See the Noble Reason These High School Boys Are Collecting Tampons

[sheshe2]

They were trying to “save their female classmates some stress.”



A viral video from NowThis Her shows a group of New Haven, Connecticut, high school boys collecting pads and tampons for their female classmates. They decided to undertake the project after learning that 86 percent of women are surprised by their periods in public. It’s incredibly heartening to see teen boys fighting sexism in this way, pushing past something they might be uncomfortable with in order to serve the greater good. (And guys, reminder, chill out about periods. They’re not that scary!)





High school senior Terrance Mallory said it wasn’t easy in the beginning. “At first, we were getting clowned a little bit,” he said. “A couple name callings and stuff like that. But it didn’t bother us at all. We knew what our purpose was.” Good for you guys. If all teenage boys were this thoughtful, we would have had a much better time in high school.

The boys are all part of the Kiyama Movement, which “encourages African-American men to create better communities through self-improvement of the individual.” One of the group’s five core principles is “Respect for Women.”

Michael Jefferson, Kiyama’s founder, is also featured in the video. “Men have to challenge sexism,” he said. “It’s not the job of women to challenge sexism. It’s the job of men who perpetuate sexism.” If only all men were on his level.




Written by Jocelyn Silver

Video at link~

http://www.bet.com/lifestyle/2016/12/20/high-school-boys-fight-sexism-by-collecting-tampons-and-pads.html

___________________________________________-

I think I love these young men. Bravo to you all.

[BigDemVoter123]

1. Good to see young people doing good things!

[shenmue]

2. Yes

[sheshe2]

3. Welcome to DU, BDV!

[smirkymonkey]

4. This is so nice to see.

One bright spot during these dark days. Good for these young boys!

[sheshe2]

5. We need a few bright spots, sm. nt

[tblue37]

6. I also have had to save young women from stress over their periods. Sometimes one of

my female college freshmen will approach me, deeply embarrassed but feeling that I am the most approachable adult they know during their first semester, to ask me to help them acquire sanitary supplies.

They are usually from very (fundamentalist) religious families, and their mothers have always bought those supplies with no involvement by the girls themselves. Because of their religious education and their families' attitude (typically disgust and shame) toward female plumbing, they find that when they run out of such supplies but are not in a position to go home to have their mother buy more, they are too embarrassed to buy them for themselves--and also too embarrassed to admit this to and ask for help from their female friends.

I come across as kind, tolerant, and very motherly, so they screw up their courage and ask me for help.

I always say yes, but I insist that they accompany me to make the purchase, so they can get used to doing it for themselves. After they've gone with me once--or in rare instances twice--they realize that absolutely NO ONE is paying attention to the fact that they are purchasing "lady-town" stuff.

I remember the over-the-top secrecy and whispers surrounding the times when my 4 years older sister got her period (tampons were not usual back then, so it was pads for her). When my younger sisters got theirs (one 3 years younger than I, one 4 years younger), I saved my mom the awkwardness (for HER, since she was from a time when such things felt embarrassing to mention or deal with) and took responsibility for teaching them the ropes.

By then tampons WERE common, but Mom was appalled that I insisted on using them and on teaching my sisters how to use them. She actually warned me that if I used tampons no one would ever believe I was a virgin. As a teenager in the late 1960s, I assured her that I wasn't going to be asking anyone to believe me, because I wouldn't consider it anyone else's business.

"What about your husband?" she asked.

I responded that I would never marry a man who categorized women like cars--" new" or "used"!

[sheshe2]

12. Love you tblue for helping them.

Sad that we are made to believe that we should be ashamed of our bodies and how it functions.

Shame Shame Shame, I say NO!

thanks!

[Lucky Luciano]

7. Hopefully I raise my son to be just as good as these kids. nt

[whathehell]

8. Not trying to undermine the effort but..

don't most of the girls school bathrooms carry those little tampon/pad machines?

[sheshe2]

9. It has been a long time since I was in high school.

We never had them back then.

[milestogo]

10. Yeah, but machines run out of supplies

and people run out of change just when you really need it.

[kimmylavin]

14. No, not really.

And like another poster said, they're usually empty.
Or you need coins to work them - who has coins?
Or they only have gigantic maxipads in them, and ugh, if you don't wear pads, they're the worst.

This is a nice effort, that does a lot of good things, including helping to normalize girls' periods in boys' minds.

[whathehell]

23. I don't know..

When I was a teenage girl, the last person I'd either think of or want to ask would be a teenage boy, but to each his own.

