Time to name and shame some bar exams

The year is 2020, and it’s already been a disappointing year on so many levels. A global pandemic. Rampant systemic racism. It’s a year when “murder hornets” somehow barely qualify for an apocalyptic honorable mention.

But now it’s bar exam season! So, in the continuing saga of “Why is this still an issue in the 21st Century?” I want to take a little time to talk about — you guessed it — menstrual products!

Photo by Gabrielle Rocha Rios on Unsplash

Despite COVID-19, a shocking 23 states are still holding an in-person bar exam this summer. Not surprisingly, bar examiners place serious restrictions on what examinees can bring into the test. What is surprising, however, is how many leave menstrual products off that list. Iowa. West Virginia. Texas. Oklahoma. Arizona until they were recently shamed into an about-face.

And not to let Washington State off the hook, if it were holding the bar exam this summer, it too would have some archaic restrictions:

31. Can I bring earplugs into the exam room? You cannot bring your own earplugs into the exam room. The following items are provided at the exam site at no cost: Tissue/Kleenex, ear plugs, beverage cups and coffee, tea and water; and feminine hygiene products are available in coin operated vending machines at the main exam site.

I don’t need to explain to anyone who has used menstrual products why this is a terrible “solution.” But for those who don’t know, it forces people to pay on a per-item basis for a cheap, uncomfortable, one-size-fits-nobody product. Assuming the vending machine works or is stocked (which frequently is not the case). And assuming you are comfortable entering the women’s restroom (which some menstruating transgender or non-binary individuals are not).

Washington does allow examinees to “make a special request for non-permissible items up to 18 days before the exam,” but that carries with it the risk that the request might be rejected. And considering the sheer percentage of people who could need this accommodation at any given time, why subject people to this barrier?

And while we’re at it, let’s also make sure private and sanitary spaces are provided for those who are lactating and need to pump, since that is also something that many bar exams are sorely lacking. We’ve been in the 21st Century for a while now. Let’s act like it.