On Tampons and Pads
... and why they cost more in Baptistland
Twenty states impose a sales tax on menstrual products. They treat tampons and pads as nonessential luxury items, like electronics and toys, rather than recognizing them as basic necessities, like food.
The tax, of course, ups the cost, which has a detrimental impact on women and girls.
Nearly a quarter of teen girls struggle to afford menstrual products, and this affects their schoolwork. Many miss school time simply because they do not have access to tampons and pads.
Of course, this impacts low-income teens most acutely.
Check out this map of the states that tax tampons and pads. The Southeast is a huge block of it, with some states – Tennessee, Mississippi, and Indiana – taxing at a rate as high as seven percent.
This is an area of the country in which Southern Baptists and other white evangelicals dominate the cultural and political milieu.
I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Given all that we know about Southern Baptists’ deeply entrenched and religiously rationalized misogyny, I can’t help but see the state taxes on tampons and pads as yet another example of how Southern Baptists’ misogyny filters into public policy in places where they dominate.
The tampon taxes are a by-product of Southern Baptists’ disregard for and devaluation of women and girls.
UPDATE: A reader on Bluesky sent me this article about the tampon tax in Tennessee. A male senator, Joey Hensley (who is also a physician), decried the revenue loss that would come from even a short temporary lifting of the tax. A female senator, Brenda Gilmore, said: “We have young girls in this state who are actually missing school because they cannot afford feminine products.”
Check out my book, Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation.
