Imagine starting your period at school, and upon going to the bathroom, there are no period proucts available to you. Nobody should have to improvise with Shorewood’s paper-thin toilet paper—the school should already provide free period products in every single bathroom.

According to the financial website Dollars and Sense, the average menstruator will spend around $18,000 on menstrual products over their lifetime. 

While Shorewood offers free pads and tampons, only six out of 11 of Shorewood’s women’s bathrooms have period product dispensers available. To make periods more accessible for everyone, Shorewood needs to provide period products in all bathrooms. 

In the US, women are 5.06 percent more likely to be in poverty. Meaning for many women, $18,000 a year just isn’t possible. 

Not to mention, 25 percent of Shorewood’s students are struggling with poverty. Having period products in every bathroom would benefit families that are struggling financially and possibly can’t fit period products into their budget. 

Having free period products in the women’s bathrooms is an amazing first step but there is also the fact that none of Shorewood’s men’s bathrooms have period products as an additional issue. When transgender students who identify as male but still get their period go to the bathroom, they should have access to period products. 

No student should need to go into a bathroom they don’t feel comfortable in just to receive the products they need for a completely natural process. While the nurse’s office will supply you with period products upon request, some students may feel uncomfortable with having to ask.

There is a major problem that comes with adding period products to men’s bathrooms: period shame. Many cisgender men find periods to be gross or even something to be ashamed of. This shame around menstruation comes from a lack of education on periods and how they work. 

The best way to avoid the stigma of having a period would be to change the way we teach health and make sure we are properly educating everyone on a process that is happening to people all around them.

Altering our health curriculum would be the most effective method but not the most reasonable. Putting period products in the men’s bathrooms would be a more realistic solution and be a giant step in the path of normalizing periods. 

So not only would putting period products in all bathrooms benefit Shorewood’s trans community, it would also benefit every single menstruator walking Shorewood’s halls. This small change could mean no more awkward pants checks to make sure you haven’t leaked, no more going around to every bathroom to find period products, and definitely no more shame. If everyone were exposed to period products on a regular basis the way we see periods would be much less stigmatized.

I do applaud Shorewood for having free period products at all. I was scared that I might walk into the bathroom and find that I needed a quarter to receive a period product. Thankfully, I did not need to bring my wallet. Most menstruators will know that there is nothing worse than leaking because of low quality period products and the quality of both the Shorewood pads and tampons were better than expected. 

The issues I am bringing to the table all have one simple and easy solution: put free period products in all of the bathrooms. 

Every student should have the right to access period products when needed. I have never seen menstruation as a luxury, and therefore its products shouldn’t be considered one.