7 = $1,773.33
Panty liners
Some women prefer pads and some combine tampons with panty liners as a backup. For our purposes, we’ll say that women use an average of five liners per period. A box containing 36 panty liners costs $7 at Walgreens.
5 liners per cycle x 456 periods = 2,280 pads. At 36 pads per box, that’s 63.3 boxes x $7 = $443.33
New underwear due to stains
Leaking happens to nearly all women, usually causing permanent stains on your underwear. Women own an average of 34 pairs of underwear, and we’ll assume each woman bleeds through one pair of underwear per period. One pair of underwear is about $5 at Target.
1 $5 pair of underwear per period x 456 periods = $2,280
Chocolate or sugary treats for cravings during PMS
This one may not affect everyone, but for this round up, we’ll say that a woman buys one chocolate bar (or another kind of food she is craving) around the time of her period.
1 bar of chocolate per period x 456 periods x $2 per bar = $912
Acne medication for breakouts
Acne medication lasts for quite some time, so this Neutrogena spot cream, which costs $7.49 at Walgreens, would last an average of three years if only used during that time of the month.
38 years of periods divided by 3 years = 12.6 x $7.49 per tube = $94.87
Birth control
Studies show that about 80 percent of women use oral contraception at some point in their lives. This monthly purchase adds up if it isn’t covered by health insurance — and 33 percent of women who are covered still pay some money out-of-pocket. Pills from Planned Parenthood cost anywhere from nothing to $50 per month, so for our graph, we set an average of $25.
$25 per month x 456 periods = $11,400”
Said Jessica Kane Director of Millennial Outreach, The Huffington Post
That adds up to $12,000.