The Bloody Grail
By: Anonymous
I raise my cup in the air and toast to all the money I’ve saved and less waste that I’ve created. I poured the blood down the toilet, flushed and started to rinse out my menstruation cup.
I never was a big fan of tampons. I learnt that fact ever since I worked at a pool — tampons were essential. Having that scary feeling of the string hanging out, and people would give me stares.
What I hated most about tampons was timing it when I put the tampon in. It made me feel uncomfortable and nervous if I left it in for too long. High school horror stories about tampons were scary. Hearing about tampons being stuck, or partying the night away and forgetting that it’s needed there for more than 12 hours. I never wanted to experience that. After four to five hours, I start feeling uncomfortable and urging myself to take it out. By doing this, I was creating waste and wasn’t happy with myself for doing that.
In 2017, it was the first time I heard of a menstruation cup. Sparking curiosity, I searched it up, and my first initial thought was that I don’t want to use it. I thought it was gross and didn’t want to shove a cup up in me. I would ask around to see if anyone has used a menstruation cup, but people either thought it was disgusting or never thought of using it. During that year, it was always in the back of my head. I wanted to try it, but I was scared.
Yet, in mid-2018, one of my co-workers from work talked about how she started using a menstruation cup. It was her third month, and it was efficient. This inspired me to get one, but I was still nervous about it. I started researching, watching how-to videos, and tips and tricks. What I found was shocking.
I always try to be environmentally conscious about what I did but hearing the amount of plastic that is being added to the environment because of tampons and pads was crazy. According to the Huffington Post, the average amount of money people have to pay for tampons is $1,773.33. It never occurred to me that the amount of money I pay for tampons is tremendous. After years of paying for boxes of tampons over the years, I realized that I didn’t want to spend more of my money and create more waste.
After plenty of research on how to use a menstruation cup, I felt ready to get one. In September 2018, I got into my car, drove to Walmart, and got myself my first Diva cup. I also grabbed non-fragrance soap to be able to clean it.
I got home and rushed upstairs to open it. My period wasn’t for another one and a half, but I wanted to familiarize myself with what I was about to put in me. I did more research to see how-to-use it and the benefits of having one. What was surprising was that a menstruation cup lasted for several years! Of course, they recommend replacing it once to twice a year. Yet, reflecting on how much money I can save was ridiculous.
As the days counted down and my cramps creeping in, my period came in. I was stressing that it was the day I was able to use my cup. I went into the kitchen, poured water into a pot and waited until the water was boiling. I opened the box that contained the cup once again, grabbed the cup and plopped it into the raging water. I waited for several minutes to make sure it was fully sanitized and then turned off the stove. I placed the cup on a clean tissue and quickly cleaned up the mess I made. I went upstairs, headed to the bathroom and took a deep breath. It was time to use the menstruation cup. I still felt nervous. After watching many videos of how to place it, I still didn’t feel too confident. With a deep breath and folding the cup, I placed it in. I admit — it isn’t comfortable at first, and I had to move it around to see if I got a good seal for it.
It’s hypocritical for me to say that I hate tampons than use a menstruation cup, but it made me feel more comfortable having the cup. Comparing the cup to a tampon, the cup can last for 12 hours and creates less waste! After using it for a full cycle, it wasn’t too bad. It is tedious putting it in, but with a little practice, it’s pretty easy.
Until now, I still use my Diva cup, and it’s fantastic! If anyone asks about it, I highly recommend using one because it causes less worry in changing tampons every so often. Plus, I don’t have to worry about the string!
