Why It's Important for Cup Users to Speak Publicly About Their Cup Love
The first time I heard about a menstrual cup, I thought it was the most bizarre concept ever. I immediately thought I could never use something like that. I mean, put a cup in here? The thought of getting that up and close to my fluids was different to say the least.
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My automatic feeling and reasoning for not even considering menstrual cups was the fact that I'd never heard anyone speak of them before, and I was almost 30 years old!
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When I did my research and learned about the benefits of cups over tampons, and that cups had been around since the late '30s, I was shocked and a bit disappointed, because I would've loved for this to have been introduced to me earlier in life.
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Having an option which kept me from being exposed to the potentially toxic ingredients used in conventional feminine products is monumental, especially since I started my period at the age of 12. That means I had been exposing myself to these chemicals for 18 years prior to making the switch.
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As a mom of a 9-month-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, I think about their future almost every day. Like most moms, this is how I have thought since learning I was pregnant with each of them.

However, I would put money on it that I think about their hormonal health more often than the average mom. Granted, I was not as educated on the potential long-term effects of some of the chemicals used in everyday products and foods when my son was born. But since starting my research, I have made a variety of changes to the products and foods that my son and daughter come in contact with on an everyday basis, all for the sake of healthy hormones.
I often think back on what might've helped me make these changes and make the switch to a menstrual cup earlier in life. Without a doubt, it would've been the simple act of hearing information and experiences shared by another woman. And if I'm being completely honest, I would have accepted these changes and normalized them in my mind if they had been presented to me by a woman I personally identified with. A woman who looked like me, or at least the woman I was to become.
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Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my mother for all that she did and shared with me to help me become the woman I am. But she had no knowledge of menstrual cups nor of information regarding hormonal health, which is only recently being discovered thanks to organizations such as Women's Voices for the Earth.
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My mother taught me to use the products she was taught to use. Nonetheless, if the normalized use of a menstrual cup was shared by a different thinking woman at the time, it might have planted the seed for change when it came to how I approached feminine care.
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It's because I saw the need for women to speak openly about that cup that I decided to go public when I made the switch to menstrual cups. I wanted to help plant the seed of change in other women who were looking for better options. I know big changes start with small steps by those brave enough to take them. And while I did get a few looks and questions of why when I first shared about my experience with menstrual cups, the positives and the requests for more information were overwhelming.
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With all that said, I always encourage fellow menstrual cup users to speak publicly about their choice and their cup experience. You never know whose approach to feminine health you may change.
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Tiffany Stuart (owner and editor-in-chief of itsmeladyg.com ) is a mom of 2, veggie loving, internationally published blogger, contributor to the Huffington Post and other health & wellness brands, YouTuber, public speaker, organizer of several women's groups in the NYC area, one of 2017 & 2018 Natural Products Expo East Top Influencers in the wellness industry, and a Certified Integrative Nutrition Holistic Health Coach.
Email: tiffany@itsmeladyg.com
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P.S. Haven't tried a menstrual cup and want to learn more? Learn: How to insert a menstrual cup.Â