this is important part II: the diva cup

photo: luckyvitamin.com

I've got something to say. And male readers, you might really want to not read this, because many of you have probably bought into society's message that lady parts, when you're not directly getting pleasure from them, are really gross. Especially during menstruation. (Which is a subject for a later post - don't think I'm gonna let you get away with it). In sad fact, many ladies have also brought into this malarkey, as I have learned first hand in my quest to education women about the greatest thing since sliced bread: the Diva Cup.

So bear with me on this. Read to the end, mull it over, and then make an informed decision about how you want to go about dealing with your period. Maybe even take a risk on this weird device your friend hypes up so much.

The Diva Cup: a small, flexible cup worn low in the vaginal canal that collects, rather than absorbs, menstrual flow. It contains no plastic, latex, or BPA, and only has to be changed every twelve hours. TWELVE HOURS! Can you believe that? This means you literally can just change it in the morning after you wake up and at night before you go to sleep. For certain people in certain jobs who barely have time to go to the bathroom (ahem, teachers), this is a godsend. If this alone doesn't sell you on why it's is the best way to deal with your period, read on.


It's incredibly cost-effective. Just $32.49 (from Walgreens) get you years and years of usage, as the only way it really "wears out" is if you decide to clean it by putting it in boiling water, and your water gets low and it burns on the bottom of the pot. (Really, that's what the little informational paper says). Compare that to the lowest cost pad and tampon routine: having 1 box of cardboard applicator tampons at $5.49 and a box of regular pads, also $5.49. These two items on average might last about 3 - 5 menstruation cycles. Let's say 4, in which case you would buy these two items three times in one year, totalling $32.94. Look, you've already saved 45 cents this year, and the next year, you'll save that whole $32.94, and the next, and the next! Over 10 years, assuming you only use purchase that low estimate, (you probably spend much more) you save $329. It's a beautiful thing.

It's sustainable. The average menstruator will probably use over 16,000 pads or tampons in her lifetime. Think about all that in landfills. No really, think about it. Gross, right? Tampon applicators also being picked up at coastal clean-ups en mass. Save the earth. Save the water. Try a reusable alternative.

It's safe. You can get toxic shock syndrome from tampons, and they can dry you out, making your vagina feel irritated and sex uncomfortable. Even pads soak up things that really shouldn't leave your body. There's also concern over effects of pesticides used to grow the cotton in tampons rubbing up on your vaginal walls. The Diva Cup doesn't do any of those things. Enough said.

And no, after a moment of walking around, it adjusts to your body and you cannot feel it. At all.

Despite all these reasons...
"Um, ew?" Yes, this it the reaction I commonly get from friends when we hit that level of closeness that we start to discuss our periods, and I let them in on the amazing Diva Cup secret. Yes, you get a little up close and personal with your menstrual blood. But really, after the first few days, you get completely used to it, so just suck it up and give it a try. It's not like you  have to play with it. You just take it out (an easy process that does NOT involve even getting any blood on your hands), toss it down the drain, rinse it out (wash it with soap it you can, but just rinsing once in a while is ok) and put it back in.

In addition to it not really being that messy to take out, it's actually the cleanest possible thing to use. According to the informational insert, the most blood a woman with a very heavy flow will have throughout her whole period is 1.5 ounces. The Diva Cup can old 1 ounce. And because you change it every 12 hours, there's simply no way it could ever get full. So, when put in properly, it is literally leak proof. And therefore, really the cleanest option available. You can read more about why it's great in terms of odor and messiness on their website.

The Diva Cup company also has an organization called Diva Cares, which supports various non-profits that do things like help girls in developing countries get proper nutritional access and access to reusable pad cloths so that they don't have to miss school when they have their period. Sweet, right?

I'm telling you, one busy woman to another: just give it a try. It's so easy, so worry-free, so cheap, and so effective that once you start to use it you'll never go back. And don't think that because you haven't heard of it that it's not good: I ranted to a women's studies roommate once with my angry "why am I only finding out about this NOW?" question. And her answer, which I can't prove but is probably true, was: "because the pad and tampon companies don't want you to." But just try it. Not one friend who I have convinced to try it has had anything negative to say about it. So really, find it at your local Walgreens or coop, and give it a whirl.