Running head: THE PINK TAX 1

The Pink Tax

Samantha E. Neal

Piketon Jr/Sr High School

Author Note

First paragraph: introduction to what exactly the Pink Tax is and what the essay will

consist of

Second paragraph: tampons, pads, and other menstrual items are, ironically, considered a

luxury item in many states in the US

Third paragraph: some states have already taken action and abolished the tax

Fourth paragraph: consists of a self conducted survey which includes five questions to

help with empirical reasoning on opposing opinions, along with deductions on the outcome of

the research

Fifth paragraph: concluding thoughts were that the school education system should

include teaching boys about female menstruation to eliminate ignorance

THE PINK TAX 2

Sixth paragraph: conclusion paragraph that rephrases the entirety of the essay along with

a formal state of action at the end.

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Abstract

The Pink Tax is an extra tax on certain products or services that mostly affect women. Of

these products, menstrual items are included. Many states label these items as a luxury item, but

those of us who know what a period is and knows the definition of luxury can agree that it is

anything but. Opposing arguments like to compare these items to soap, toilet paper, and

band-aids but it is much easier to go without those than to try to go without a pad, tampon, or

menstrual cup. Eleven states have exempted the tax and there is a movement currently going on

to increase that number. To test a self made hypothesis on why some people oppose the

movement, I conducted a survey to deduce the reasoning behind many of the responders. Many

responders logic was faulty, without reason, and many other responders were never even taught

about menstruation in school. My conclusion was that people are just uneducated on the subject

of periods and the Americas school education system needs to include boys in their teachings

about menstruation to eliminate negative stigmas.

THE PINK TAX 4

The Pink Tax

Introduction

To begin discussing the outcome of this research paper, one must understand the

proposed topic; for starters, what is the pink tax? The pink tax refers to the extra amount women

are charged for certain products or services. Things like dry cleaning, personal care products and

vehicle maintenance (Elliott). Though the Pink Tax is a more broad term, this paper focuses

on one certain area of items that are taxed this way; womens menstrual items are taxed as a

luxury item, and wrongly so. The focus of this essay is to shed light on the subject and to deduce

the reasoning of opposing arguments.

The Luxury Tax

In many states, menstrual items such as pads, tampons, menstrual cups, etc., are taxed as

a luxury. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of luxury is the state of great comfort

and extravagant living (Webster). The majority of people who know what a period is can agree

that it is not extravagant living when it is your time of the month, nor is it great comfort. It

does not make sense to the rest of us who understand how periods work as to why menstrual

items are being labeled as a luxury good; but the disagreement comes down to the question that

is always asked: if other necessities are taxed like soap, band-aids, and toilet paper, why should

tampons be exempted from that and receive special treatment? 0ne can do without a bar a soap,

bandages can be improvised and that there is plenty of toilet paper in public restrooms. It is quite

easy to find ways around these items but it is not so easy for women to find ways around using
THE PINK TAX 5

menstrual items. Women can not simply go without tampons, pads, etc., without being prone to

reproductive infection and public humiliation.

Taking Action

Though this tax may seem incredibly unfair, to most people, there are still some states

that have taken action and abolished the unjust requirement. The most recent state to join the

bandwagon is New York and the bill was passed on July 21, 2016, and took effect on September

1st of the same year. While the bill was being signed, Governor Andrew Cuomo stated, This is

a regressive tax on essential products that women have had to pay for far too long and lifting it is

a matter of social and economic justice (Weiss 2016). Massachusetts is the next on the list but is

also one of the five states, along with Minnesota, to drop the tax between 1975 and 2005.

Pennsylvania declares tampons and other "similar items used for feminine hygiene" non-taxable,

it also exempts toilet paper and diapers tax-exempt for consistency's sake. New Jersey makes

pads and tampons tax-exempt, along with a number of other useful period-related items like

heating pads and birth control preparations. Maryland designates pads and tampons as medical

items that aren't taxable, along with baby oil and baby powder. Delaware doesn't have a sales tax,

and neither do Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, or Alaska, so naturally, they don't have a

tampon tax (Weiss 2016).

