ever so slightly obsessed ([info]sweetrush) wrote,
@ 2008-06-22 22:56:00
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Entry tags:cups, menstruation, vaginas

Menstrual cups and liberation
This may be surprising to some of my readers, but [info]menstrual_cups was actually the first community to tempt me out of the 'I'm only hear to read, honest guvn'r' state that I happily inhabited here at [info]sweetrush in 2004-5. And I went from an initial timid post to now moderating the community, phoning up the cup companies in a self important sort of way, and owning a drawer filled with samples. Which is pretty darn awesome if you ask me.

I wouldn't say that cups are my central interest here on LJ, but they do take up a good amount of my time and attention, and of course, I've got plenty to say. And so today I'm going to write about, basically, what the heck is going on over there that inspires such a rabidly enthusiastic following?


'I love this thing. I may buy some and start passing them out to random women on the street. I will probably become one of those annoying proselytizing people who won't shut up about something.' (»)


If you hang out here on LJ, you'll have seen this phenomenon. People get really, really passionate about their cups. 'Evangelical' would not be going too far as a description, to the point where people can even be very disparaging of other choices (although I try to quash that aspect as best I can).

If you need a quick intro to the culture I'm commenting on, I would suggest browsing the community, our success stories and activism tags in particular.

This often goes deeper than 'I'm very happy with my purchase' (»), or 'I love my Mooncup and I only wish I had discovered it before' (») and into territory like 'I am so happy I gave menstrual cups another try. I am so happy to be a woman.' (») Woah! How did we get there? let's take a closer look...



The easy (and good) stuff


Now, I don't think that the practical advantages of a cup are enough to explain this level of enthusiasm, but at the same time, they're also the most important. If cups were a crap product, none of the rest would matter because no one would want to use them for very long. And as a product, the cups really do excel for the vast majority of women who try them.

The main advantages they have are those of comfort and convenience. They're internal like tampons, so they work great for swimming/sports, no swampy pad, no smell. But unlike tampons, they're not associated with TSS. They also hold more blood than pads/tampons for those with heavy flows, while at the same time not drying you out if you have a light flow.

This is not terribly subtle stuff. They just work. But it would be a mistake to underestimate how freeing that alone can be, particularly for those who are really finding disposables inadequate. When I first used my Mooncup, it was a complete epiphany to realise that I didn't have to keep track of which direction I crossed my legs in to make sure I used both sides of the pad/tampon. Getting up in the morning of a heavy day, I didn't have that unpleasant gush of blood down my leg (there's no time for it to soak into a pad. Honest to God I have stained slippers in this way.) These things were quite simply gone and I have no words for how pleasant that is. It makes you want to laugh and dance. I can't even imagine going back.

Now I'd found cups mostly because I'd been keeping an eye out for other options, aware that pads and tampons were not working very well for me. That's not always the case, and not everyone finds them more convenient at all. Plenty of cup users were in practical terms pretty much okay with what they were using before they switched. So what else is going on here? Well, there is one huge motivation which I personally like to term...



The warm fuzzies


'The environment' is easily one of the most often-quoted reason for people's enthusiasm. (») Related to this in an equally hippyish way is 'no nasty manmade chemicals in my vagina'. Also, the cup companies tend to be small, friendly and to provide a very personal, helpful service, going as far as giving you cup use advice over the phone if you're having trouble. They're generally also feminist and eco-friendly, and basically a pleasure to deal with. (The Keeper Company, I'm looking at you as the exception for all of the above. Time to get your act together!).

There's not much more to elaborate on about these, except that they make people feel goooood, and a little bit smug. There's nothing like a little moral righteousness to make you feel like there's a genuine superiority rather than personal preference at work here.

Incidentally, someone once calculated how many pads and tampons [info]menstrual_cups community members alone were saving from landfill every year - she came up with 360 thousand (»), and I think it's rather more. Even I will admit to feeling rather proud when I read that.



How the main problems with cups can actually serve to increase enthusiasm in the long term


The main drawbacks of using cups are: the 'eww' factor when you first hear about them, the initial purchase is expensive, the learning curve is comparatively steep, and of course you've got to take a few minutes out of your day to clean them between periods. Reusable products do in the long run save the environment and your money, but they also require/inspire a very different mindset. A lot of the stuff below applies to cloth pad users too.

