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Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

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Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#21

Post by ghda »

franky47 wrote: post #17
shard972 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know right, my deodorant life tax is really weighing on me these days, can't wait till we unshake the bonds of oppression put on us young males by lynx.

The issue of advertising and marketing pressure towards a conforming image of what "young males" should be/look/smell like is a similar one to that of females. Not conforming to this image is often seen as a rebellious act, and depicted with shame for not following the holy rule of capitalism. Yet when such products are partly responsible for the destruction of our ecosystem (single-use products, greenhouse gas emiss…

We all have our own “life taxes” to pay.

Here’s one: since men are larger and headboard than women, we need more food just to stay alive! A few hundred extra calories a day over a lifetime, the cost must be substantial — almost certainly greater than the cost of tampons.

Life is unfair to all of us, both sexes.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#22

Post by fhw8fhe »

drewmol wrote: post #13

If the topic is not your interest but web design is, check out the article for the cool verticle scrolling progress indicator that's displayed horizontally in the floating top menu bar. My mother has been involved in operating and supporting a network of Kenyan orphanages for decades. She's on the board of directors for the US 501c3 that funds them. The woman who founded this organization (a US citizen) adopted sever…

Hey. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing this story.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#24

Post by JauntyHatAngle »

vixen99 wrote: post #20
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Notably there are also literally taxes attached to such things. Washington tried to make feminine hygiene products tax-free during this legislative cycle, but it died in committee. Hopefully it'll pass next year, but this is still crazy. https://crosscut.com/2019/02/wa-lawmakers-want-make-tampons-...

It's inconsistent tax rates which are crazy. Isn't toilet tissue 'essential' in the same way? Should that be exempt from sales tax? In many EU countries foodstuffs (difficult to 'make do' in its absence) and pharmaceutical products attract VAT albeit at a reduced rate.

Perhaps I'm missing the point, but I think the concern is more that Women have to pay money for essential hygiene products than Men due to their gender - which can be seen as inequitable.

Toilet paper is an essential for both genders.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#25

Post by tauntz »

franky47 wrote: post #14

The short film "Period, End of Sentence." [1] won an Oscar this year, depicting Indian women taking control of the production process of pads manufacturing. In a strange sense, while that process helped women gain a bit of control over their bodies and their lives, which is a good thing; and while it probably also helped some girls stay in school, as some girls mentioned feeling ashamed of doing so during their perio…

There's also really well made full-length movie named "Pad Man" [1] based on Arunachalam Muruganantham [2] as well.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pad_Man_(film)

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachalam_Muruganantham

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#26

Post by drakonka »

Menstrual cups rock. It takes a bit of getting used to to figure out proper insertion/removal/cleaning. It can also take a few attempts to find exactly the right kind of cup for each person since they all vary in length, diameter, material firmness, etc. But once you have those things down it is really so much more convenient and feels so much less wasteful than pads or tampons.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#27

Post by knitHacker »

WA wrote: post #18
jaabe wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so expensive by comparison. I don’t re…

There are also menstrual sponges. They’re more comfortable than a cup, are made for reuse, but they’re a bit more work to clean than the menstrual cup.

I can't imagine anything being more comfortable than the cup. If inserted correctly I can't feel it at all and the added comfort of no leaks or string like when I use to use tampons.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#28

Post by drakonka »

systemBuilder wrote: post #23

Sounds like it is way more ecologically sound than tampons; do women in America use them? Why not?

They are becoming more popular. In Sweden almost every pharmacy stocks at least one brand of menstrual cup, and now even some grocery stores in the feminine hygiene section. They're still not as popular as tampons, but there's definitely a higher level of recognition of them now.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#29

Post by telesilla »

systemBuilder wrote: post #23

Sounds like it is way more ecologically sound than tampons; do women in America use them? Why not?

Thanks for asking!

When you are a young woman just getting your period, it's confusing and messy. Society doesn't help in that it's also taboo. There is a lot of fear and worry involved with having your period that lasts for many women through their lives. I have friends who won't use a tampon that doesn't include the applicator [1] (it helps insertion without needing to get your hands dirty). So using a cup means, you are 100% going to get blood on your hands and you are going to be very intimate with the inside of your body. For many women who were brought up conservatively, and for those who remain conservative, this will never be an option. I try and promote the cup among my friends and encourage young girls to experiment in safety. Long-term, it will become more popular.

There is also the issue of needing clean running water or wet wipes. Hygiene is crucial in cleaning the cup between changes and of course, you need to be able to clean your hands and have running water to deposit the menstrual liquid [2]. I'm not sure how this would work with a non-flushing / compost toilet actually, I found this article [3] which concludes that of course, blood is good for compost. I don't know what the sanitary conditions are in the kind of home these girls live in, in Kenya.

[1] http://becomingagirl.weebly.com/applicator-tampons.html

[2] https://store.lunette.com/blogs/news/how-to-clean-menstrual-...

[3] http://minimotives.com/2016/11/10/periods-composting-toilet/

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#30

Post by Freestyler_3 »

knitHacker wrote: post #27
WA wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are also menstrual sponges. They’re more comfortable than a cup, are made for reuse, but they’re a bit more work to clean than the menstrual cup.

I can't imagine anything being more comfortable than the cup. If inserted correctly I can't feel it at all and the added comfort of no leaks or string like when I use to use tampons.

I think the sponge still had the blood tss, if I am not mistaken.
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