美国国家公共电台 NPR Student Spurs Brookline, Mass., To Offer Free Tampons And Pads In Public Buildings

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

When we go into a public bathroom, we expect a few things to be there - soap, toilet paper, something to dry our hands. But what about tampons and pads? A town in Massachusetts is making menstrual products as routinely available as those other bathroom staples¹. Ally Jarmanning of member station WBUR in Boston reports.

ALLY JARMANNING, BYLINE²: Pst (ph). Hey. Do you have a tampon? We've all been there - well, those of us who menstruate. Go into the bathroom, seeing it's the start of your period, realizing you don't have a tampon or a pad handy. That starts the scramble³ - a run out to buy supplies or pestering⁴ friends for a spare or worse; going without one. But soon, if you're in the town of Brookline, just outside Boston, you'll be in luck. Sarah Groustra got it all started. Last year, she wrote a column in her high school newspaper about the stigma⁵ around periods.

SARAH GROUSTRA: Everyone had these strategies of, like, how to hide their menstrual products. Like, I remember I used to take dance classes at the high school. And when I changed after dance classes, I would zip tampons into my boots so that I wouldn't have to take them out during class to go to the bathroom.

JARMANNING: In her piece, Groustra called for an end to period shaming.

GROUSTRA: It shouldn't be, like, a brave or, like, you know, sort of like self-confident thing to be able to, like, take a tampon out of your backpack and go to the bathroom.

JARMANNING: Rebecca Stone read the column. And even for the self-described feminist⁶, Groustra's description of period shaming was an eye-opener.

REBECCA STONE: And, of course, once you start seeing it, it becomes more and more obvious what a fundamental issue this is for gender⁷ equity⁸ and for the dignity of women and female-bodied individuals.

JARMANNING: Stone's an elected official in town. She got to work, along with students, on an effort that would lead the town to vote to become what it says is the first municipality to offer free tampons and pads in all restrooms for anyone who needs them. The town estimates it will cost $40,000 upfront and about $7,500 a year going forward. But it's worth it, Stone says, to end the stigma and the strain on those who have periods.

STONE: You know, in the United States, girls learn very early that this is their problem. And you are expected to be discreet⁹. And we do not impose this on others.

JARMANNING: Other communities are also taking action, but most of these laws have focused on areas of most need, like schools, prisons and shelters, where people might not be able to afford tampons and pads. California, New York and Illinois have passed state laws requiring menstrual products in public schools. Sarah Groustra, a student who sparked this conversation, says it isn't just about having the tampon there when you need it. It's about an acknowledgement from your hometown that periods happen.

GROUSTRA: By having the community or that community space provide for you in that way is - it almost sends a message of, like, we understand that this is something that happens. And we want to be there for you and provide this for you.

JARMANNING: Brookline has until 2021 to stock its roughly 100 town-owned bathrooms with menstrual products. So eventually, you won't need to hide that tampon in your boot.

For NPR News, I'm Ally Jarmanning in Boston.

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

4 pestering   

使烦恼，纠缠( pester的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He's always pestering me to help him with his homework. 他总是泡蘑菇要我帮他做作业。
• I'm telling you once and for all, if you don't stop pestering me you'll be sorry. 我这是最后一次警告你。如果你不停止纠缠我，你将来会后悔的。

5 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

6 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

7 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

8 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

9 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。