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by franky47 2619 days ago
This "life tax" is hardly a surprise when most governments and boards of directors are made of mostly men, who have been taught not to ever speak about these issues (a taboo due to religious or social beliefs).

Now if there's a way to make money, suddenly it becomes an attractive subject for some, but the liberation of women with reusable products (menstrual cup, washable pads and period pants) will always come second to potential wealth increase with single-use solutions, especially for someone who does now experience the "problem" in the first place.

Worse than all that, the people in charge of pushing single-use products genuinely believe they are helping out women, when in reality we see cases of toxic shock syndrome due to chemicals in tampons, and the ecological impact of such single-use products.

My wife has been using reusable solutions for a few years now, the cup and period pants being the most liberating according to her.
2 comments
DoreenMichele 2619 days ago
who have been taught not to ever speak about these issues (a taboo due to religious or social beliefs).

More basically, men simply won't know or the importance won't cross their mind, even if they do kind of know.

I do my best to leave informative comments on HN with details men are unlikely to know, such as this comment:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19594977

I will add that the high cost of feminine hygiene products is a problem for a lot of poor American women. It isn't covered by Food Stamps. Homeless services have limited quantities of such things. Etc.

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bastardchild 2618 days ago
Admittedly, the majority of women around me sticks to non-reusable solutions not because they don't know, but because they feel more comfortable with things they can just throw away when dirty.

That being said, I'm on the fence about believing this is more than a question of habit vs an actual thing that will bug you. After all, the average US woman seems to be completely thrown about how you can use a tampon without an applicator. In Europe if you ask for them, most people won't even know what you mean and I don't see what their appeal is, but if that is what you grew up with....

(edit) Just to clarify, I also use a cup and it has upsides and downsides, but overall to me it is a net win.

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