Even if Kansas legislators don’t pass bills this session in alignment with a Lawrence nonprofit’s mission, they’ve opened up a conversation on period equity, and that’s a win for a group of local teens.
When Giova Rubenstein helped launch Honor Moon’s first no-questions menstrual hygiene pantry in 2021 with seven other teens, she viewed the removal of the Kansas sales tax on period products, commonly referred to as the pink tax, as an impossible dream.
That dream has taken a few steps closer to reality, however, since the teens were approached this winter by Kansas Rep. Nikki McDonald, a Democrat from Olathe. McDonald has, in her first session as a lawmaker, introduced three bills in the Kansas House related to Honor Moon’s mission of ending the struggle to afford menstrual products, also known as period poverty.
The bills, which have been introduced and referred to their respective committees, propose all Kansas public K-12 schools and post-secondary education centers provide menstrual products at no cost to students; establish a personal hygiene fund that gives individual income tax credits in exchange for contributions to the fund; and eliminate state sales tax for period products, diapers and incontinence products.
Honor Moon board members attended Period Day of Action on Feb. 7 at the Kansas State Capitol. They met with lawmakers, lobbyists and other nonprofits and talked about the importance of period equity.
Rubenstein, Honor Moon vice president and director of communications and outreach, said participating in the process felt rewarding and “to just be exposed to all these new experiences and important people is a really good step in the right direction for our organization.”
“And whether or not these bills do or don’t get passed, Honor Moon will continue to support the people within the Lawrence community,” Rubenstein said.
Honor Moon’s judgment- and cost-free pantries are located at Lawrence High School, Free State High School and Heartland Community Health Center, 1312 W. Sixth St. A fourth pantry is in development outside Lawrence Public Library.
McDonald said in an Instagram post Honor Moon board members “work diligently to stock menstrual products in period pantries throughout their community.” The current board is made up of seven high school juniors, all ages 16 or 17. They attend FSHS, LHS and Bishop Seabury Academy.
“These teens are visionaries and I am humbled to carry these bills on their behalf,” McDonald wrote.
McDonald provided a written statement she delivered during the advocacy day Honor Moon representatives attended that said in part, “We must fight back against those who shame and stigmatize menstruation. Although it is a natural bodily function in which billions of people around the world experience, it is treated as an embarrassing, taboo, or rude topic to discuss with others. So let’s normalize talking about periods & period products.”
Lilly Wall, Honor Moon president and social media director, said the experience in Topeka felt somewhat intimidating but very rewarding. It was fun to witness the process and to make some noise, she said, and the group learned a lot.
“And I think, honestly, everyone that we spoke to was really nice and understanding and, honestly, just really excited to talk to in the sense of a next generation of people who are caring about the world and about issues that they see and going after them,” Wall said.
It’s Turnaround Week in the Kansas Legislature, which generally means any bill that has a chance of becoming law must pass its chamber of origin — either the House or Senate — by this halfway point of the session.
Public relations director Margaret Mulhern said Honor Moon was stirring things up and guaranteeing a conversation about accessibility to period products whether the bills pass into law. Either way, the young women will have made connections with organizations like Planned Parenthood and contributed to a process that bridges real, lived experiences with lawmaking.
“But I think that what’s important is, there are articles being written about it, and if we do get a hearing, seven teenage girls will go in front of mainly men and be talking about periods,” Mulhern said. “So in that alone, I think that we’re accomplishing something big and great.”
For Hazel Powers, pantry management director, the visit to the Capitol allowed her to see women at work.
“It was very inspiring to walk around a place where changes get made every single day in hopes that the change we’re trying to make will be heard,” Powers wrote in a message.
The future of Honor Moon
With high school graduation 15 months away, Honor Moon leaders are looking toward the future of their 501c3 organization. They’ve launched a recruitment process centered on current eighth graders to find a new wave of “Honor Moonies” with whom they share core values.
“We want to find individuals who want to help people, stand up for people, and overall treat each human with the respect they deserve,” Powers wrote.
Treasurer Liv Hazlett said the board hoped to fill seven positions with newcomers willing to bring about change and make an impact in Lawrence while carrying on the legacy of inclusivity Honor Moon started three years ago.
Launching a nonprofit in their early teens has changed the young women’s lives. They said it’s helped them contribute to their community while learning leadership skills as well as developing self-awareness and empowerment. And Honor Moon has showed them their potential.
“I feel like it’s opened me to career paths and people and communities that I never even knew existed,” Wall said. “And I think that it’s made my view change on Lawrence as a whole because before I started Honor Moon, Lawrence was just somewhere I lived. And now I feel like Lawrence is somewhere that I love and that I’m happy to be a part of and to represent in some sort of way.”
Applicants must have availability to attend board meetings and shadow current board members during the transition. Email Honor Moon at honormoonlfk@gmail.com to request an application. Applications are due June 1. Follow Honor Moon on Instagram at honormoonlfk.
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Tricia Masenthin (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at tmasenthin (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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