The initial outlay: this is certainly an inconvenience, particularly for the very young or those with very tight incomes. But weirdly, I think it's actually something that helps to inspire devotion - similar to the effect described in this article. [info]menstrual_cups gets lots of posts about which cup to buy, because people want to get it right. They put hours of research and a lot of discussion into it, and they become very invested in their choices (brand loyalty is massive).

This is very different to disposable products. No one spends hours agonising over which brand of pad to buy, no one saves up for them, no one names (» ») them, because you throw those suckers away when you're done.

The learning curve: often referred to as 'teething troubles', it's common for women to initially have difficulty using their cups. They have a rather steep learning curve in comparison to tampons, and of course in comparison to pads. Having trouble using your cup is a very common post topic, probably the most common in fact and that's not counting all the people who use the archives to find solutions to their problems. A couple of informal polls (» ») showed that most people took around a cycle to learn how to use their cup easily, and it took plenty of people longer. This can be incredibly frustrating (»), but at the same time, investing lots of time and effort and thought has much the same effect as investing money, and feels very rewarding and gratifying when you succeed.

The 'ew' factor: it's pretty much guaranteed that most women's first reactions on hearing about a product that fills up with your menstrual blood and that you don't then throw away as fast as possible while trying to look the other way is going to be... wait for it... 'ewwwww! GROSS!!'. And it's very interesting to see what happens when they do actually try cups. Because of course people tend to find that 1) after a bit of practice, you don't generally need to get blood on your hands anyway, and 2) if you do, the world does not end. You can wash or wipe it off and that's it. All that fear and shuddering for nothing! This is such an emotionally charged issue that people often U-turn completely (»). Which brings me to my next point...



'Let me tell you, nothing gets you closer to your girly-bits than when you have to dive in hands first to rescue a Diva cup.' (») (or, 'this is so involved with my vagina, i'm used to just throwing on a pad and being done with it!' (»))


A surprising number of women who start using cups are not at all familiar with their genitals. Or perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but just sad at the fact that this unfamiliarity is so completely standard.

Some are very young, as young as 12 or 13, but plenty are much older and even sexually active, yet still nervous/squicky about touching their own genitals. Using a cup is super easy once you get the hang of it, but learning to do so often requires people to actually figure out where their vagina is, at what angle, how deep, what and where their cervix is, and how to relax to allow for insertion and removal. Particularly for the people who started off squeamish and/or inhibited, this can be a Really Big Deal, and I think that's awesome. They start relating to their body as something familiar and theirs to touch without fear, rather than dirty or painful or mysterious or 'probably horribly malformed' or 'only for my future husband' or whatever it may have been that was putting them off before.

In some cases this can have some very happy knock on effects - improvement in sex life, conversations started with friends and partners, sparking an interest in learning more, or even buying a speculum to take a proper look! (») The speculum thing I will admit to only having seen once, but the rest crop up over and over and over and I think they are fantastic.

One final point which is rather dear to my heart...



'This community has been SUCH a great help to me! ... I can't WAIT for my period!' (») - excitement and community interaction


This I think is probably the biggest factor here on the LJs. Of course, my sample is skewed as I mostly run across people who interact in my community and in related circles. But I don't think it's really possible to overestimate the effect.

While I like to think that if I'd run across mooncup.co.uk instead of [info]menstrual_cups I'd still have drooled with enthusiasm and ordered it that day, that's probably not the case. Cups are the sort of thing that benefit massively from community support and encouragement. And every single forum I have seen for cup discussion (not that there are that many of us) has been unfailingly friendly and helpful and above all enthusiastic. People get really excited about their cup purchase before it's even arrived!

Myself, I ran across the community and then spent a while trawling the archives to decide which brand to buy, which I then did immediately. I remember being so eager to join in that I had to restrain myself from posting 'I just ordered my cup! I'm so excited, I can't wait for it to arrive! ... It just arrived! I'm going to go try it now, wish me luck!' posts. I was actually grateful to have a couple of initial issues to give me a way into the conversation.

The learning curve described above necessitates this discussion to some extent, but even when people aren't having issues they need help with, there is something that's fantastically liberating about being able to post to a group of on the whole very knowledgable and super helpful commenters, who of course tend entirely towards the woman- and sex-positive. Posters with trouble inserting the cup often get told to try masturbating, and where necessary are given helpful, detailed explanations of where everything is and what it's called (I for one whip out my favourite cervix photographs at the slightest provocation). Lots of people comment with things like 'my cup sits low/high/to the left, is this normal?' and the answer is of course always a resounding and reassuring yes. What's not to love, really.



