For centuries, men have told women what to do with their bodies and how they have to do it. They have been in charge of our status in society, what we are allowed to do and not allowed to do and how we are expected to behave. As women, we have always been there for reproductive purposes; while people now realize that we are (and have always been) capable of doing what we put our minds to, reproduction is still one of our main events in life. Having children requires one little thing, the reproductive organs, and with that comes your menstrual cycle, or what it's formally called, your period.

If you don't know, your period is your body's special way of telling you you're not pregnant. Your unused egg drops through your Fallopian tube and comes out of you for a week straight. Along with this week-long session, comes back pain, cramps, acne, bloating, and more. Point is, it's not really a fun time for anyone involved.

Now, when you're on your period, you need toiletries and feminine products to not only clean but to keep all the bodily fluids in. The terrible part of this whole thing is that women, who have no choice as to whether or not they get their period, have to pay to keep others from noticing a natural bodily function. Not only are tampons and pads not offered in many public places, if they are, it's not free.

It's also a priority to constantly refill them. Many schools have the machines but don't fill them up; my high school had them installed the semester we were graduating. All in all, it is up to the woman to make sure that she keeps her period hidden from the world. Even today, it is taboo to even know that a woman is on her period, let alone have her openly speak about it. This stigma makes it harder for women to learn about their bodies, but also to understand how to properly take care of it.

The worst part about this is that regardless of it, some uncontrollable, feminine products are extremely expensive and are taxed, as if it's a choice for us to buy them. It has been a wildly talked about topic for the government to fund free feminine products, but alas everyone that doesn't get their period disagrees and it would be too much of a fight to argue back.

That being said, way ahead of their time, as always, is Scotland offering free sanitary products for low income women. It is currently a part of a government funded pilot project. At least one country in the world agrees that women should not be punished for something they can't control. The United States needs to get on board.