October 01, 2017
In a new video starring Philly native Amber Rose, the model-actress shows off a diamond-studded, 18-karat white gold necklace designed to carry “something that 36 states tax as luxury.”
Rose then opens the necklace to reveal a tampon.
The video was produced by Period Equity , an organization dedicated to ending the tax on women’s menstrual products, which 36 states in the U.S. currently tax, citing items like tampons and pads as “luxury items” as opposed to basic hygiene products.
“The tax is an unfair economic burden,” the Period Equity site says. “States should not profit from the products we must purchase to manage what our bodies do naturally.”
The issue gained some national attention early in 2016 when one California lawmaker, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, proposed an end to the tax during the first day of the state’s legislative session that year.
Though the battle is still ongoing in California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are two of the eight states that have made tampons and other menstrual products completely tax exempt. A few other states, such as Delaware, don’t tax the items because their states don’t have sales taxes.
Rose has spoken about sexism and gender equality throughout much of her time in the public eye, spearheading the SlutWalk project -- a protest against rape culture -- and most recently reaching out to Hillary Clinton to discuss sexism in politics.
Check out the PSA below.