So in summary:


Cups and the culture that's built up around them give women explicit permission to touch themselves freely and without disgust, even when they're on their period, and to talk about it without shame or TMI worries. This, sadly, is not the attitude supported by mainstream disposable products, most of whose advertising seems to sell the idea that periods are horrible dirty inconvenient things that we should be attempting to hide from the world as much as possible. People very much appreciate being offered a more woman friendly alternative, whether they knew that's what they were missing or not.

The fact that cups are also eco friendly, cheaper, and a genuinely better product for most people who try them means you end up with some extremely contented customers - the sorts of customers who say things like 'The first thing I noticed the Diva cup accomplish that nothing else had was... I was looking forward to my period. This is an unheard of feat in my world' (»), who want to sticker loos for you and tell all their friends. Catch disposables getting that sort of loyalty.

Tampons and pads do the job of course, but people rarely actively look forward to using them - they either grit their teeth resentfully and put up with them, or they don't really think about it, throw them in the bin, and get on with their lives. I don't have a problem with this in the slightest if it's a genuine preference, but it's more usually a case of perceived lack of alternatives. And I don't think this is going to last much longer.

(Post a new comment)


[info]elettaria
2008-06-22 10:55 pm UTC (link)
I've got too much on tonight to comment right now, but stay tuned as I'll comment tomorrow, probably at irritating length.

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-22 10:59 pm UTC (link)
I expect no less from you, both as a person and former [info]menstrual_cups maintainer :P

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[info]steerpikelet
2008-06-23 10:37 am UTC (link)
I think I want one.

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-23 11:27 am UTC (link)
Hee! Boots on Cornmarket have them. Hidden away a little but they're there.

Edit: ...er, and so do a lot of other large Boots branches. Note to self, not all RL people live in Oxford.

Edited at 2008-06-23 12:36 pm UTC

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]elettaria
2008-06-23 06:46 pm UTC (link)
The main drawbacks of using cups are: the 'eww' factor when you first hear about them,

I confess to doing this too. As you say, the turnaround that occurs when someone gets past this and learns to use a cup is fascinating. I think there's more to that original "eww", though. Familiarity is a big thing.

Menstruation has been a huge taboo since time began, and it still is. Disposable menstrual products are icky (to use a technical term!). When kids are first told about them, they are usually horrified. But then we grow up and get used to them, and forget that original shock at the whole idea. Menstrual cups are radically new, preventing people from staying in that comfortable not-thinking position. And of course, once they get over this and become a convert, cup users typically end up saying that cups are far less icky than disposables. I've certainly hated it the few times I've had to use pads in the last few years, especially if they were disposables but even if they were cloth pads too. Ironically, despite all the fuss about how menstrual cups get you more used to touching your vagina when there's blood coming out of it, you also get used to seeing a lot less of that blood, and in a less unpleasant form since blood in cups doesn't oxidise and smell as it does on pads or tampons.

When I was getting used to using tampons, at the age of twelve and my second period, I nearly passed out but got myself through with grim-faced determination and not a little physical discomfort. Tensing up was probably the main problem there. When I started using cups, part of it was getting used to getting up close and personal with my blood like that, and a great part of it was figuring out how to get the blasted thing in and out. The first time I tried to remove it, it took half an hour and I ended up doing it lying on my bed. It didn't take long to get it down to a few seconds, however, and I don't even have to think any more. On the few occasions when I've needed to use pads, the main thing that struck me was having all that blood everything, leaking and smelly, while the pad shifted around and stuck in the wrong places and generally made me feel literally unclean.

the initial purchase is expensive

For anyone out there who isn't taking in the full significance of "initial", cups work out cheaper than disposables after a few months, and it's a one-off purchase that lasts ten years.

and of course you've got to take a few minutes out of your day to clean them between periods.

