Getting serious about Menstrual Cups.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to explain what exactly I study at school.
My family members, proud of me but unsure of what it is that I do at this fancy college, are constantly asking for details. “What are you taking up at school?” my aunt Eleanor asks. “Um, Sociology…” I reply, nervously, “…and Biology, and Women’s Studies, I guess.”
That’s quite a range, but it’s actually pretty simple – I study periods. No, not grammatical periods or time periods. I study capital P, bleeding-out-of-your-vagina Periods.
It all started when I stumbled across a livejournal community about menstrual cups two years ago. I found this huge collection of personal stories and technical information all about exotic-sounding alternative menstrual products that I’d never heard of before. I’d never been too fond of the limiting and monopolized “feminine hygiene” options in my local pharmacy, so I gathered some money from my savings and ordered a DivaCup online. After a long, anxious wait for the package to come in the mail, then another wait for my period to start, I finally got to use my cup for the first time. It was wonderful and I was hooked! I had never been so happy about being a woman or getting my period before, so I made it my mission to spread the word about menstrual cups.
When I went off to college a month later, I immediately joined our campus feminist club. Being newly fascinated with menstruation, I offered to run an alternative product-themed table at our school’s annual Love Your Body Day fair. This was my first big opportunity to spread the word and it was really successful. We had sample cups and information from manufacturers, “boob” cupcakes, and plenty of body and period-positive attitude to share with passersby.
A year later, I decided that it was time to approach these alternative products in a more serious manner. The academic system at my school allows you to work one-on-one with a professor and to construct your own project for the semester; my Sociology class called “Medical Technologies” was the perfect place to talk about periods again. I spent months researching menstrual cups, reusable cloth pads, sea sponges, and organic tampons. I even used Lunapads in my analysis! At the end of the semester, I had written a twenty-page sociological paper and gained so much more knowledge about alternative products than I ever thought possible.
I’m still going at it. This past Christmas, I gave one of my best friends a DivaCup as a present from Lunapads. I have also decided that I want to return to periods academically and write a senior thesis all about the history, contemporary usage, advertising, and feminist implications of menstrual cups. When I imagine life after college, I see periods and alternative products still being very important to me. Maybe I can translate these interests into a Master’s degree or a PhD.
Maybe I’ll become some sort of women’s health educator. For now, I just have to think of a creative way to tell my family that I study periods.
Kelly O.,
Bronxville, NY
November 27th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I love it! Thanks for sharing your story … and for being the woman who studies periods!! We need more ladies like you to bring the ‘fringe’ period products to the mainstream =)
November 27th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
That is so awesome Kelly! It’s funny when something big in your life is centered around periods. For those of us working at Lunapads we can get into some pretty interesting discussions when casually asked ‘so what do you do for work?’ - a question that often comes up at gatherings. Some folks quickly change the subject while others use it as an opportunity to pick your brain about those reusable products they’ve heard about. But it sure keeps things intersting, one way or the other. Keep up the great work, and here’s to periods!
March 10th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Hey Kelly,
Your story sounds a lot like mine and in fact I am writing my senior thesis right now, on PERIODS! I started out like you wanting to study the economics/history and cultural acceptance of the menstrual cup, but my thesis has evolved to a much wider look at the menstrual care industry and perceptions of menstruation in the US and abroad. I would love to talk to you about your research and possibly even collaborate in the future. Let me know if you are interested!