{"id":5062652,"date":"2024-03-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5062652"},"modified":"2024-03-20T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T09:00:00","slug":"schools-have-a-period-problem-and-these-black-and-latina-chicago-teens-arent-having-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2024\/03\/20\/schools-have-a-period-problem-and-these-black-and-latina-chicago-teens-arent-having-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Schools have a period problem, and these Black and Latina Chicago teens aren\u2019t having it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many menstruators are taught from an early age to keep their period under wraps, literally wrapping their products in toilet paper and burying it deep in the trash bin<\/a> to prevent others from seeing it. Movies have documented these attitudes towards menstruation over the decades with films like Carrie<\/a> and Superbad<\/a> depicting teens period-shaming their peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may become a thing of the past. The\u00a02023 State of the Period survey<\/a>, a study by period panty brand\u00a0Thinx, Inc<\/a>. and menstrual equity organization\u00a0PERIOD.<\/a>, tracking the impact of period poverty on American students, shows that today\u2019s teens don\u2019t share this outdated attitude and are in fact\u00a0more comfortable than their parents\u2019 generation<\/a>\u00a0talking about periods. In Chicago, girls around the city have found avenues to push back against the status quo that historically wants them to remain quiet about their periods and are pushing for menstrual equity in their communities and schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girls Inc. of Chicago<\/a> is an organization serving girls primarily on Chicago\u2019s South Side, who live in historically disinvested communities and are disproportionately impacted by health disparities. Their program raises awareness about the social issues facing their communities and empowering girls to advocate for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnnaya Brooks and Shartrell Bush, both 16, are two members of Girls Inc.\u2019s\u00a0Bold Girls Society<\/a>\u00a0(BGS), a program for high schoolers focused on advocacy and leadership. Anchored by the\u00a0Girls Inc. Bill of Rights<\/a>, the girls are taught a curriculum on resisting gender stereotypes, boosting confidence, and accepting their bodies \u2013 including\u00a0menstrual equity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bush is a high school junior at Horizon Science Academy Southwest<\/a>, though it is her first year at the school. She says period products are not stocked in the school\u2019s restrooms \u2013 a recipe for disaster for menstruating students wearing the required khaki pants uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you do have an accident, it is easy to tell,\u201d she told Reckon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While products are kept in the nurse\u2019s office, there aren\u2019t any trash bins in the restrooms, leaving students who need a pad or tampon to take a trek down the hallway to the main office, and those who need to dispose of a product, to bring it out of the restroom and into a bin in the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to wrap it up in the little plastic it comes in and wrap it up in some tissue. And then like you\u2019re in the hallway, there\u2019s men and women there and there\u2019s a bunch of kids going to class and people looking at you. So you have to sneak to throw it away,\u201d said Bush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dilemma causes anxiety during class when she feels her period might start. She thinks, \u201cplease don\u2019t let me spot. If I do, it\u2019s gonna be there, it\u2019s gonna show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling confident from her BGS lessons, she and her classmates recently brought up to school administration the need for period products to be accessible in restrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been heard.\u201d she said, sharing that she thinks a reason the school might not follow through is because her high school is attached to a middle school. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the point since middle schoolers be having their periods too, and it shouldn\u2019t be a real problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a lack of urgency from her school, Bush and her National Honor Society<\/a> friends have been toying with ideas to fix the problem on their own, like fundraising to stock products in the restrooms themselves, though she\u2019s hoping the school will follow up instead. She said that without BGS she might have gained the confidence to make the request in a few years, but says the group has instilled in her the courage to speak up about menstrual equity now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first time I came here I was kind of quiet,\u201d said Bush. \u201cBold Girls Society taught me how to be stronger, and speak up for yourself. Because you know, my mom always said closed mouths don\u2019t get fed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago Public Schools Menstrual Hygiene Management<\/a> policy states the products must be available for free in at least one school bathroom, but \u201cschools are encouraged to make products available in all school bathrooms in schools serving students 4th through 12th grade.