last week, I took a day off of work for my own personal mental health and sanity. seeing as I was right in the throes of my period, I took a leisurely stroll to Rite Aid and proceeded to pick up a multipack of tampons, and take them to the checkout line. I also purchased a pair of pantyhose, and a teeth whitening kit. the nice older woman at the register chatted with me about the weather and bagged my items, and I paid and left. only after leaving the store and walking down Highland did I realize what she'd done.
the woman doubled-bagged me.
I don't know if they teach people this in drugstore-cashier-training or whatever the hell they do at CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens... but every time I buy tampons, they're double-bagged. maybe they do it for every embarrassing purchase, you'd think, but I bought anti-diarrheal pills at CVS a few months ago and they single-bagged those fuckers. I have yet to get a verdict on whether or not Preparation H is tagged for two bags, but I'm gonna guess it's not.
why does this anger me, you ask? because this seemingly harmless little old lady who's manning the register at Rite Aid is contributing to the continued stigma of the menstrual cycle - an element of EVERY WOMAN'S LIFE. every natural born woman, illness or certain conditions notwithstanding, menstruates. so I don't understand why, in 2009, we still have to double-bag feminine hygiene products, which EVERY WOMAN NEEDS AND USES. why are women not allowed to have normal bodily functions? oh, that's right, because we're not supposed to be human. we're supposed to be sweet-smelling, gentle, delicate creatures that don't grow body hair or take shits.
I know this woman probably grew up in a time when periods started with a capital P: for Private, and Personal, and Positively no sex involved. but we need to seriously rethink how we're acting about menstruation, and what it may mean for the next few generations. I'm not embarrassed about menstruating. it's a part of life. I'll take a single bag for my tampons, thank you.
1 comments:
That is strange. Having spent a year working at CVS at the pharmacy, I can say I was never told of any such convention that feminine products were to be double bagged. Even the prescriptions where there is Federal protection for privacy went out often without even being in a single bag other than the paper one with the label stapled to it. Seems pretty silly if you ask me, I would figure anyone who cared that much about privacy could at least spare the $1 to bring a reusable bag, if not throw the items into a purse, rather than fuel a wasteful flow of plastic into the landfills.
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