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You Get A Tampon And You Get A Tampon And You Get A Tampon, Maybe

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Aunt Flo is popular in city politics right now — the Los Angeles City Council has advanced a proposal to stock free feminine hygiene products for her at all city-owned facilities. If they could also stock soft pajamas, Advil, London Fog lattes, Cheddar Combos and iron supplement gummies, that would be appreciated, too.

"It's time to end the stigma around periods and menstrual health that has kept policymakers dragging their feet," said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who introduced the proposal. "Providing feminine hygiene products at no cost in city-owned facilities should be just as normal as providing toilet paper or soap."

It’s also an effort to reduce the outsized and sometimes prohibitive financial burden on menstruating humans. The United Nations Population Fund calls this “period poverty.

The next step is … a report. The city's Department of Recreation and Parks and Department of General Services is tasked with figuring out how much it would cost.

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