Tazia Machl, Staff Writer
On February 8, Beloit’s Feminist Collective (FEMCO) kicked off the spring semester with a “Period Kit Packing Night.” Persisting through numerous tornado warnings, the group managed to create over a hundred kits to be distributed around campus.
Period poverty, defined by a widespread lack of access to menstrual products, is growing at disheartening rates throughout the United States. THINX, an organization founded to combat the issue, estimates that over 64% of menstruating individuals have at some point struggled to afford what is as necessary as toilet paper.
Vernon Crumrine
Period kits are a relatively new method to combat period poverty. Wisconsin did not pass legislation regarding free menstrual products in schools until last fall, and few college campuses have regulations regarding affordable distribution of period products.
Period poverty is a small component of a far larger issue: the lack of stigma-free discussion regarding women’s health. Often seen as a taboo subject, the silence regarding women’s reproductive health is not only disappointing- it’s incredibly dangerous. Diseases such as PCOS and endometriosis are common, yet seldom diagnosed or properly treated.
Beloit’s Feminist Collective cannot solve the entire world’s societal stigma: yet, the group provides a safe and accepting space for discussion and deeper understanding of women’s issues.
“Be on the lookout for women’s history month,” FEMCO member Olivia Ritze’26 says. “We’re gonna have some good events coming up then.”
Featured Image Credit: Beloit College
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