I reckon it's still less time than you spend on disposables. This is partly because you don't need to empty a cup anywhere near as often, partly because there's no running around to your supplies or the bin, and partly because you don't have to factor in the time for actually buying the things. Again, you're doing something new here, and this is probably why people who are new to the idea of cups think it sounds like a lot of work. We're trained not to think about those wads of chemically-treated cotton we stick between our legs any more than is absolutely necessary, so we blank them out. Menstrual cups take a far more proactive approach: yes, you'll have to clean it! No, it's not a big deal! Hey, why not put it in a pretty bag and treasure it! I'm one of several women who decided that the bag my Mooncup came in was so boring that I made my own, using up a scrap of purple linen and trying out some new embroidery stitches. It was fun, it looks perfectly discreet on the bathroom shelf or in my bag when travelling, and hippyish as it may sound, it's nice to do something positive about your menstrual products, rather than shroud them in boxes so euphemistic that a poor boyfriend sent out for emergency supplies has no idea how to pick them.

More later...

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[info]pinkdagger
2008-06-24 05:57 pm UTC (link)
Very well written. :) I think the eww factor affects most everyone initially. It's one thing to hear and talk about menstrual cups, but it's also a totally different thing to take the plunge and try one. Society tends to say we need to be very modest, clean, innocent, and have very little to do with our own body parts.

I fall into everything you've talked about. Where I used to hate having my period since I couldn't go swimming or even sleep lying down in fear that I would stain my sheets or wake up with dried blood on various parts of my body, my period is now just another week in life. It's become so positive for me. I've become ridiculously sexually open/proud with people (though unfortunately, very, very few are open and shameless enough to listen and share in the most colloquial of situations) and have lost all sense of shame once associated with my vagina or with masturbation.

I always dreamed of something that would live me through till menopause so I wouldn't have to deal with dreaded chemical-latent products that are in actuality highly unreliable during a week of ridiculously messy bleeding. My adorable little Diva Cup has brought that dream to reality, and I try to get as many friends as I can to realize how great cups are. Sadly, they buy so much into what the world thinks of them that they blush, gag, change the subject, or just walk away from any topic that's origins lie between our legs. I really think sexual health and a true understanding of one's own body is really important, and really empowering. It's something we need to bring to and spread across other women, and teach it to new generations. Of course, there's a long road ahead.

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[info]elettaria
2008-06-24 07:42 pm UTC (link)
It's become so positive for me. I've become ridiculously sexually open/proud with people (though unfortunately, very, very few are open and shameless enough to listen and share in the most colloquial of situations) and have lost all sense of shame once associated with my vagina or with masturbation.

That's fantastic, and I think you've gone right to the core of the thing. It gets people talking. So perhaps the teething troubles that necessitate getting help from other people is actually a blessing in disguise, not just because we appreciate something more if we've had to perservere with it, but because it forces us to smash that taboo and start talking about menstruation.

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[info]sera_squeak
2008-06-24 07:53 pm UTC (link)
*nods*

If it weren't for the internet and cup discussions (and, probably [info]theladiesloos!) there's a whole load of stuff that I could have gone through my life not only not talking about but never realising it was completely normal.

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[info]sera_squeak
2008-06-24 07:50 pm UTC (link)
Really fabulously written post.

I felt very smug the other day, whilst emptying my cup in the loo of a pub and finding myself face-to-face with a Mooncup sticker. In my head I was going "ha-ha, already got one!!!" (immature? moi?)

I was amazed at how quickly I grasped the whole deal, to be honest. I thought I'd be rather squicked by the whole thing but it was never any worse than I'd have to deal with in the past 15 years of dealing with my periods. And really, why should it have been?

A bit of a tangent here but thought I'd post it anyway:
D'you know, I made a connection the other day... I spotted that you're UK based so you may or may not remember the Channel 4 programme The Girlie Show? I don't remember much about it, it was probably mostly dross, however I do remember that one episode they had the "waaaaa, Bodyfoo-ooorm!!!!!" woman in the studio and they did a little segment on alternative menstrual products. Mostly to take the piss to be honest, but there, in amongst them was a cup! Some researcher had obviously found it abroad and didn't have an accurate name for it, but I distinctly recall the shape, the size, the stem etc. Obviously as with everything this only occurred to me after I first got my Moocup!

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-24 11:40 pm UTC (link)
Thanks so much. And no, I don't think I saw that - I don't see much TV in general. It sounds amusing though.

And yeah. I never had that squick factor myself (as you can imagine from the post above, I was kind of used to dealing with my blood), but from remembering the first few times I had to deal with that myself, I can see why people aren't terribly enthused by the idea...

