College Students Fake Menstrual Stains to Protest Lack of "Free" Hygiene Products
“I think you all collectively benefit from me not bleeding in your seat.”
1.25.2018
22
Some students at the University of Florida are not happy that sanitary products such as tampons and pads are not given to them for "free" by the university, and had a rather odd way of showing it. Campus Reform reports that a group held an event called "Seeing Red" which, well, I'll let them explain it:
Are you frustrated about not having free menstrual products? Well this is the protest for you.This is a bleeeed-in. We'll be wearing washable red dye on our bums, as if we didn’t have a pad and the blood bled through. Then walk the day with it, to demonstrate how much we care for it.
These students are taking this bizarre action because the student government recently voted against providing these products without charge. They pointed out that there is a pantry on campus that does that very thing, but the protestors felt it was insufficient by limiting students to three bags per week, each containing eight tampons, five liners, and five pads. There was some concern that student fees should not go towards “funding that would only benefit the female half of the UF student body.” They should have known better than to go there. Sophia Ahmed, one of the organizers of the protest said
“I say menstrual not feminine because menstruation should not be gendered. Some men get periods.”
Then there's Jenny Boylan a 30 year-old political science doctorate student, who said “If you’re disgusted with our bloody pants, then maybe you should rethink whether or not this is important for everybody or if everybody would use it. I think you all collectively benefit from me not bleeding in your seat.” They are definitely winning hearts and minds with this.
Campus Reform reports that it might have worked. Two students senators say they're working on getting the $5,000 in funding. If they needed only $5,000, I think the 24 women who took part could probably have raised that themselves without walking around with fake blood on their pants. Wouldn't it have been more empowering to solve the problem yourselves?
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