New York City

NYC Story 1, Age 23:

This summer, while I was interning at a big consulting firm, I ended up bleeding through my trousers right before an important dinner with senior partners. I was 23 years old and working in a corporate setting for the first day in my life. I had already double padded but still somehow bled through my trousers. Luckily, my trousers were black and you couldn’t really tell that I had a leak through because of my blazer but I was terrified. As a woman of color, we are expected to be better than perfect just to be taken seriously in settings that are dominated by white men and I was so scared that someone was going to notice and it would affect my return offer. 
 
The pad dispenser (you had to put in a quarter to dispense one pad) in the restroom of the public monument I was in was broken and I was panicking because I don’t use tampons and didn’t want to be forced to use one. I had to maneuver my hand to fit in the gap somehow and pull out a pad. 
 
I was able to clean up and replace my pad but I can’t imagine what would have happened if I wasn’t able to fit my hand in to grab the pad. 

NYC Story 2, Age 40:

I was 32. Visiting NYC to take a comedy class. I was out and about in Manhattan and suddenly felt that bad feeling where I knew I had just started my period. I went to a cafe to use their bathroom and of course had to buy something in order to use it. But I had to pretend like it wasn’t urgent and just got the freakin tea finally, left it on a table and booked it downstairs in the basement to a tiny toilet in a room. The sink was in the hallway. It was pretty unpleasant but luckily had toilet paper (sometimes the bathrooms were out) but no tampons or pads available. Presently, I live in NYC and have learned that when I have period or pee emergencies (which tend to also go hand in hand) that department stores are great. But unless you’re a member of a high end spa or gym, it’s really hard to find tampons in bathrooms. Sometimes the public library has them but not always. But also why aren’t tampons free? 

NYC Story 3, Age 49:

I was a city employee in my late 30s commuting into Manhattan from Queens around 2016 when my periods were the worst (due to a condition). Subway delays were terrible because of the lack of clean and secure public restrooms on most subway lines, so even if I encountered a delay that caused a period accident, there was no place to go to clean up. My city agency's building had one small restroom for all of the women on our floor, and sometimes inadequate soap or hand towels for me to make sure I could thoroughly wash my hands. Toilet paper was often installed too low for me to reach it while seated in a stall, but with a heavy flow you will sometimes make a mess on the floor unless you are seated. Your hands will also get quite bloody while changing a tampon and you need to be able to access toilet paper without leaving marks on the stall. This was all extremely stressful on a monthly basis. Being in the office on these days was uncomfortable and I wish I had thought to ask for an accommodation that would allow me to work from home. However, I would have had a hard time talking to any of my supervisors about this because of the shame associated with this. 

NYC Story 4, Age 56:

I was in my late 30s and had my toddler daughter with me at work for Bring Your Daughter to Work day in a busy office in NYC. My period was very heavy and I made sure to put in a fresh tampon as we left for home. By the time we reached Penn Station I had bled through my pants completely. I brought my daughter into a stall in a dirty train station bathroom and asked her to turn around knowing the amount of blood would terrify her. I changed my tampon, threw out my underwear and, holding my work bag and child, made my way to the train with my coat around my waist. (I was grateful it was cold weather.) I called my husband who was working from home that day and he met me at the train station in our home town with a stack of towels. Having menstrual products in public bathrooms might not have helped on that day but there are dozens of other times I have needed them unexpectedly. But the shame and embarrassment was real; I did not feel comfortable asking anyone for the help I really needed. If I had been bleeding for any other reason I wouldn't have hesitated to ask another person, or a police officer for help. 

NYC Story 5, Age 19:

Last year, when I was 18 years old, I went to NYC for a health appointment, and the day was going smoothly until, during my appointment, I started feeling uncomfortable in my gut, and I thought it was just an upset stomach.  However, when I went to the restroom, and saw blood all over my underwear, I realized that I was on my period.  I was exacerbated to find out that I was on my period again, and anxious as I knew I did not have any pads with me. So I resorted to using toilet paper.  There were no pads in the bathroom, and I was really upset as this was a health facility.  Thank goodness a toilet was available, as was the toilet paper.  This experience ruined my day, I was really concerned since I knew and I could feel that I was bleeding through the toilet paper.  The sense of bleeding through the toilet paper was not only uncomfortable it was also anxiety provoking. In an effort to cover any blood that could appear on my pants, I wrapped my sweater around my waist.  My anxiety only built as I imagined that the blood could also seep through my sweater.  Yes, I was also frustrated! My health appointment was quite long, and I knew that I had to go to a store to purchase pads, as there were none available at the health facility.  My advice is that pads should be widely available across NYC, but especially at health facilities!  They should know better! What the heck is up with this.