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[info]sera_squeak
2008-06-25 06:46 am UTC (link)
The thing about that TV programme is that it was probably ten years ago, which was odd. And amusing now!

I think I got over the squick factor after I got my IUD fitted. Your periods can change quite significantly with one (and mine did in fairly dramatic fashion) so actually by the time it came to getting a cup, there really was nothing that was going to horrify me about the process. The occasional late "pop" as it opens can still make me jump though!

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[info]riverstar
2008-06-25 01:16 am UTC (link)
i went to the loos at the pub i work in to put information up....only to discover someone beat me to it.

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-25 07:46 am UTC (link)
Hehe, someone stickered the loos at my work a few months after I started working there, and it really wasn't me!

Although I've been tempted to embellish the stickers with the menstrualcups.org URL. I think my next cup-related project will be improving that site.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]asongofjoy
2008-06-24 08:01 pm UTC (link)
-"The 'eww' factor"

-"A surprising number of women who start using cups are not at all familiar with their genitals. Or perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but just sad at the fact that this unfamiliarity is so completely standard."

I have to confess to both of these...
I remember the first cycle with my cup...being afraid to touch myself and grossed out by the blood. I quickly got over the "ewwww factor" but I still couldn't get the cup to work correctly. I was so frustrated, reading the archives, trying to figure things out.

I was always told touching yourself was "dirty" and even now, almost 30, married with 4 kiddos...I still have a bit of that left-over. I finally sucked up the shame, went into the bathroom washed my hands and went exploring.... I swear, I almost cheered when I found my cervix....I was so proud of myself! It was so cool and empowering to finally understand where everything was and claim it for the first time... "This is MY body!"

After I discovered my cervix and finally understood where everything was, it was much easier to figure out cup placement and what would work for me.

Now, I'm trying to convert all of my female friends and family members! They all kind of laugh uncomfortably and say "not for me....gross!" But I'm going to keep trying (and I already know what they're all getting for Christmas this year....=P)

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[info]apithonor
2008-06-24 09:31 pm UTC (link)
I'm thinking of giving the new pink Mia since it comes in such a fancy-pants box with all the trimmings (plus it isn't see-through which might cause squick).

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-24 11:26 pm UTC (link)
*hugs* thanks for chipping in, that's incredibly heartwarming. I should be used to these stories by now but they push my buttons every single time.

Your comment illustrates exactly what I mean about wanting to spread the word, too! :D

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Cultural things
[info]apithonor
2008-06-24 09:29 pm UTC (link)
Tonight I showed a friend my cup as she asked me why I made such a small bag with a drawstring on it. I decided to tell her. Her face was the textbook picture of "squicked". I think a lot of this has to do with the culture that she is from (if it isn't something that your mum and grandmum did, its not something that you want to do either, barring technology, I'm guessing).

The concept of cleaning something after it has been used for periods is something that goes beyond squick and historical uncleanliness; I'm pretty sure it goes a bit deeper which is why (once 'converted') we who use cups can tend to crusade a bit. ;)

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Re: Cultural things
[info]elettaria
2008-06-24 10:29 pm UTC (link)
Look at the way people freak out over the idea of cloth pads. I haven't noticed that they're all religiously sticking to disposable knickers (and with disposable pads, "sticking" is the word).

Menstruation taboos are pretty fascinating if you read up on them in social anthropology, concepts of danger and such.

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Re: Cultural things
(Anonymous)
2008-06-24 10:33 pm UTC (link)
Indeed. It reminds me a lot of how pork is taboo in a lot of places/religion still, also. It makes me think that it was a valid concern back before the ability to suspend meat for purchase without spoiling, but isn't so much of a concern anymore. Still, it was smart advice at the time it was made.

Perhaps some of the gag-worthy feeling regarding menses comes out of the same sort of thing? I honestly can't think of a reason that would explain it in the same manner as the pork, but I am thinking in that direction. I'm guessing this is what you meant when you mentioned social anthropology? I'm a biology nut, so that is a bit out of my league.

