So You Have Your Period? Now Go Ahead And Save The World Too!
By Jo Lorenz
“How to save the planet on your period.”
“Save the planet, ditch the tampon!”
These are just two of the links that popped up on the first page of Google when I searched for ‘zero waste period’ today. Am I the only one that thinks this capitalism is a little unfair?
Frankly, having your period can be hard. At least I find it so! I am all for a zero waste period when possible. It’s both empowering and satisfying. Proviso: *when it works* — and for me, unfortunately, it’s not an infallible method. In fact, I remember recently leaving my kids’ taekwondo class recently (other parents in attendance were all dads) only to get home and realise I had a ‘no-way-everyone-didn’t-notice-that’ stain on the back of my jeans. Did I care? Hell yes . . . yet also hell no. But it did make me realise that if I am having problems I can only assume other women are also having them with their zero waste period attempts — and thus I am not okay with our shaming of women into thinking they're doing something ecologically catastrophic when they can’t manage a zero waste period.
If we are going to insist on the cogs of capitalism pushing the green agenda, ought this agenda not be marketed to men where, en masse, there is much more room for improvement? A man’s environmental footprint is time and time again proven to be worse than a woman’s — despite her period — in terms of recycling, power use, water use, et al. The question is why?
According to Scientific American’s research, men shun eco-friendly behaviour because of what it conveys about their masculinity (cue my Lisa Simpson ‘less-than-impressed’ face). In other words, although men are openly considered to be less sensitive than women, ironically they seem to be sensitive AF when it comes to perceptions of their gender identity.
So here’s what I think: how about we stop guilting women into doing zero waste periods (yet continue to encourage) and instead start shaming men into using less fossil fuels? Or better yet, how about we start shaming a patriarchal system that makes men feel they are unmanly for giving a f_ck? If it's so unmanly, then again shouldn't we be addressing toxic masculinity and not asking women with their periods (shunned by society) to pick up the slack?
As I said, there’s something very satisfying about having a zero waste period — and something I’ll continue to strive to do — however, I’m not going to let myself get considerable eco-anxiety over it (to go along with my stressed-out Mum PMS! God save us all!). If you have the means and ability to have a zero waste period, then please do try and I wish you all the success — yet please folks, let’s not feel guilty if we cannot manage it entirely zero waste each month, because of our own body and needs.
Now before anyone says it, no I do not have a problem with men. In fact, I even married one and birthed two! Yet I do not love our patriarchal capitalist system that prioritises male dominance, toxic masculinity and male fragility over our planet and all her people. Not only does it oppress womxn (as well as all other marginalised people), it criminalises the intelligence of men.
Fact: Men who feel secure in their manhood are more comfortable going green. So let’s stop participating in a patriarchal system based on toxicity and bullying — let’s stop guilting marginalised people into doing more than their fair share — and let’s start insisting on true intersectionality in our environmental activism. And with that, I am off to save the planet, with or without a tampon.
P.S. Check out this headline from Forbes: “Why Women Need To Go Green During 'That Time Of The Month’”. *Rolls eyes* Hey Forbes: when you’re ready to say the words ‘menstruation’ and ‘period’ without screwing up your face (and ready to stop taking advertising dollars from billionaires and fossil fuel companies!), then we’ll talk about going green.
Want more?
Read more on Intersectionality
Read more from the author of this piece, Jo Lorenz