\u201d On the contrary, Illinois state policy<\/a> says that public schools should have products in all restrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooks attends Sarah E. Goode Stem Academy<\/a> in Chicago\u2019s Ashburn<\/a> neighborhood. At her school period product dispensers are only installed on one floor, but she says they\u2019re always empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t really access them in the bathroom but more from teachers or the nurse, I don\u2019t know why,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the girls, staff members often fill that gap<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will say that I think the history of accessibility for girls is getting those pads directly from the pockets of teachers and outside partners such as ourselves,\u201d said Kiah Wilson<\/a>, program manager of community engagement of Girls Inc. of Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a02019 study found<\/a>\u00a0that two-thirds of low-income women in the U.S. were unable to afford menstrual products the year before. For 21% this was a monthly issue. Over 75% of Chicago Public Schools student population are considered low-income, per\u00a0a demographics report<\/a>\u00a0by the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from BGS, Girls Inc. also has classrooms in seven schools around the city. In 2020, they started a hygiene care initiative in response to families financially struggling during the pandemic. Students can now walk into these classrooms and take any menstrual products or other toiletries like shampoo, with no questions asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that two out of three low-income women<\/a> and girls don\u2019t have the supplies that they need [and] are making a choice between food or clothing or just other things you need to literally live, and menstrual hygiene products, and we know that shouldn\u2019t be,\u201d Yani Mason<\/a>, chief executive officer, said. \u201cSo we want to provide as easy access as possible\u2026 We don\u2019t want them to be embarrassed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Latinas take on period stigma<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While Girls Inc. empowers students in underserved communities, students in downtown Chicago look to leave a mark on how their peers view menstruation before graduating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leslie Arredondo, 17, and Anabelle Sanchez, 18, are seniors at Jones College Prep<\/a>, one of 11 selective enrollment schools<\/a> for academically advanced students. This year they established PERIOD. at Jones, a local chapter of a national organization focused on empowering youth to learn about and fight for menstrual equity. Though there are five chapters in Illinois<\/a>, this is the first in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just something that I wanted to be in because this is the first chapter in Chicago. And I felt that not only would we make a difference within our school, but also in the community,\u201d said Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the co-presidents await college decisions, they\u2019re working on teaching their peers about the local and global impacts of period poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do intend on doing drives for menstrual products, packing them and then donating them, so it\u2019s also more of that service component as well,\u201d said Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arredondo says that accessing products at school isn\u2019t an issue, but period stigma is evident among her peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven now when I give my friend a pad they hide it, and I\u2019m like why are you doing that, nobody\u2019s going to judge you for that,\u201d she said, explaining how these small but telling interactions make her wish she could have an impact on her school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanchez explained upbringing and culture can lead Latinos to feel uncomfortable with this normal bodily function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt lacks an education component as well. I think especially within the Latino community people tend to hide that [periods] and it\u2019s just simply a part of growing up so it shouldn\u2019t be that way,\u201d said Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultural stigma surrounding menstruation in the Latino community is rooted in machismo and marianismo<\/a>, the traditional feminine gender role likening women to the Virgin Mary, characterized by submissiveness, selflessness, chastity and hyper-femininity. Sex is to not be openly discussed, often preventing important discussions about sex and reproductive health<\/a> from happening within households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arredondo says that this wasn\u2019t the case for her growing up, describing her mom as very \u201cgirl power,\u201d and sharing that her mother celebrated her first period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe called my aunt and they congratulated me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She recognizes that this isn\u2019t the case for many of her friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood and they weren\u2019t as comfortable talking about it at sleepovers or hangouts, and to me I always felt like I wish they were.\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to make somebody comfortable with something that\u2019s so normal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the co-presidents await college decisions, they\u2019re hoping to grow the club, host events, and advocate for period products to be placed in their school locker rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this kind of falls into the public health category because it is a serious issue. If people don\u2019t have what they need at the time, it\u2019s definitely something that should be brought up and this is where the empowerment comes in to speak up because I know that is a very sensitive topic for many people and I think it\u2019s more-so finding your voice to speak up,\u201d said Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Cover Photo: This International Women\u2019s Day, meet the teens tired of hiding their periods. They\u2019re taking on schools, cultural norms, and outdated policies to demand change.\u00a0(Annabel Rocha\/Michelle Zenarosa)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher\u2019s Notes:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Schools have a period problem, and these Black and Latina Chicago teens aren\u2019t having it\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/a>was first published on\u00a0Reckon<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois <\/em><\/strong>Latino News and Reckon are partners in \u201csharing stories by, for, from, and about the full breadth of cultures, experiences, and perspectives across the nation.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet the teens tired of hiding their periods. 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