On Representation in Elected Office, Menstrual Supplies

GOP Sen. John Kennedy says Hurricane Helene victims “don't give a function about tampons.” We should remember this on Election Day, Candice Helfand-Rogers writes.

Allow me to share a brief, if slightly embarrassing story.

I returned to the office three months after giving birth to my son. Early on in my adjustment to working motherhood, I got my first postpartum period. Of course, I was completely unprepared – and like most American women, I was left without any free, readily accessible options. I wept while winding an obscene amount of toilet paper around my underwear, hoping it would suffice until I could limp my body, still recovering from a c-section, to a pharmacy.

I bring this up for three reasons. First, to note that my experience is, anecdotally speaking, far from unique; two, to point out that I am one of the lucky ones, as I at least had the money to (eventually) remedy my problem; and three, to spotlight the fact that menstrual hygiene products are undoubtedly a necessity, one as vital to human function and cleanliness as toilet paper – and they should be just as readily available, as such.

Only male Republican lawmakers seemingly fail to see it that way – and now, that failure of foresight and understanding comes at the detriment of those reeling in the wake of Hurricane Helene, a Category-4 monster that recently battered the Gulf Coast, with devastating ripple effects into southern Appalachia that, in all, caused hundreds of deaths and billions in damage.

During an appearance on Fox News this week, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana (who did not immediately respond to our request for a comment) took a shot at current Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for joking with “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper about male ignorance on the functioning of female bodies – a disconcerting reality, considering the disproportionate number of male lawmakers presently making decisions about reproductive care on behalf of all Americans. During the podcast, the duo noted that scores of men don’t even understand where tampons go, or how they work.

“The vice president goes on some show called ‘Call Her Daddy’ or ‘Call Your Daddy’ or ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ or something” – because feigned ignorance is, of course, hilarious – “[and] among other things, she’s talking about tampons,” Kennedy said on the air. He continued, “The people of Appalachia right now don’t give a function about tampons. They need water. They need to get out.”

Well, they also need menstrual hygiene products. And lack of access to them is, in fact, a significant and dangerous problem for people with periods living in the wake of natural disasters, research shows – one that “can increase the risk of toxic shock syndrome, infections and other health conditions that can endanger … lives.” A legislator should know this.

(Also worth noting: Kennedy recently argued against more funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – despite lawmakers on both sides arguing that the current $20 billion allocation is inadequate. “[W]e’re not going to run out of money to respond to natural disasters,” Kennedy told The Hill.)

Lack of access to menstrual products is not a problem solely for those who have survived natural disasters, either. Period poverty, or the inability to afford menstrual hygiene products, is a long-standing global issue, one that causes people with periods to miss school or work by the millions, in addition to placing them in harm’s way. In the U.S. specifically, roughly two thirds of low-income people struggle with affording such products, often making do with anything from paper towels to spare rags. In Kennedy’s state of Louisiana, this affects two out of every nine girls and women.

Yet because Harris’ running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, enacted legislation that requires free menstrual hygiene products to be made available in schools throughout the state, Republicans mocked him for it – even going so far as to Photoshop his face onto boxes of Tampax while branding him “Tampon Tim.” (As if this would make him anything other than a hero in the eyes of those of us who, like me, have ever been stranded in this particular way.)

By contrast, conservative male lawmakers – who, as The 19th recently reported, considerably outnumber conservative women lawmakers, specifically – have spent their legislative energy attempting to ban menstruation education, or vying to access period-tracker data in service of further limiting access to abortions through state-sanctioned surveillance of our cycles. Promoting ignorance and attempting to use our own bodies against us, while at the same time failing to understand what we need to survive. Making my postpartum mishap a best-case scenario.

All while Hurricane Milton, predicted to be even more devastating than Helene, is presently making its way to central Florida – which means yet more people will be in need of such assistance. This is no laughing matter, and no time for ignorance.

Just some food for thought, as we prepare to take to the polls next month. Kennedy himself is not up for re-election this year, but scores of his ilk are – and we should keep their demonstrated priorities in mind when casting our ballots. ◼️

The Story Exchange is an award-winning nonprofit media organization that provides inspiration and information to entrepreneurial women.

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