Scotland has become the first country in the world to legally enshrine the right to free period products and the Period Poverty monster is making headlines again.

Don't get me wrong, I think that having free period products in schools or public toilettes is actually a great thing, but I completely disagree with the narrative. Period poverty is made up problem pushed by the same people who build their careers on the "women are oppressed" narrative.

For instance, the Times.com quotes a study that claims that

two thirds of the 17 million people living in poverty who menstruate (sic) in the US could not afford menstrual products in the past year, with a half of this needing to choose between menstrual products and food.

Really? I mean, I am not one of those people who menstruate myself, but I am a father and a husband and I am financially literate. A menstruation pad costs anywhere from 10 to 30 cents (I was told a menstruation cup is even more cost effective anyway). This BBC article says a typical menstruation costs up to (emphasis mine) £8 for tampons and pads, concluding that "some women struggle to afford the cost".

To put this number into perspective:

  • Universal credit in the UK for a single person is £335 / month. £8 from that is 2.3%.
  • Benefit cap in the UK for a single person living outside of London is £1117 / month. £8 from that is 0.7%.

In any case, the cost of menstruation per one month is less than a the cost of a very cheap meal per one day. If period poverty was real shouldn't we address the mass starvation first? Jokes aside, 70% of homeless are men and period poverty is a red herring.

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PS: Similarly, we often hear claims that period products are taxed with a "luxury tax rate". I am no expert on tax codes globally, but I this claim is almost certainly bullshit in every single country in the world. It is true that period products are often taxed with the "standard rate", as opposed to the "reduced rate", but that is usually true for all other necessary hygienic products like tooth paste, soap and toilette paper. I support moving all those into whatever "reduced rate" your tax code offers, but don't give me the bullshit about luxury tax.