Ella Stainton

How/What I Learned: 

How did you approach your research? 

I started my research process three weeks ago by making a plan using a mind map structure during the first week. My second week I emailed seven people using this question: How does being a woman affect your everyday life? My third week I found two articles written on both the Pink and Tampon Taxes to learn more about both. I took quotes from each of the articles and put them onto a document (I will link this document below). I approached it by making a plan, contacting people close to me, and then looking in wide picture research. This made it easy for me to understand my work because it was organized in a way that made sense to me. Overall my research is organized and 

What are some of your most interesting findings?

Some of my most interesting findings in my second week of research was when I found values in an article I was reading called: What is the Pink Tax: If You’re a Woman , It’s Costing You Lots of Money Each Year. The values like a 30-year-old woman has spent more than 40,000 dollars that a man has not because of her gender, and a woman in her 60’s has spent around 82,000 dollars. These numbers shocked me, with these amounts of money you could buy cars, plots of land, and also campers. These things could severely improve anybody’s life and if people are not paying this money because they are men is not fair to the people who pay this amount of money. I also learned that the Pink tax can affect how much interest you pay on loans, razors, shampoo, clothing, and many other things. One last thing that I learned which is important is the difference between the Pink tax and the Tampon tax. The Pink tax is the difference in price of the products that are specified for women and the Tampon tax is the cost of menstrual products for women’s menstrual cycles. 

How would you describe the main conflict in this topic / story?

This needs to be addressed because as young women in America we need to secure a bright future for ourselves and the next generation of. The amount of money the Pink tax could cost someone is astonishing and could make a huge difference in a woman’s life if they didn’t have to pay it. Instead of spending the money on menstrual products and loans they are being charged extra for. The main problem with what is going on is the amount of money it is costing women to live a life where they buy houses and take out loans, and that it costs more than men.  Everyone has their own opinion in this but I think that the people involved are women of any age who live in this society. The tax affects every single woman, simply because they were born a certain gender.

Who are the stakeholders or characters involved? 

The people involved in this are the whole female population. The Pink tax affects every single one of us from the jobs we take to the shampoo we buy. This topic is relevant to about half of the population, this means it is a very big issue and something we should be concerned about as time goes on. Men still have opinions on these topics though, saying their opinions on menstrual products and maternity leave. Everyone is involved in different parts of this topic and how it affects them and their families.

My Perspective / Angle:

If you / others decided to pursue this story this year, what are some of the key questions that still need to be answered? 

Some of the key questions that I think need to be answered in a film about the Pink tax and the Tampon tax are these three:

Can the Pink tax and the Tampon tax affect people financially to the point where they go into poverty?

What is the difference between the Pink tax and the Tampon tax?

How are women being discriminated against in everyday life?

I think these questions need to be answered because they directly relate to the topic of the Pink tax and the Tampon tax and help people understand how it affects their everyday life. This is important because women in America and all over the world need to know how this affects them and their financial life.

Any thoughts on whether / how you can approach this story in a way that is novel / hasn’t been done before? 

I want to approach this from two different perspectives, both mens and womens. I want to both see reactions to real numbers and also want to look at what both groups assume about the Pink Tax and the Tampon Tax. By looking at what people assume as well as reactions to the facts would make an entertaining and informative film. Also, if I looked at it by multiple and not just females it would add variation to the film which would make it more interesting. It would be more interesting to just female reactions. 

My Current Enthusiasm:

How enthusiastic are you about this topic? Be honest, and perhaps indicate what is getting in the way of unrelenting enthusiasm.

I still very much want to do this project, it is something I care about and it is something that directly relates to me. It is also something that I have wanted to look more into for a few years and never got the chance to. This is also very in my comfort zone, I am comfortable with talking to other people about the ideas that have been included in the rest of the document. 

Are you open to considering another topic? 

I am open to considering another project although this is something I am really passionate about. One of the other topics I would consider doing is the Vermont Prison system and looking at the Justice system in Vermont.

This is the document with my research on it. If you can not click the link tell me and I can share this document with you. Link Here

Image from https://daisymenstrualcup.com/