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RE: Menstrual Cups {Another Thing I Wish I Knew About Sooner}
I am coming over to write a proper comment missive on this important post before it expires. As you might have guessed, this is an issue which resonates....
I'll be back... :D
Take your time. :) At least that's one good thing--even after the post reaches payout, you can still come back and keep commenting indefinitely!
I am back. My own story and a rant follow. Get coffee....
Before I get to my own story, the advent of menstrual cups is something that's very recent in South Africa and even now, now sufficiently widespread. The cost of sanitary towels and tampons is so high that a large proportion of young women miss between 10 and 20 days of school a year because they are menstruating. Teenagers do not want the "luxury" of free bleeding and in a country that has the biggest Gini coefficient in the world, this is a huge issue.
That girls miss school for a normal biological function exacerbates the already huge gender disparities in this country. There was a campaign, not so long ago by one company that for every package of sanitary towels or something similar that they sold, they would donate one to a designated charity.
So, on one level, and before I even think about sustainability issues, I find myself faced with a conundrum: how to make what should be available to all women, readily and easily available? Condoms are free in this country: the state distributes them and they're freely available in all bathrooms in state institutions - and beyond. That, I hasten to add was in an attempt to stop the spread of HIV rather than to encourage family planning. The two issues, IMO should go hand in hand especially as this country tackles the scourge of gender-based violence and the rape culture.
Now, to my own story. I went off to boarding school at 12, armed with cloth belts and a packet of sanitary towels which my mother had given me, shown me how to use, but not really explained what would happen, i.e. pain and blood. At boarding school, I learned that from my peers. I witnessed it, firsthand. The "curse" (my mother's word) struck me after it had struck my younger sister, by which time, I'd given up schlepping the things backwards and forwards. It was heralded by excruciating pain and then the blood - a lot, for 7 days. And my cycle was like clockwork, along with the breast tenderness and mood swings that predicated the bleed. I was 16 when I started, and except for the occasional patch, on which I shall not dwell, that was what happened every month for thirty years. Frankly, hot flushes and night sweats (both of which are now much diminished), are a much happier occurrence.
Returning to the "equipment": by the time I started, self-adhesive pads had been introduced, as had tampons sans cardboard. My peers were a great source of information. Not my mother. She'd also had a hysterectomy some ten years prior and was still in the throes of menopause. A large chunk of my meagre allowance was spent on the monthly requirements and after I fainted at school, I was schlepped off to the GP who prescribed strong pain meds. WHICH. DID. NOT. WORK. How strong were they? Very strong: the same meds that were prescribed after my car accident and broken bones. They worked for that. Every month, until the contraceptive pill helped, I declared: "If this is labour, I shall never give birth." That was the extent of the pain - first the back ache and then the cramps.
Returning to "equipment" again: had I known about menstrual cups, I'd have been a very early adopter. Even though I've never used one, I can see three major benefits: economic after the initial outlay, convenience and, of course the issue of sustainability.
Thank you @plantstoplanks for tacking such a sensitive and important topic and kudos to the men who've taken the time to not just read your post but also the comments.
So I was drawn to the Pixie Cup as they donate for every one bought, but I finally looked at the website to see the extent of this program. Pretty darn awesome to see: https://www.pixiecup.com/buy-one-give-one/
If every company did such a thing, imagine the improvement in quality of life for so many women across the world. It is unfathomable in this day and age that there are still girls who have to miss school for that. I can imagine I would have to do the same if I didn't have access to sanitary products. Every month is messy enough as is, I would need a whole new wardrobe monthly if I didn't have access to these types of products!
Thank you for coming back and weighing in on such an important topic. It's one that had been on my mind to tackle for some time, but I wanted to make sure to do it justice. I hope to keep the conversation going in the future as it is one that warrants continued discussion and awareness!