Empirical Research

To begin trying to answer any further questions on the morality of the tax, I had to

conduct a survey to test whether people were uneducated or simply just did not agree. I created a

survey of only five questions to test my hypothesis that most people are uneducated on different
THE PINK TAX 6

aspects of the menstrual cycle and to try to deduce the reasoning behind some of the

disagreements.

Question 1

My first question is solely there to set up the first step to prove my own hypothesis.

Question one consists of stating whether one is male or female so it made it easier to judge their

education on the subject of menstruation. 67 people took my survey and of those people 5 of

them were male and 61 were female. Though I did not get as many male responders as I would

have hoped, it did not affect the outcome of my testing.

Question 2

The second question has a similar use to question one in the aspect of being useful to

estimate the education of the responsive audience. There were four choices to categorize one's

age: 18 and younger, 18 to 22, 23 to 30, and 30 or older. Of these choices, 33 were 18 and

younger, 27 were 18 to 22, 3 were 23 to 30, and 3 was 30 or older.

Question 3

My third question asks whether the reader thought free-bleeding is unhygienic or

looked down upon in today's society or if they simply did not know what free-bleeding was.

Of the 67 responses, 74.2% of people agreed that free-bleeding is unhygienic and/or looked

down upon in todays society, 18.2% of people said that it was not, and an astonishing 5 people

answered that they did not even know what free-bleeding was.

Question 4

My fourth question asks responders whether they think pads, tampons, and menstrual

cups are luxury items for women. 81.8% of responders agreed that they are not luxury items
THE PINK TAX 7

and 16.7% of people said that they are. One person answered that they were unsure of what the

items listed were.

Question 5

My fifth, and final, question simply asks if the responders were taught about

menstruation in school. 71.2% of people said that they were and 28.8% of people said that they

were not taught about it.

Deductions

From the conducted research, it was easy to tell how many people are not educated on the

subject. In my third question, 74.2% of people said that free-bleeding is unhygienic and, of those

people, some also answered in the next question that menstrual items are a necessity. The same

people who answered negatively to the only other alternative to pads, tampons, and cups said

that those same items were not needed. These people may not be uneducated but their logic is

slightly flawed because if free bleeding is looked down upon and unhygienic, then how are items

that prevent that not a necessity. In my last question, almost 30% of responders answered that

they were never taught about menstruation in school and every single male in my responses fell

under the 30%. In todays government, whether we like it or not, it is ran mostly by men and

how can we expect them to make the change if they were never educated on the subject which

the change is based off of. The 30% of children who were never educated about menstruation

will not want to advocate for it if they do not fully understand it.

Final Thoughts

The money is not an issue with the tampon tax, the main issue is the morality and

reasoning of the act. The people who believe and know that menstrual items are not a luxury also
THE PINK TAX 8

know that it is wrong to label these items as such; it is degrading to the people who have to use

them. The money does add up after a while, but the main focus was not how much the tax itself

is. The main thing that was taken away from the self induced survey was the knowledge of how

schools need to change the outlook of their sex education systems. In todays education system,

most girls, at a certain age, will be briefly taught about the biological facts and functions of

female menstruation without the company of their male peers. At the time girls learned about

this, they may have felt relieved that they did not have to experience something so awkward

with the boys in their grade; but as they grew older, the boys started to make jokes about their

periods and create a negative stigma against menstruation as a whole. Boys are not typically

taught about this subject and their ignorance effects society more than one would think. With

congress being composed of predominantly men, how do we suspect those same men who grew

up on ignorance on the subject to testify for the women who need it most. Schools need to start

teaching everyone about menstruation so there can be no confusion on the subject while creating

familiarity as well. By teaching this to everyone, it erases the stigma and uncomfortablity with

the idea of periods and will improve the overall outlook on everything that is even remotely

related to menstruation.

