They argue that truly independent women should be responsible for preparing feminine pads in advance for themselves, rather than taking advantage of their biological vulnerabilities to force companies to provide products specially for them, just as they use “female gender strengths” to “tame” men in relationships.
MENSTRUATION STIGMA REMAINS
There is a similar dynamic in the disconnect between the positive and negative perceptions of menstruation that persist in China. Menstrual blood is not only considered dirty but also polluting, posing a danger to those come into contact with it. This is the basis for the argument that sanitary pads should not be sold alongside food.
At the same time, the celebration of menstruation as a symbol of female fertility reduces women to their reproductive function. “Menstruation is the basis of fertility. For thousands of years, human life and civilisation were born from menstruation,” said one social media user defending the sale of sanitary pads on trains.
The former reflects the misogyny of Chinese society, while the latter panders to the regime’s policy of incentivising women to have more children to address the current population crisis. While the debate over sanitary pads may appear trivial, it reflects a much wider structural system that hurts mothers and all women.
On Oct 3, a social media user happily posted that she was able to find sanitary pads being sold on another high-speed train. While it’s not clear if there was a change in policy or simply a positive decision by a different train line, the discussion and responses from influential social media users shows that gender equality and changing menstruation stigma has a long way to go in China.
Chi Zhang is British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of St Andrews. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.