[kimmylavin]

24. To each his own, I guess.

I was a teenage girl 25 years ago, and I had male friends I would have been comfortable asking to help.

[whathehell]

25. I guess so. n/t

[lostnfound]

15. Maybe but they are often out, and the lack of variety creates problems for some

It's an extremely personal issue, one kind does not fit all. Those are okay in emergency but it's awkward -- do you have quarters on you, is it stocked? And if a girl has PE class or sports, it's even more critical to have the right choice.

It can be no big deal sometimes and practically a crisis others.

[whathehell]

22. I would think those

problems would exist no matter who was providing them...As you said it IS very personal, and when I was a teenage girl, the last person I would want to ask for them would be a teenage boy.

[Squinch]

37. But I think that's the point. The reason was that the teenage boy would think you were insane

if you asked him, because he was taught that he mustn't involve himself in that icky girl stuff.

These guys are helping out (I am assuming that they leave the stuff somewhere so the girls have access to it and the girls don't have to ask them for it) the way they would help out if they found out their classmates needed shoes or help with geometry. They're putting a girl's period into the list of things that are no big deal and just part of the life that we all share.

[nini]

18. Probably not..they were getting broken into too often

Though a nurses office should have them.

I'm just glad to see the 'shame' is gone from girls having periods.

[femmocrat]

19. The nurse's office and the PE teachers usually have supplies available.

I haven't seen those machines in ages.

[George II]

21. Aside from the actual products themselves, it's the symbolic gesture that's most important.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. Wonderful story

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Geez, I hope no one arrests that kid for having a milk crate.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime--law/deputies-florida-man-arrested-for-possession-dairy-crate/Q7fnoZLAJHWp2sLh802tRP/

[meow2u3]

27. Don't they sell milk crates in Target or Wally World?

Last time I checked, I've seen them there.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. I only know wally world from the movie "vacation"

Still, im sure it's fine. I just thought it was ridiculous that that guy got arrested for a milk crate.

[radical noodle]

16. This makes my heart happy

Bravo to them!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

17. Times have changed. I think it might've embarrassed girls when I was in school...

if the boys handed out tampons and the like.

There was a "sex ed" class when I was in 5th grade (late 70's), and all the boys had to leave the classroom as the (woman) teacher prepared to describe menstruation to the girls. The teacher was supposedly going to demonstrate the use of pads and tampons.

At dinner, Mom asked me if anything interesting happened at school. I replied in a ho-hum manner, "All the girls tried on Maxi Pads today."

She burst out laughing and told her phone friends later, and they seemed to think it was funny too. Thinking back on it, I doubt the girls actually "tried them on" in the classroom, but that was my impression based on my limited information at the time.

[sheshe2]

20. Lol

[RobinA]

26. I'm Missing The Issue Here

What happened to carrying supplies just in case? I mean, I congratulate these boys for thinking outside the box about a subject they wouldn't have to concern themselves about, but WTF ladies?

Hell, I'm 58 and I'm STILL finding tampon stashes when I pull out a purse I haven't used in awhile.

[Squinch]

38. You never got caught out in high school?

[mopinko]

28. if i were a teenaged girl again,

boy would i hit on one of these fine young men.

[Squinch]

39. Right?

[Lifelong Protester]

29. Let's hear it for the boys!

They are trying, that is important.

[wryter2000]

30. I truly believe

Kids are nicer than they were when I was in high school. I hope to live long enough to see their generation take power.

[niyad]

31. k and r with thanks. just made my day.

[rolypolychloe]

32. If they still have Health classes in the schools,

one of the assignments for the boys should be to consult with their moms and assemble a menstrual emergency kit, then keep some in their locker or backpack. The project should open a discussion with the mom on the practical implications of menstruation for school age girls. I doubt this topic is ever brought up in a boys "coming of age" talk, if the boy even gets a "coming of age" talk. This will help the boy develop the proper empathy for what the girls are going through and perhaps enhance his ability to make an emotional connection with a prospective girlfriend.

[lunatica]

33. If they end up having daughters they'll be great dads!

[iscooterliberally]

34. I have had to make a 'tampon run' on a couple of occasions.

Once a female friend that ran the little store next the one that I ran called me in a panic. She was stuck behind the counter and needed help. She told me the brand, but when I went to the grocery store in our plaza they didn't have the specific one she asked for. I asked a young woman there for help and got my friend what she needed. If you're a guy and he have to buy tampons for a woman, step up.

[kimbutgar]

35. Also homeless women say they lack these basic necessities

I hope they extend this to homeless women in their donations.