Quickies
Quickies: The case for free tampons, black-girl nerds, John Oliver’s search for writers, and Shark Week
- The case for free tampons – “Sanitary products are vital for the health, well-being and full participation of women and girls across the globe. The United Nations and Human Rights Watch, for example, have both linked menstrual hygiene to human rights.”
- The secret fight of the black-girl nerds – “The Internet has allowed an underserved community to unite, but no amount of magic or fantasy erases the racism and sexism they face in the pursuit of their unconventional passions.”
- John Oliver’s search for new voices in late night – Hooray for being aware of and fighting against prejudice.
- Shark Week lied to scientists to get them to appear in “documentaries” – From Criticaldragon1177.
Featured image by Flickr user imjustkimmie.
The only OTC healthcare products that I can think of off hand that are available free here (British Columbia) are hypodermic needles and condoms – both available at needle exchanges, and condoms from several healthcare agencies. The characteristic they have in common is protection from communicable diseases. Given the health problems that women can have from inadequate sanitary supplies, I agree it’s time to expand our thinking.
Needle exchanges would be an obvious place to start, as many of the same women who already use those services would be the most needy of free sanitary supplies.
Through my volunteer work with drug addicts, I know of several who shoplift their supplies whenever possible.
Amanda,
Thanks for including the link I sent you about Discovery channel lying to scientists to get them to appear on their TV shows. That really upset me. I used to have such great respect for the Discovery channel, than it went all downhill. There are still a few great shows on that channel like Myth Busters, but most of it is garbage now as far as I’m concerned.
I was hoping you could also include this through. It does a really good job countering some of the common myths about sharks, as well as educating people about their actual biology.
Annoyed by Fake Shark Documentaries? Here’s A Double Helping Of Reality
http://animals.io9.com/annoyed-by-fake-shark-documentaries-heres-a-double-hel-1619676169/+laurendavis