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Re: Cultural things
[info]apithonor
2008-06-24 10:34 pm UTC (link)
Bugger. That was me replying.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
from vague memories of Douglas' "Purity and Danger", which is a fantastic read by the way...
[info]elettaria
2008-06-24 11:29 pm UTC (link)
Oddly enough, you're slightly wrong but this makes you closer than you think. Both Judaism and Islam have ritual purity laws which prohibit the eating of pork and also have very complex menstruation taboos. People often search for reasons for these laws and ascribe ones that just don't fit the whole situation. Anthropologists have searched and searched for a reason that works for all of the rules of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), and ended up concluding that yes, it's arbitrary, and that's actually the point. The words for "holiness" come from the words for "separation", and it's the ritual separation from other communities which is important here. Ritual purity laws aren't overtly about hygiene, although some of them certainly do serve to improve hygiene. In fact, Jews in Europe during the plague often got burned as witches because they were far less likely to get the plague, between leading a separate life and all that ritual washing.

Menstruation taboos are part of the ritual purity laws, and as I recall Douglas (not a recent writer but regarded as the mother of social anthropology - unfortunately I've read very little in this field) discusses the taboos concerning orifices and bodily liminality in relation to concepts of danger. Ever heard a man say, "How can you trust a creature that bleeds once a month and doesn't die?" I'd continue but this is getting garbled, as it's a couple of years since I read it (my background's in English Lit) and I'm fairly tired tonight. You can probably find plenty by googling. It's absolutely fascinating.

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[info]elettaria
2008-06-24 10:37 pm UTC (link)
They start relating to their body as something familiar and theirs to touch without fear, rather than dirty or painful or mysterious or 'probably horribly malformed' or 'only for my future husband' or whatever it may have been that was putting them off before.

Absolutely, and I think this is key. It's tragic how women are trained to think of their bodies like that. What's even sadder is when you come across women who are currently sexually active and still think they shouldn't touch their own genitals. I've seen the following discussion in women's health fora many a time:

Woman A: [grumbles about disposables]
Woman B: Have you thought about trying a menstrual cup?
Woman A: Oh certainly not, I'd have to touch my vagina!
Woman B: ...er, I thought you had a sex life?
Woman A: Yes, but I never touch myself there. It would just be Wrong.
Woman B: OK, let's go back to that problem you mentioned earlier with your sex life, and start talking about masturbation...

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[info]panshiko
2008-06-25 01:20 am UTC (link)
I've participated in so many online communities (BJDs and Linux, specifically) that leads me to believe that the behavior of this community goes far beyond the cup/menstrual experience. I think finding something obscure, integrating it into your lifestyle and wishing to convince others it is the best way of living taps into some psychological need that many people have.

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-25 07:59 am UTC (link)
You're very right actually, I'd noticed that too but hadn't connected it with what I wrote above. But having an obscure interest, particularly one that isn't particularly valued and appreciated in less specialised circles, is like an instant connection with anyone you meet who shares it with you. Like OMG, you use menstrual cups/read children's comic books/run linux too! You understand! BFF! It's something to bond over and talk about initially and it often vaguely correlates with personality traits you'll get on with in the long term too.

I had exactly this experience yesterday evening actually when I went to a talk about comics and suddenly all the chatty stragglers at the end started handing out moocards with their LJ handles on... it's amazing how quickly we all felt at home with each other knowing that we had those things in common.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
The EEWW Factor
[info]kitikatz1
2008-06-25 03:44 am UTC (link)
Well, I didn't even take that in to concern when I first found out about the Menstrual cup idea. I was just so blasted happy that there was "something" better than the pads I was using with none too much success. I have fibroids and am a heavy gusher, so pads were always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Add that up with all the extra wash I had to do during shark week, and you can understand why I was so darn happy! I was literally stuck in the house for 5 days because the pads didn't hold up their end of the agreement. Tampons were out over 20 years ago, I soak through one super in 3 hours. I had a very negative attitude about my cycle, and the general speed up of cycles due to Peri-menopausal status caused me no end grief. I have been a happy camper for over a year now, and have turned on many younger gals to the wonders of the Diva Cup. Both my daughters have them and we have been branching out everywhere we can.

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Re: The EEWW Factor
[info]sweetrush
2008-06-28 09:25 pm UTC (link)
Sounds like your happy feelings towards your cup use really do rest purely on it being a better product for you! It's nice to know that sometimes it's just that simple :)

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Re: The EEWW Factor
[info]kitikatz1
2008-06-29 12:10 am UTC (link)
Yes, it ws nice to find something that worked as promised. Me and my Diva are on very good terms, and will not be parted until the whole shark week thing is past.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
I've just encountered a site where "ewww" is the understatement
[info]elettaria
2008-06-25 09:15 pm UTC (link)
Think about changing my menstrual product? I'm vomiting at the very idea!

