Cuban Jose Garcia, age 15, lives in Miami and takes sanitary pads to class each day to help female classmates who might run out or be caught off guard by their period that came earlier than expected.
He posted a call to action on his Instagram imploring other boys across the nationĀ to do the same thing. It quickly went viral with 21,000 likes.
Garcia insists that it’s the chivalrous thing to do. He says it can’t be easy for girls, and that even if boys have no empathy for menstruation, the least they can do is have someĀ sympathy. It’s hard to always be prepared, especially when you’re a teenager and your cycle hasn’t adhered to a schedule yet. Garcia’s answer is to be a gentleman. Don’t give a girl a hard time, just give her a pad.
He even finished it with #realmensupportwomen
The teen wrote on a social media post:
TO EVERY BOY THAT FOLLOWS ME AND CALLS HIMSELF A MAN OR SIMPLY A GOOD HUMAN BEING. Petition for all of us to start bringing a couple pads or tampons to school to help our girl friends. If you have a girlfriend or are friends with a girl, u should know that they do not always have tampons or pads on them, or that sometimes their period just hits them without notice and have a bit of a problem finding one. We should support them with this, after all, we don’t have to go trough all they they do because of menstruation, so it’s just logical that we help them. You should already know to give them your sweater and not question when they wrap it around their waist. So let’s step it up a notch and help them out. IF YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR YOUR MOTHER, YOUR GIRLFRIEND, OR JUST WOMEN IN GENERAL I EXPECT FOR YOU TO FOLLOW ME ON THIS.
To every girl that follows me. You are completely welcomed to ask me for a pad at any time without receiving a negative response or a dirty look. We should all help each other out like this so you don’t have to thank me at all. #realmensupportwomen
#realmensupportwomen ?? pic.twitter.com/1BN0U8n6Aj
— Zhai (@LakwatZyrah) May 6, 2015