Baby Boomer Generations: A Social Analysis
The society that is mentioned is the male and females in the millennial, generation X, and the Baby Boomer generations, these are the generations that need free feminine hygiene products the most, these are the ages from around eight to sixty-three according to The Generations Chart (Anonymous n.d.). This society affects what people wear, what they do, and how they do it. Society even affects how people talk, walk, and even how people deal with situations. Lorenz, Rauhut, Schweitzer, & Helbing (2011) state “Social influence can also have an impact on the statistical aggregate and the resulting collective wisdom of the respective crowd.” This states that people have a major influence on other people, which can be beneficial to find a solution
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for providing free feminine hygiene products for those in need of them. There are many reasons to provide free feminine hygiene products, such as the emotional effect it has on women, the importance of the products,but who will it help, how will it impact the American society, as in the whole population that uses feminine hygiene products, and what affect American society has on the matter.
Starting in schools towards the eastern United States, free feminine hygiene products are being distributed in public campus bathrooms. Brown University, an Ivy League institution located in Rhode Island, is one of these colleges. According to McDermott (2016), a student who interviewed one of the professors at the university, Brown has recently decided on offering free tampons and sanitary napkins in all public campus bathrooms. Brown started providing these products around September of 2016. Other schools are also joining in on the movement such as nine New York City public schools in the Bronx, and twenty-four in Queens. These areas are some of the most impoverished areas in New York City. The United States Census Bureau (n.d.) provides the percentages of 13.3 percent of people in poverty in Queens County, and 30.3 percent in Bronx County.
Consequently, impoverished women are the main targets of needing free feminine hygiene products. What the men and women that do not live homeless do not realize, is that that homeless woman could be on her period. She could have to use a single pad or tampon for multiple days, because the public bathroom around the corner does not offer free pads or tampons. People do not realize that some are not as fortunate as themselves, they might not have the money to buy enough supplies to last their whole period. Being homeless is hard enough, but imagine having to ask for donations including tampons and pads. In the article by Rosenblatt (2016) it states that this can make homeless women feel worthless, and degraded. This contributes to the emotional need of feminine hygiene products.
Moreover, not having access to free tampons and pads in school can make a big emotional impact in teenage girls’ lives.
In the small time that most public high schools give in between classes, girls do not have the time to go to the restroom in between classes, more or less change their pad or tampon. Girls often have to take more time out of their class time to go change their tampon or pad. If they realize that they ran out of them, they do not have their backpack with them, nor money that they can use to buy the cheap ones that they have in the school bathroom. So, many are forced to make a makeshift toilet paper pad until they can use the restroom again in the next class, seeing as many teachers will not let you go to the restroom more than one time in the same class period, Rosenblatt (2016) ,a writer for the not for profit organization I Support the Girls that helps provide pads and tampons to people in need, states. This can affect the mood of the girl and the attitude she has for the rest of the day. She could be uncomfortable the rest of the day because she did not have money to buy a pad or tampon in the restroom. Not every girl carries extra pads and tampons in their bag that they must take to school to avoid going the whole school day unprepared . Girls should not have to go through the emotional stress of trying to find someone who has extra supplies because their period came early and they did not have any pads or tampons on them. They should not have to go all the way down to the clinic in bloody pants and or underwear just to obtain the necessity that are feminine hygiene products. This is something that only society’s women see and feel. This is because it is publicly embarrassing to young women states This is looking at the emotional need for feminine hygiene
products.
Nevertheless, society’s role in all of this, is that it has the power of influence. Being able to influence someone is one of the most important aspects of society. The opinions of millions of people speaking as one voice can be a major factor in what some people choose to fight against, or believe in. Influences leave a mark on people whether they think it does or not. Influences seep into the people in society’s mind and interfere with their opinions. Society tries to convince people that there is such thing as perfect. Someone could have a so-called “perfect” body but there are still going to be people who do not like it. Same concept with periods, society labels them as gross, disgusting, but not painful at all; in reality they are not gross, they are not disgusting, they are painful, but most importantly they are a part of female lives states Bhartiya(2013) in her article about how menstruation is viewed in different societies. There are families on the streets that are not fortunate enough to have many tampons and pads, and this shows why so many schools in the Bronx and Queens are providing those products in their bathrooms. Society affects the availability of feminine hygiene products. They are a part of everyday living for women. If feminine hygiene products are not available in at least public, and school bathrooms, if they were not many possible situations could happen. A young girl could be publicly embarrassed, or a homeless woman could get as small as a yeast infection, to as major as Toxic Shock Syndrome, from wearing a tampon for multiple days. Society in America underestimates how important female hygiene products are for women, nor do they know how necessary they are. Lorenz et al (2011) stated,“Humans have an inclination to adjust their opinions to those of others so that they gradually converge toward consensus.” This means that society does greatly influence people’s decisions and actions. The importance of society’s role is that a group of people can change the way society thinks. There are easy solutions to the problem of no free feminine hygiene products; fundraising and organizations helping, such as I Support the Girls, can always help to provide these products. Even if they are not free, women should not have to pay so much for a box of tampons or pads for a period that is unavoidable. Solutions are easy, it is influencing people to choose your solution that is the hard part of everything. There is always a way to change things for the better.
for providing free feminine hygiene products for those in need of them. There are many reasons to provide free feminine hygiene products, such as the emotional effect it has on women, the importance of the products,but who will it help, how will it impact the American society, as in the whole population that uses feminine hygiene products, and what affect American society has on the matter.
