It’s that time of the month. Deal with it.
I believe the “woman-on-her-period-means-bitchiness” is a stereotype reinforced by women to get away with crude behavior one week a month. I mean, I do it too. And it’s easy because when the red flag goes up (har har) suddenly significant others flock to the videogames.
Periods are great. And I ultimately mean that. For that one week a month, I become the most cynical person on earth. It’s almost like a surreal super-power. As a matter of fact, my roommate and I have a list of our favorite “period jokes” we tell one another when it’s that time (we usually stay in sync). My favorite being, “Vampires could be having picnics in my pants right now.”
Ah yes, these are the days of our pre-menopausal lives.
But my favorite period story goes back to this summer, when I discovered that there were not two ways to plug (tampons and pads), but THREE. And thanks to Google targeted advertising on my Gmail page, I was reminded.
[stolen from Wikipedia]
This, is a menstrual cup. I first found out about menstrual cups in the UK–There they have the “Mooncup.” And in the U.S., the most common are the “Divacup” and the “Keeper.”
Menstrual cups, to break it down:
- are cups placed in your special place to collect menstrual “fluid.”
- can be reused/disposable, depending on the brand. If they are reusable, they can last up to 20 years.
- can be worn up to 12 hours.
- are better for the environment!
- have NO HEALTH RISKS (says the FDA).
- come in two sizes (pre-birth, post-birth basically).
They are an investment, but my best friend and I calculated once that one cup (about $20) which lasts about 20 years saves you $1,700 on tampons/pads for periods (not including the price of inflation…I was taught Economics by a coach in high school).
Here is a video about tampon v. the Keeper cup:
And here are the websites of the products that are located in the U.S.:
- DivaCup
- The Keeper Cup (this website is really ugly)
Any more questions? Check out the Women’s Museum of Menstruation. Celebrate!
Chelsey
The Vampire Picnic… that deserves a ROTFLcopter, Chris-style. AHHAHa EW!
My friend Becca has one of those cups. The concept of keeping something inside me for 12 hours each day and then pulling it out and then putting it back in the next day grosses me out. Yea Yea I know wash it. Still….What if it sloshes over as you run to class?
And keep it for 20 years? GAH-ROWSS!
I don’t need that kind of longevity from something that collects the bloodied remnants of the children I didn’t have. That’s something I’d rather discard.
By: Vanessa on March 2, 2008
at 3:46 am
OMG THAT VIDEO IS SO CUTE
By: 730 on March 3, 2008
at 5:22 am
hmm.. yeah i don’t know about that cup thing. but i do think something should be said about the benefits of tampons w/out applicators. they are much cheaper (probably 1/2 the $$ of tpons with apps) and wayy better for the environment. granted, the “keeper” has these benefits to the max, but i really think the applicator-less tampon is the next best thing. plus, they’re super small and concealable (if you’re worried about that kind of thing).
By: thenaughtychair on March 3, 2008
at 7:35 am
ya personally i could never do it, but when i was in the uk they were so popular i wanted to try… damn the depreciation of the us $.
By: Chelsey Delaney on March 3, 2008
at 7:27 pm