Conclusion

All in all, the Pink Tax refers to the extra amount women are charged for certain

products or services. Things like dry cleaning, personal care products and vehicle maintenance

(Elliott). This tax is a problem in most states in the US and the tax refers to menstrual items as a

luxury when everyone who is remotely aware of what a period is can testify that having a
THE PINK TAX 9

period does not even correlate with the word luxury. As a society, we must take the first step

forward to abolishing this unjust tax. A few states have already rid themselves of the tampon tax

and others are beginning to follow suit. Some of these states include: New York, Massachusetts,

Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire,

and Alaska. To deduce my own reasoning, my survey was created in a way that would support

my hypothesis that most people are not informed. In some questions, a few people answered that

they did not even know what free-bleeding was or what menstrual items are. The question that

proves my hypothesis is my very last question that asks whether people were taught about

menstruation in school and almost 30% of responders answered that they have not been taught

about the subject in school or were not when they were in elementary or high school. This further

proves that the states education system is failing and we need to make sure that everyone is

taught about menstruation to avoid ignorance along with the stigmatic discomfort with the topic.

The tampon tax is unjust and we, as the people, need to do everything in our power to abolish it.
THE PINK TAX 10

References

Elliott, C. (2016, October 06). The Pink Tax. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from

https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/the-pink-tax/

Luxury. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2017, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luxury

Weiss, S. (2016, August 22). 12 States Without A Tampon Tax, Because People Who

Menstruate Shouldn't Be Penalized For Having A Period. Retrieved March 13, 2017,

from

https://www.bustle.com/articles/179914-12-states-without-a-tampon-tax-because-people-

who-menstruate-shouldnt-be-penalized-for-having-a

Rubric rating submitted on: 3/23/2017, 10:04:31 AM by danielle.cook@redstreaks.org

3 5 8 10

Intro: Discussion of Minimal discussion Minimal discussion Limited discussion Clearly identifies
Research of research focus of research focus or of research and discusses
Your score: 10 and purpose of purpose of research. focus/purpose of research
research.Research Research question research. Research focus/purpose of
question and thesis and thesis is not question and thesis research. Research
is poorly articulated well articulated is described but not question and thesis
or is absent as well articulated is clearly articulated
altogether

Intro: Background Provides very little May not give Gives the reader Briefly gives the
THE PINK TAX 11

Information & infomoration for the enough information enough information reader enough
Importance audience. The to thoroughly to thoroughly information to
Your score: 10 importance or familiarize the familiarize thoroughly
significance of the auidence with the themselves with the familiarize
study is not clear. topic or goes into a topic but goes into a themselves with the
too much detail.The little detail. The topic without going
importance or importance or into too much
significance of the significance of the detail. The
study is superficial. topic is describe but importance or
not articulated very significance of the
well. study is emphasized
and clearly
articulated.

Background An incomplete The history or The history or The history or

Information or description of background of the background background
Methodology subject's history or subject is overly information of the informaiton of the
Your score: 10 background is general or too subject is described, subject is
provided. OR specific. OR but not clearly thoroughly
Description of how Description of how articulated. OR described and
the data was the data was Description of how clearly articulated.
collected, what/how collected, what/how the data was OR Provides
many data sources many data sources collected, what/how accurate, thorough
were analyzed, plan were analyzed, plan many data sources description of how
of analysis or of analysis or were analyzed, plan the data was
measurement measurement of analysis or collected, what/how
instrument is very instrument is measurement many data sources
confusing/not somewhat instrument is were analyzed, plan
articulated confusing/not adequate but of analysis or
sufficiently. clearly articulated. limited. Limitations measurement
Limitations of the Limitations of the of the study are instrument.
study are not study are addressed addressed but are Limitations of the
addressed. but are inaccurate. generalized. study are clearly
described.

