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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

#81

Post by kaybe »

tropdrop wrote: post #77
kaybe wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I hope you read the article I linked to - this is all info you would find there. I really don't agree this is "better." Given these two horrible choices, I would rather be afforded freedom to roam (even with heavy things), get food and go on a walk than this. There's no kitchen, so the women have to wait for someone to bring them food or water. They're not safe in these huts - many are exposed to the elements, and th…

Ok, I take it back. This situation is vastly different. Thanks for taking the time to write this comment.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#82

Post by 24gttghh »

telesilla wrote: post #72
kaybe wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

A compost toilet is an aerobic environment composed largely of sawdust, human waste and sometimes earth that is decomposed by bacteria and fungi. Properly managed, it's perfectly safe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet

You still don't necessarily want to/can't use composted human waste for growing food for human consumption, because many jurisdictions regulate their application in different areas of agriculture.

e.g.:

Virginia: "All materials removed from a composting privy shall be buried," and "compost material shall not be placed in vegetable gardens or on the ground surface.[0]

Rhode Island: "Solids produced by alternative toilets may be buried on site," while, "residuals shall not be applied to food crops.[1]

I'm all for doing it regardless, as it seems more sustainable than traditional sewage treatment!

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet#cite_note-26

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet#cite_note-25

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#83

Post by dsfyu404ed »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #78
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.

Between tampons/pads, bras, thinner/less quality clothing for as much or more $$$, and socially pressured skincare/makeup/hair product, the overall cost I would guess would be equivalent or more than the nutrition for a few hundred calories per day. There are a lot of factors forcing or pressuring women to spend more money or recieve social reprimand, lowered job prospects, etc. (As in the article! Keeping girls in s…

If you've grown up with the pressure you don't notice it because it's there all the time. It's just normal. It's really easy to say "look how much the other gender caves to societal pressure" because you don't notice it when you do it.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#84

Post by chithanh »

tropdrop wrote: post #40
drakonka wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I don't really even know any women who have IUDs, much less any who have IUDs and have tried menstrual cups unfortunately.

Well, you know one now! I have a copper IUD and I cannot recommend it enough. My body reacts poorly to hormones, so the pill wasn't an option, but a condom-only based approach to birth control wasn't going to work in a monogamous, multi-year relationship - over a ten year period, 86 in 100 women who only use condoms become pregnant [1]. This probabilistically makes sense, given that 10 years includes hundreds or thou…

The most common cause of pregnancy when using condoms is improper use, either due to lack of education or for other reasons. When used properly, condoms are rather effective.

Another method whose safety approaches that of oral contraceptives is cervical mucus tracking. But this also requires education. The method is also not suitable for all women and lifestyles. In one study[1], around 5% of prospective participants had to be excluded due to irregular menstrual cycle. Dropout rate due to dissatisfaction or for other reasons was 9.2%.

Also note that with IUDs there can be spontaneous expulsion, and there are health risks associated with it. So while very good compared to other methods, they are not best in all categories.

[1] https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dem003

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#85

Post by snegu »

tropdrop wrote: post #34
drakonka wrote: post #26

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.

I've heard women with an IUD might have problems wearing them, which is tragic given that IUDs are the safest, most reliable, most effective birth control method (yet another essential life-tax to being female...) Do you know any women personally who both have an IUD and are comfortable using the cup?

One of the great things about an IUD (the hormonal ones at least) is that it often makes your period stop. I used a cup with mine for a few months without a problem, but then stopped needing a cup at all.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#86

Post by dfxm12 »

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.

Is this a new product? I've only recently heard of them, but it seems like I'm hearing about them a lot.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#87

Post by MasterScrat »

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…

> "Period, End of Sentence."

That's quite a remarkable title.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#88

Post by [deleted] »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #76
patrickg_zill wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You referring to the annoying and condescending out of touch white males, that built civilization and technology?

I don't think white males built civilization and technology. The western numeric system is arabic, for one. Gunpowder is Chinese (along with many other intellectual advancements, philosophy, religion, art...). Much of american cultural music is black. The first novels are arguably from either Japan or the Mayan period. Great architectural works and civilizations spanning centuries exist in most continents.

[deleted]

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#89

Post by smileysteve »

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.

> Toilet paper is an essential for both genders.

In walked the bidet.

Re: Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School

#90

Post by smileysteve »

kaybe wrote: post #56
telesilla wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Blood and Waste both carry similar risk and hopefully anyone using a composting toilet are aware of the needs to properly bake off organisms.
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