8 ms·

It absolutely blows my mind that Menstrual cups aren't more widespread globally. I basically wouldn't even know about them if my partner didn't use them. They s

It absolutely blows my mind that Menstrual cups aren't more widespread globally. I basically wouldn't even know about them if my partner didn't use them. They seem like a better option than tampons and pads 90%+ of the time.

latchkey 7y ago
I've introduced 3-4 women to them. They all have ended up loving the cups. I now live in Vietnam and know the owner of one of the leading brands here. She said that her biggest challenge is the fact that a lot of women don't even use tampons because of the whole fear of losing their virginity cultural stigmas.
- hycaria 7y ago
  I don't buy this argument. Which mother (arguably a good chunk of population) cares about that ?
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    Tampons are not popular in much of Eastern Asia, with this being one of the major reasons.
  - SolaceQuantum 7y ago
    IME (east asian) this fear is really common and I've heard among other east asian female peers of mothers shaming them or shouting at them for daring to use tampons.
    - hycaria 7y ago
      But... There's no virginity to "preserve"?!
jaabe 7y ago
My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t remember the prices exactly, but it’s the range of a year of cup coverage being cheaper than one pack of pads.
- aaronbrethorst 7y ago
  Notably there are also literally taxes attached to such things. Washington tried to make feminine hygiene products tax-free during this legislative cycle, but it died in committee. Hopefully it'll pass next year, but this is still crazy. https://crosscut.com/2019/02/wa-lawmakers-want-make-tampons-cheaper-cutting-pink-tax https://crosscut.com/2019/02/wa-lawmakers-want-make-tampons-...
  - vixen99 7y ago
    It's inconsistent tax rates which are crazy. Isn't toilet tissue 'essential' in the same way? Should that be exempt from sales tax? In many EU countries foodstuffs (difficult to 'make do' in its absence) and pharmaceutical products attract VAT albeit at a reduced rate.
    - JauntyHatAngle 7y ago
      Perhaps I'm missing the point, but I think the concern is more that Women have to pay money for essential hygiene products than Men due to their gender - which can be seen as inequitable. Toilet paper is an essential for both genders.
      - tomp 7y ago
        Well, they don't need to. Maybe pads should be taxed more so that more women would use menstrual caps? Pads seem to be quite environmentally harmful as well, they produce a lot of non-recyclable waste (unlike toilet paper).
mariam123 7y ago
I use it and it’s definitely a better option. I think one of the reasons it’s not more widespread is because we’ve created this stigma that menstrual blood is gross and should not be touched.
m-p-3 7y ago
From my wife experience they work well assuming you have access to clean water and a proper environment. She wouldn't wear it in camping for example.
- miranda_rights 7y ago
  I've worn it camping. It helps to have a little water to rinse it out, but I think it's significantly better than having to carry tampons and figure out what to do with them after use. In fact I originally got it for a camping trip, as I didn't want to carry a lot of tampons (too much weight in my bag) and the thought of not having enough tampons was a nightmare.
dfxm12 7y ago
Is this a new product? I've only recently heard of them, but it seems like I'm hearing about them a lot.
- jpindar 7y ago
  No, they've been around for many years, and there are many different designs/brands.

latchkey 7y ago

I've introduced 3-4 women to them. They all have ended up loving the cups. I now live in Vietnam and know the owner of one of the leading brands here. She said that her biggest challenge is the fact that a lot of women don't even use tampons because of the whole fear of losing their virginity cultural stigmas.

hycaria 7y ago
I don't buy this argument. Which mother (arguably a good chunk of population) cares about that ?
- saagarjha 7y ago
  Tampons are not popular in much of Eastern Asia, with this being one of the major reasons.
- SolaceQuantum 7y ago
  IME (east asian) this fear is really common and I've heard among other east asian female peers of mothers shaming them or shouting at them for daring to use tampons.
  - hycaria 7y ago
    But... There's no virginity to "preserve"?!

jaabe 7y ago

My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t remember the prices exactly, but it’s the range of a year of cup coverage being cheaper than one pack of pads.

aaronbrethorst 7y ago
Notably there are also literally taxes attached to such things. Washington tried to make feminine hygiene products tax-free during this legislative cycle, but it died in committee. Hopefully it'll pass next year, but this is still crazy. https://crosscut.com/2019/02/wa-lawmakers-want-make-tampons-cheaper-cutting-pink-tax https://crosscut.com/2019/02/wa-lawmakers-want-make-tampons-...
- vixen99 7y ago
  It's inconsistent tax rates which are crazy. Isn't toilet tissue 'essential' in the same way? Should that be exempt from sales tax? In many EU countries foodstuffs (difficult to 'make do' in its absence) and pharmaceutical products attract VAT albeit at a reduced rate.
  - JauntyHatAngle 7y ago
    Perhaps I'm missing the point, but I think the concern is more that Women have to pay money for essential hygiene products than Men due to their gender - which can be seen as inequitable. Toilet paper is an essential for both genders.
    - tomp 7y ago
      Well, they don't need to. Maybe pads should be taxed more so that more women would use menstrual caps? Pads seem to be quite environmentally harmful as well, they produce a lot of non-recyclable waste (unlike toilet paper).

mariam123 7y ago

I use it and it’s definitely a better option. I think one of the reasons it’s not more widespread is because we’ve created this stigma that menstrual blood is gross and should not be touched.

m-p-3 7y ago

From my wife experience they work well assuming you have access to clean water and a proper environment. She wouldn't wear it in camping for example.

miranda_rights 7y ago
I've worn it camping. It helps to have a little water to rinse it out, but I think it's significantly better than having to carry tampons and figure out what to do with them after use. In fact I originally got it for a camping trip, as I didn't want to carry a lot of tampons (too much weight in my bag) and the thought of not having enough tampons was a nightmare.

dfxm12 7y ago

Is this a new product? I've only recently heard of them, but it seems like I'm hearing about them a lot.

jpindar 7y ago
No, they've been around for many years, and there are many different designs/brands.