Use of Sources Not all information Most information is All information is All information is
Your score: 5 is supported with supported with supported with supported with
credible sources. A credible sources. A credible sources. An credible sources. A
clear understanding vague understanding of clear understanding
of who has already understanding of who has already of who has already
written about this who has already written about this written about this
subject is not written about this subject is mostly subject is
demotnstrated. subject is demotnstrated. demotnstrated.
demotnstrated.

Findings/Results: Level of detail is Level of detail is Level of detail is A comprehensive

Organization (a) severely insufficient, and not as sufficient, level of detail
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Your score: 10 insufficient, and there are more and there are some provided and are
there are serious organizational organizational well-organized.Tabl
organizational issues.Tables/figure issues.Tables/figure es/figures clearly
issues.Tables/figure s are not s are not as and concisely
s are not clear/concise in clear/concise in convey the data.
clear/concise in conveying the data. conveying the data.
conveying the data.

Findings/Results: Results are not Results are not very Results are not very Results are clearly
Organization (b) clearly explained. clearly explained. clearly explained. It explained. There are
Your score: 10 The paper is lacking Some major is clear that there multiple major
any major findings. findings are hinted are major findings, findings that are
at, but not clearly but they are not clearly and
explained. clearly articulated. thoroughly
The findings are not described separately
all described and in depth.
in-depth or
separately.

Discussion Interpretations/ Interpretations/ Interpretations/ Interpretations/

Your score: 10 analysis of results analysis of results analysis of results analysis of results
severely lacking in lacking in are sufficient but are thoughtful and
thoughtfulness and thoughtfulness and somewhat lacking insightful, are
insight, are not insight, are not in thoughtfulness clearly informed by
informed by the clearly informed by and insight, are not the studys results,
studys results, and the studys results, as clearly informed and thoroughly
do not address how and do not by the studys address how they
they supported, adequately address results, and do not supported, refuted,
refuted, and/or how they supported, as thoroughly and/or informed the
informed the refuted, and/or address how they research question
research question informed the supported, refuted,
research question and/or informed the
research question

Conclusion The paper fails to The paper reiterates The paper reiterates The paper
Your score: 5 reiterate the thesis, some of the the thesis, major concludes very
major claims, and following: thesis, claims, and nicely with a
significance. New major claims, and significance, but is reiteration of the
information could significance. Some not as smooth. If thesis, major claims
be provided. new information is appropriate, a and the importance
provided may be recommendation is while offering a
provided. A made. No new look to the future. If
recommnedation information is appropriate, a
may be appropriate, provided. recommendation is
but is not provided. made. No new
information is
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provided.

Documentation of Does not cite Cites some data Cites most data Cites all data
Sources sources. obtained from other obtained from other obtained from other
Your score: 5 sources. Citation sources. APA sources. APA
style is either citation style is citation style is
inconsistent or used. accurately used.
incorrect.

Spelling & Excessive spelling Noticeable spelling Minimal spelling & No spelling &
Grammar and/or grammar and grammar grammar mistakes grammar mistakes
Your score: 10 mistakes mistakes

Manuscript Format: Title page Title page deviates a Title page Title page has
APA completely deviates bit more from APA approximates APA proper APA
Your score: 10 from APA formatting. The formatting. The formatting. The
formatting. The abstract is mostly abstract is mostly abstract is clear and
abstract does not clear but a little clear and concise. concise.
clearly summarize wordy.
the paper.

Sentences Headings and Headings & Used correct Used correct

demonstrate correct subheadings subheadings less headings & headings &
usage, punctuation, completely deviate consistent subheadings almost subheadings
and capitalization. from suggested consistently consistently
Your score: 10 formatting or are
absent altogether

Comments:
Total: 105/120 = 88%

This is a very good essay. The main weakness is that you don't really explain what others have
written on the subject. You did a good job explaining what the Pink Tax is and the history of it.
You also explain your survey very well. However, you really don't go into what others are
specifically writing about it. Not only would this provided needed background information, but it
would help you meet the source requirement that is not currently met. The conclusion is also
very repetitive. Overall the paper is well written, but some adjustments should be made.