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[info]component
2008-06-26 02:49 am UTC (link)
The "ewww" factor is always the first reaction I encounter everytime I tell someone, who has never heard of menstrual cups, about them.

One person even asked me "Is that even sanitary?".... well let's see... are pads and tampons "sanitary"? Nope, so why be so squicky about using a cup then?

I even had one person (a male) tell me flat out that he thought the Diva Cup was a "scam" meant to trick women into giving a company money for something that didn't work. I was tempted to ask "How would you know? Do you have a vagina? Have you tried a Diva Cup" in jest lol But i didn't bother since this was someone who was usually offended by any opinion that wasn't in agreement with his. To think... these people are probably going around undoing some of the work that this community has done/is trying to do...

Edited at 2008-06-26 02:51 am UTC

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[info]sweetrush
2008-06-28 09:23 pm UTC (link)
A scam? haha. Nice. It's funny how defensive people can get when they're confronted with something new.

I can understand worries about needing to keep the cup clean and safe to use, that's a genuine possible issue, although over the years I've stopped being obsessive about it myself. However, it's the kind of thing that's easily resolved by doing a minimum bit of research about the materials cups are made of and how to clean them thoroughly should you need to (nothing you'd be able to get on the cup survives a trip through the dishwasher, for example!).

Often though when people kick up a huge fuss about how these products can't possibly be 'sanitary', they're not actually looking to get accurate facts, but to justify their personal squick reaction. And to scare/patronise you out of making any choices they personally are uncomfortable with. In my experience, if they aren't interested in listening to facts or able to give you specific things they're worried about (instead of just a vague feeling that it can't be ok), that's usually a sign there's more going on than any actually practical concerns.

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[info]component
2008-06-29 03:53 am UTC (link)
yeah, to me it's just kind of odd how people react to it because when I first heard about menstrual cups I actually had the exact opposite initial reaction. my thoughts were more along the lines of "how interesting. i think i'll read the faq" (in reference to the diva cup website) rather than "ew... gross get away!"

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[info]happy_texas_mom
2008-07-01 06:31 pm UTC (link)
I think I'm one of the few whose initial reaction wasn't "ewwwww". But that's only because I've had *very* heavy periods since I first started having them. I've gotten major stains on clothes more times than I can count...I can't tell you how many times in high school I ended up walking around with a jacket tied around my waist because I filled up my pad during one class period. I've gushed blood in my bed, down my leg, on the floor...you name it, I've cleaned it. So I was pretty darn used to (but fed up with) touching blood. Tampons don't work for me at all (long story, but it's in the menstrual_cups posts somewhere) so when I first heard that there was something that wouldn't mean a huge wad of something stuffed between my legs (and I do mean huge...I wore the heavy/overnight/postpartum sizes during the day for the first few days), that might not leak incessantly like tampons did for me, and that would guarantee me more than a 45 minute buffer between changes/empties, I was *thrilled*. Yeah, I still went through a learning curve and it wasn't all easy, but my biggest worry through the whole process was that it wouldn't end up working for me. Thank God it did...my Diva has literally changed my life and given me a freedom I only wish I had had when I was younger.

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Just wanted to say
(Anonymous)
2008-08-03 02:48 pm UTC (link)
Thank you

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Re: Just wanted to say
[info]sweetrush
2008-08-03 07:27 pm UTC (link)
Aw, you're welcome.

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[info]blue_eye_love
2009-01-18 11:27 pm UTC (link)
'Let me tell you, nothing gets you closer to your girly-bits than when you have to dive in hands first to rescue a Diva cup.'

I lol'ed at this a lot, yet it is so true...I'm a beginner user, and have been perusing at menstrual_cups for at least a month. I never had too much of a problem with tampons (i always hated pads) until the past few months, whenever I'd put one in it always felt like I was bumping my cervix without even getting it all the way in. Now, that my first cycle as started with the cup, it doesn't feel that close anymore :p I think that cups are a good breakthrough when it comes to menstrual options, and this is an excellent post :)

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