Teen Wants Men To Carry Tampons For The Sweetest Reason Possible

shutterstock_77048446One of the tough parts about raising a boy is trying to instill in him an understanding of what it’s like to be a woman. You can teach him about gender equality, the importance of consent and how to do their share of the chores, but there’s no way of knowing if your methods have worked until he’s old enough to express his own opinions. But one Miami mother doesn’t have to worry about her son viewing women solely as objects.

According to the Huffington Post, fifteen-year-old Jose Garcia started a call for action on social media encouraging men and fellow teen boys to carry tampons and sanitary napkins for the women in their lives who are caught unprepared for their periods.

Garcia posted a photo of himself holding some sanitary napkins on his Instagram account with the following message:

TO EVERY BOY THAT FOLLOWS ME AND CALLS HIMSELF A MAN OR SIMPLY A GOOD HUMAN BEING. Petition for all of us to start bringing a couple pads or tampons to school to help our girl friends. If you have a girlfriend or are friends with a girl, u [sic] should know that they do not always have tampons or pads on them, or that sometimes their period just hits them without notice and have a bit of a problem finding one. We should support them with this, after all, we don’t have to go trough [sic] all they they do because of menstruation, so it’s just logical that we help them. You should already know to give them your sweater and not question when they wrap it around their waist. So let’s step it up a notch and help them out. IF YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR YOUR MOTHER, YOUR GIRLFRIEND, OR JUST WOMEN IN GENERAL I EXPECT FOR YOU TO FOLLOW ME ON THIS.
To every girl that follows me. You are completely welcomed to ask me for a pad at any time without receiving a negative response or a dirty look. We should all help each other out like this so you don’t have to thank me at all. #realmensupportwomen

The super skeptic in me hopes this isn’t just a super elaborate scheme to get girls, but Garcia really does seem to be sincere in his intentions.

Garcia says he didn’t mean to imply that women need to be rescued or that they can’t manage to get a tampon themselves when needed. Indeed, most girls have a chain of places to look and people to ask when they find themselves surprised by their period. Garcia told the Huffington Post his reasoning is if people can help each other without anyone being hurt or offended, then they should.

Garcia also stated that he wrote this post in hopes of erasing some of the taboo surrounding periods, and man, I wish he were around when I was in high school. While I never experienced the trauma of having my period stain my clothes in school, I was mortified when a crush went through my bag and found a pad. I lied and told him it was doll clothes, because I thought admitting to be a 13-year-old who played with dolls seemed less mortifying than confessing I had my period. Had boys been as educated and open-minded as Garcia back then,maybe the memory wouldn’t still make me blush.

Garcia says some of the boys at school have followed his example of carrying tampons and pads. While most of the response has been supportive, he admits there have been some boys at school who have mad fun of him over the idea. Even if there isn’t a huge increase in the number of boys who can say the word period without giggling after reading Garcia’s message, kudos to him for actually trying to use social media to effect real change and not just retweeting or using a hashtag to lend support to a cause.

Garcia’s recent Instagram activity includes a photo and tribute to his mother, and to her I say, you’ve raised a good one, Mom. As soon as my own boys are old enough, I hope to teach them to follow Garcia’s example

(image: matka_Wariatka/shutterstock.com)

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