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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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? Click here to learn about the Saalt Cup.
