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For young activists, a new cause: period parity

Uncomfortable talking about The Curse? Shark Week? Surfing the Crimson Wave?

Get ready to hear a lot more about it.

In this time of ferocious female discontent, women are increasingly demanding a conversation about their periods and a reconsideration of public policies surrounding the cost and distribution of menstrual products.

Brookline Town Meeting members decided last month to start providing free menstrual products in public bathrooms by 2021 — a move they believe makes their municipality the first in the nation to do so.

Boston City Councilors last week proposed providing pads and tampons in city schools to encourage students, most of whom are low-income, to come to school even if they’re ill-equipped. Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill requiring menstrual products in all public schools, as well as shelters and prisons. 

And the MIT Media Lab is setting out to reimagine the tired old monthly enterprise with a “period hackathon” aimed at brainstorming innovative period products and policies.

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