Starting in schools towards the eastern United States, free feminine hygiene products are being distributed in public campus bathrooms. Brown University, an Ivy League institution located in Rhode Island, is one of these colleges. According to McDermott (2016), a student who interviewed one of the professors at the university, Brown has recently decided on offering free tampons and sanitary napkins in all public campus bathrooms. Brown started providing these products around September of 2016. Other schools are also joining in on the movement such as nine New York City public schools in the Bronx, and twenty-four in Queens. These areas are some of the most impoverished areas in New York City. The United States Census Bureau (n.d.) provides the percentages of 13.3 percent of people in poverty in Queens County, and 30.3 percent in Bronx County.
Consequently, impoverished women are the main targets of needing free feminine hygiene products. What the men and women that do not live homeless do not realize, is that that homeless woman could be on her period. She could have to use a single pad or tampon for multiple days, because the public bathroom around the corner does not offer free pads or tampons. People do not realize that some are not as fortunate as themselves, they might not have the money to buy enough supplies to last their whole period. Being homeless is hard enough, but imagine having to ask for donations including tampons and pads. In the article by Rosenblatt (2016) it states that this can make homeless women feel worthless, and degraded. This contributes to the emotional need of feminine hygiene products.
Moreover, not having access to free tampons and pads in school can make a big emotional impact in teenage girls’ lives.
In the small time that most public high schools give in between classes, girls do not have the time to go to the restroom in between classes, more or less change their pad or tampon. Girls often have to take more time out of their class time to go change their tampon or pad. If they realize that they ran out of them, they do not have their backpack with them, nor money that they can use to buy the cheap ones that they have in the school bathroom. So, many are forced to make a makeshift toilet paper pad until they can use the restroom again in the next class, seeing as many teachers will not let you go to the restroom more than one time in the same class period, Rosenblatt (2016) ,a writer for the not for profit organization I Support the Girls that helps provide pads and tampons to people in need, states. This can affect the mood of the girl and the attitude she has for the rest of the day. She could be uncomfortable the rest of the day because she did not have money to buy a pad or tampon in the restroom. Not every girl carries extra pads and tampons in their bag that they must take to school to avoid going the whole school day unprepared . Girls should not have to go through the emotional stress of trying to find someone who has extra supplies because their period came early and they did not have any pads or tampons on them. They should not have to go all the way down to the clinic in bloody pants and or underwear just to obtain the necessity that are feminine hygiene products. This is something that only society’s women see and feel. This is because it is publicly embarrassing to young women states This is looking at the emotional need for feminine hygiene
products.
Nevertheless, society’s role in all of this, is that it has the power of influence. Being able to influence someone is one of the most important aspects of society. The opinions of millions of people speaking as one voice can be a major factor in what some people choose to fight against, or believe in. Influences leave a mark on people whether they think it does or not. Influences seep into the people in society’s mind and interfere with their opinions. Society tries to convince people that there is such thing as perfect. Someone could have a so-called “perfect” body but there are still going to be people who do not like it. Same concept with periods, society labels them as gross, disgusting, but not painful at all; in reality they are not gross, they are not disgusting, they are painful, but most importantly they are a part of female lives states Bhartiya(2013) in her article about how menstruation is viewed in different societies. There are families on the streets that are not fortunate enough to have many tampons and pads, and this shows why so many schools in the Bronx and Queens are providing those products in their bathrooms. Society affects the availability of feminine hygiene products. They are a part of everyday living for women. If feminine hygiene products are not available in at least public, and school bathrooms, if they were not many possible situations could happen. A young girl could be publicly embarrassed, or a homeless woman could get as small as a yeast infection, to as major as Toxic Shock Syndrome, from wearing a tampon for multiple days. Society in America underestimates how important female hygiene products are for women, nor do they know how necessary they are. Lorenz et al (2011) stated,“Humans have an inclination to adjust their opinions to those of others so that they gradually converge toward consensus.” This means that society does greatly influence people’s decisions and actions. The importance of society’s role is that a group of people can change the way society thinks. There are easy solutions to the problem of no free feminine hygiene products; fundraising and organizations helping, such as I Support the Girls, can always help to provide these products. Even if they are not free, women should not have to pay so much for a box of tampons or pads for a period that is unavoidable. Solutions are easy, it is influencing people to choose your solution that is the hard part of everything. There is always a way to change things for the better.