Civic Engagement Activity Reflection

          For my Civic Engagement Activity, I chose to attend a sheet cake and feminine hygiene party that was hosted by my Education Mentor. She chose to get a group of women together and gather famine hygiene products and distribute them to homeless women in downtown Salt Lake City. For this event, we spent about an hour on November 11, 2017 gathering supplies together and making kits.  We then spent about an hour distributing them downtown to homeless women on December 2,2017.

I chose to participate in this specific activity because I too have experienced homelessness with and without children. Hygiene products are not always easy to obtain and dealing with menses while homeless is even worse. I was lucky enough to have access to showers, and hygiene products but not all women are. Without access to running water, or showers, it is difficult to stay clean and ward off infections. Without access to hygiene products it is difficult to keep your clothes clean and again ward off infections. This may sound like something from a third world country but this is in fact in your back yard. While most people do not think of this as being a problem it is one that every woman encounters every month but many take for granted the fact that we have such accessible access to such products.

The topic I chose from Humanities is Gender Redefined. This volunteer services connects with this topic in a lot of ways. For starters, it connects in the way that women are highly misrepresented in media and all around us. When people think of homeless they think of the single mom living in a car with kids, or the homeless man. Not many people think of a homeless woman, let alone a homeless woman having to deal with her period. One of the things that was discussed was that we could not simply walk up to a homeless woman and hand her a box of tampons or a bag of pads. This would be highly degrading. Which should be a no brainer but for some it was odd to hear. Why? Because we live in a society that women are only supposed to be solicited in a sexual way, only seen in a sexy way, skinny, no periods, and as an object. Anything outside of this very small box is hidden away unseen. Women are raised to be ashamed of their periods, to hide the fact that nature calls once a month and there is nothing we can do about it.

We are raised to believe it is a curse and not a blessing to be a woman. For this alone I feel that my participation made me a more responsible citizen in terms of promoting my own freedom and the freedom of others. I have long stood for eliminating the tax on feminine hygiene products and for people to stop degrading women because of their periods. It is nature’s way of making sure our species survives, it should be something to celebrate not be ashamed of. I made sure when my daughter started I celebrated it, we went shopping for chocolate and comfy slippers, we didn’t hide at home and pretend we were sick. Too long have women been made to feel ashamed of their womanhood. I believe that women and girls should be taught to embrace their womanhood and not be ashamed of it. It’s time for women to demand to be seen and heard not hidden in the shadows of men. We still have a long way to go but it’s a start.

I wish it was easier for women to get access to the much-needed products they need. Homeless women are not the only ones dealing with menses while having no access to hygiene products or showers. Homeless teen girls are experiencing the same things. If you pull up the homeless shelter request list feminine hygiene products are not at the top of the list. Even if they are on the list women have been raised to be ashamed of their periods. They are often too embarrassed to ask for products especially for teen girls.

I absolutely enjoyed the experience and would gladly do it again. I would even host a hygiene party. I think that all women should have access to free hygiene products no matter their age or social status. I do not feel that any woman or girl should be made to feel ashamed of who they are. When boys go through puberty it is celebrated especially in other cultures, it is when boys become men but for girls it is something to be hidden.

          I hope to teach my daughters to stand tall and be proud to have the ability to carry and bring the next generation into the world even if they choose not to. Being a woman is something to celebrate not be afraid or ashamed of. I spent too much of my teenage life hiding from the fact that I was female and I don’t want any girl to feel that way. I want them to be proud of who they are, whether they are born a girl, transgender, or whatever. Celebrate who you are, celebrate the passage to womanhood it’s an amazing thing. I am mother to three beautiful girls and I celebrate every milestone including their period. I will be taking them along to distribute the next batch of famine products and hopefully spread awareness in the process.