Equal Wipes

Sometimes I forget how mad I used to get about the lack of free and available menstrual supplies in public places. Some important institutions have changed: Milwaukee County, City of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and numerous small establishments. But the big public facility I refer to in this piece (hint: they play a game there with a ball and a bat) still directs people in need of menstrual supplies to the First Aid Station. At least there’s a sign in every restroom telling them that supplies are free (big victory) if they wind their way through the crowds to the First Aid Station. Oh well.

Originally published in 2018. 

You don’t have to pay for toilet paper in a public restroom.

There isn’t a coin slot waiting for your quarter so you can get five squares of toilet paper. Sitting in the private comfort of your stall, you could pull off the entire roll and stash it in your purse, leaving nothing for the next person. The toilet paper is there for you to do whatever you want with it. It’s a perk of peeing in a public place. No questions asked.

But tampons and pads? That’s a different matter. The premise might be the same – that there are bodily fluids that need mopping up – but the response is different. If a menstruating woman is lucky, there will be a working tampon/pad machine in the bathroom she is using. So then if she is caught by surprise or has run out of supplies, she can buy a tampon or pad.

Earlier this summer, I got into it with the manager of a large public facility after I complained about the tampon/pad machine in the women’s restroom wearing the same tattered “Out of Service” sign for weeks on end.

Me: This is a problem. Half of your guests are women. They deserve better service.

Him: They vandalize the machine. They can go to First Aid if they need supplies.

Me: Men don’t have to go to First Aid to get toilet paper.

Him: We tried putting out a basket with free supplies but people took too many.

Me: Do you monitor how much toilet paper men use? I bet when they get really drunk, they use a lot and stop up the toilet with it. But just guessing.

Him: It’s a different situation.

Me: Really? Urinating, defecating, menstruating – they’re all basic bodily functions. 

I have to say that the machine was finally fixed and it was fully stocked for several weeks but last night there was another “Out of Service” sign taped on the front, directing women to the First Aid station. After I complained, I got an email from the “Guest Services Manager.” Sure enough, the machine had been vandalized again, whatever that means. Was a woman trying to get her quarter back when it didn’t work, was she banging the thing with her shoe to get a tampon to drop down, did she, like my daughter once did, put her hand up the slot and get stuck? We don’t know. Vandalized. It’s really hard for me to imagine women attending an event in this facility vandalizing a tampon/pad machine while other women walked around her to check their make-up.

Why do we put up with this? Why aren’t tampons and pads freely available in women’s restrooms? Why aren’t they considered basic hygiene necessities like toilet paper? Why do we spend our valuable time and money at a place that tells us to go to the First Aid station if we need a tampon or pad? I’d be fine with that if every man was told to head for First Aid every time he needs to wipe his ass. For heaven’s sake. This needs to change.