Cup Ignorance

LisBeth-- I converted one of my cousins to a cup. But I have another cousin who thinks the same way yoru friend does. There are some people who will just never accept it, no matter what you say.

I'm not sure why this is... Sure, some of these girls are close to their mothers, but I find that a girl sometimes reflects the communication she had abotu periods with her mother. Some moms are very relaxed with the subject of periods, and some moms are not. Most of the girls I speak to who are just disgusted by cups and afraid to try them, they tell me that they never really talked about periods with their mother-- other than basic instructions on using pads or tampons, and asking her to buy some.

Or maybe their mother has a firm belief that "reusable" could never be "clean and safe". Some people just feel that way, no matter what.

But of course, I like tot hink there is still some hope After all, I myself was afraid of cups when I first heard of them, and I swore I would NEVER try them.... But I think we all know that was a promise I did not keep

My mother was very open and comfortable discussing periods. But all her life, she has NEVER been a fan of reusing things, lol. I really think the only things she would wash and re-use are maybe clothes, and dishes, lol. She will often throw away a bed sheet or blanket if something yucky gets spilled on it. She will throw away a bath towel if it is used to wipe up something on the floor, or a spilled mess in the kitchen. Hehe, sometimes she will even throw a dish or pot away, if its just too disgusting to clean. She uses LOTS of disposable paper towels, instead of kitchen rags. The disposable floor mopping pads, instead of the reusable mop. She throws away a pair of shoes if she steps in dog poo outside. Just lots of little things like that. So when she heard I wanted to try a cup, she just FLIPPED! lol.

It took me 2 months to convince her that cups are clean and safe, and now she brags to everyone about what I'm doing. So I'm hoping this means there is a chance with almost anyone

Yesterday something made me slightly upset. There is a another forum of which I have been a member for a while and I visit it quite often. It's a actually a forum for girls and young women, created by a company that sells disposable pads and tampons, but we discuss all kinds of things there. As you can probably quess, most users of that site are not familiar with menstrual cups but I know there are a few who are cup-users. They, including me, are not many -- I could probably count them.

I came across an old discussion in the archive, which started as a suggestion proposing that women should get some 'extra money each month to buy tampons because we have not chosen to bleed every month' . This topic has been discussed before but this time it turned into a different direction. While the majority of the girls who had written a reply where positive and supported the idea there were maybe two or three who simply said they disagreed and encouraged everyone to buy a cup instead if they wanted to save money just like them. And then it all started. The thread took a U-turn and became a discussion about menstrual cups vs. tampons when it comes to what is best for the environment. I can't believe what some girls wrote! Those who did not favour the cup claimed that disposables were more environmental friendly than cups -- and they used the most weirdest and false arguments I've ever heard. I have to at least share one comment which I thought was a bit funny:

A:"Sterlizing a cup uses a lot of water and that's not good. It's a waste. Are you supposed to reuse that water to make a cup of tea?"
B: "That's one silly statement. Like what, do you reuse the water you used for making pasta or such to brew coffee? The amount of water you use to boil a menstrual cup is not much at all. You can't seriously believe that it's equal to what you need to grow cotton for making tampons?

In the midst of all the environmental aspects some wrote what they thought about cups. These were common answers I read: "To use a cup sounds rather disgusting.", "Sorry girls, but I wouldn't want a cup.", "I haven't tried a cup but I prefer tampons and pads."

I found it rather disturbing that there are those out there who dismiss the idea of cups too quickly and don't even try to see what makes cups a better option. It's their loss and not mine but it's still kind of sad.

I agree, it is extremely frustrating to see how many people jsut flat-our refuse to even give the idea a chance, and they just don't seem to have any good reasons, other than being disgusted with their own body in some way... Kinda sad.

ladies, you are great! i just have to say... sometimes i don't know how to explain all this things to the "rude" people in the discussions and there are great ideas here. (they seem all like "of course it is so" - but somehow when you see all those comments, those right sentences just don't cross your mind...)

ok, you know what i mean, i'm sorry, i had surgery yesterday and still have this "after surgery drugs" inside me, so i don't write really clearly... and my english is not so good as well:)

galthea-- totally understandable, I think all of us here have run into people who are just against things that are not disposable at some point. But its good to have support

hello,
well, i'm faaaaaaar better today and yes, it's great to read that i'm not the only alien woman in the world, who really thinks that menstrual cup is great. it helps a lot.

I can relate to the not wanting to leave the trash of used disposables behind. That was one of the major things my mother did cover, how to hide the fact that I was throwing away a used pad so my Dad wouldn't see it. Even at the age of 12 when I started my period, I told her, there has to be something better. Why do I need to hide that I am using a pad.
I wish I had known about cups and cloth pads back then. Back when they were just coming out. The Keeper was 1987- I am tecnically older then the Keeper ( I was born in 1984). It was around, ugh. No regrets though, I make a point to tell anyone who will listen though. I have given cups to a few teen girls I know, and they love it. I feel a little validation when I can give a teen a cup or cloth pads. Something I wish I had someone to do for me back then. lol