If you are a person who needs feminine hygiene products because you menstruate, then you are being taxed for using those very products. You may think that it’s pretty necessary for you to take care of your monthly bleeding by using tampons or pads, but in 40 states the law disagrees with that idea. That’s right, only five states have laws preventing the taxation of these health products, and five others in general just don’t have sales tax on any products. This means if you are in any of the pink states on the map below, then you are getting taxed for having a period.

Now you might think that this is just how it works and that it would be unfair to remove the tax on feminine hygiene products because not everyone uses them. However, there are many products sold in every state that are untaxed based on their necessity for living. This includes the typical food and medicine products that are essential to everyday life, but in some states some things that a lot of people wouldn’t consider necessary to live are also not taxed because of these same rules. In 15 different states candy is considered not taxable and not a luxury, while tampons are still taxed. Some states don’t tax salted peanuts and others don’t tax shampoos that fix dandruff problems. And even more appalling is that certain states don’t tax artificial teeth, vasectomies, or breast pumps, but continue to tax tampons. I don’t know about you, but knowing these things make the tax on tampons seem even more ridiculous to me.

I am a man who has never had to deal with a period and honestly, I am fine with that, because it sounds pretty awful and terrifying. I also recognize that over half of our population does have to deal with this issue, though, and it seems completely unethical to punish them with expensive products that are also taxed as luxuries. These rules were created by men and did not account for the very people that they affect. And let’s be honest, if you want to make the argument that these items aren’t “essential” to deal with periods, then maybe you should look around at society. People have walked around without using sanitary products like tampons or pads and have been criticized for it. A woman posted a photo on Instagram featuring blood stained pants and bed sheets and it was removed from the site. Clearly society does not actually think that these products are luxuries.

So odds are that you aren’t super happy about this oppressive tax on anyone who menstruates. There is hope though! Laws deciding sales tax are on a state-to-state basis, so many groups and individuals are working to ban the tax on tampons in their individual states. Currently, California, Utah, and Virginia all have proposals to end the tax in their state legislatures. This isn’t the end of the fight though, obviously. You can get involved in your own state in various ways. You could start your own petition, like the Women's and Gender Studies Club at my college is doing. You could also just find one to sign in your area or online. Here’s one from Cosmopolitan magazine that is going to state legislators across the country that you could add your own name to. Spreading the word about this outdated tax is another wonderful way to involve yourself in the issue. It is time that we come together to end the tax on periods!