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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

#51

Post by ben_w »

Double_a_92 wrote: post #49
ben_w wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. My partner introduced me to them, and when I saw how expensive they were I immediately wondered how much it would cost to 3D print moulds for them s…

> I have no idea how to do that without the annoying and condescending out-of-touch white-male saviour stereotype though. How would those pesky old white males bother you with your project? The product will mostly be bought by women, so they are the customers that you need to convince of the good cause. If you need to start a business and set up some webshop and organize marketing campains you can perfectly do that a…

> How would those pesky old white males bother you with your project?

By being me. I have enough self awareness and pay enough attention to know my own efforts, as well-meant as they are, can easily end up like xkcd.com/793

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#52

Post by Double_a_92 »

cerealbad wrote: post #19

Do men in poor countries still shave with a cutthroat razor? Reusable and repairable products take time but give certainty. I hope a happy medium will be reached between Chinese room products and simple skill based ones.

Double Edge razors are also a thing. I use one myself because I don't like the cartridges clogging, and it's a lot cheaper. Like 20$ for the razor and 10$ for a "lifetime" of blades.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#53

Post by TomK32 »

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…

> definitely more empowering than deferring that power to an external entity for the manufacturing of reusable products.

While it would certainly take a huge effort to create the base silicone product, creating the molds and use them to create reusable cups could be done on-demand and on-location.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#54

Post by madshiva »

Moru wrote: post #48
ghda wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

How much more is a man making in salary compared to a woman doing the same job? In any country? You can't compare the small ammount of less food needed in calories compared to the large difference in salary for a man, the extra food does not warrant the difference. You as a man can choose not to east as much as you need. You grow a bit less and need less food. A woman can't choose not to leave the house 5 days per mo…

How much women take the money of the man that work hard? 99%? Come on, stop with this trend of equity we don't and never will have the same life.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#55

Post by kaybe »

tropdrop wrote: post #36

This needs to come to some far villages in Nepal. In many villages, women are banished to small, cold huts at the outskirts of villages to remain - alone, shut in, and forbidden to go outside - until the end of the period. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/03...

Y'know, I thought so too until I saw the system in Suriname.

Women are expected to work around the clock there, carry heavy things and do all the cooking. This system means that you actually don't have to work while possibly in pain and probably unwell, and you don't have to explain yourself to anyone. Yes, it is a bad taboo system that assigns women a 'dirty' status, but there are some positive effects as well (in a patriarchal society).

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#56

Post by kaybe »

telesilla wrote: post #29
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, y…

While blood might be good for compost that also sounds like a prime method to distribute germs and viruses. Seems dangerous.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#57

Post by rahoulb »

JauntyHatAngle wrote: post #24
vixen99 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I agree with your main point - it's the inequity that's the point.

In the UK tampons and pads have VAT charged on them (as they count as a luxury); there is a campaign to remove this and it has been reduced to 5%, but it's still there (due to EU regulations I believe).

As a side point, in many parts of the world, toilet paper is not an essential; it's regarded as a dirty and unclean western practice.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#58

Post by hycaria »

latchkey wrote: post #3
rlabrecque wrote: post #2

It absolutely blows my mind that Menstrual cups aren't more widespread globally. I basically wouldn't even know about them if my partner didn't use them. They seem like a better option than tampons and pads 90%+ of the time.

I've introduced 3-4 women to them. They all have ended up loving the cups. I now live in Vietnam and know the owner of one of the leading brands here. She said that her biggest challenge is the fact that a lot of women don't even use tampons because of the whole fear of losing their virginity cultural stigmas.

I don't buy this argument. Which mother (arguably a good chunk of population) cares about that ?

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#59

Post by astura »

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.

Im a cup wearer and this is correct, a properly inserted, properly fitted cup can't be felt.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#60

Post by veidr »

amelius wrote: post #38
veidr wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! If you insist on having a floating bar at the top of your web page, this sort of scrolling progress indicator should be mandatory. (Also, I learned about menstrual cups due to your enticing reference to the progress indicator which tipped the balance in favor of clicking though to the article.)

I already have a scrollbar indicating the position in the page. Now I have two indicators, which seems a bit much.

You might, but most Apple platform users don't... (T_T)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o2gj5e44n5tryrt/no-scroll-bars-waa...

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