[rlabrecque]

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.

[jaabe]

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 remember the prices exactly, but it’s the range of a year of cup coverage being cheaper than one pack of pads.

[aaronbrethorst]

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-...

[ben_w]

> 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 so that entrepreneurial Kenyans could mass produce them as a cottage industry. I only got as far as a first print of a positive before someone pointed me to (I think) an Alibaba listing where they cost 5¢ each if you bought 1,000 at a time. I can’t find them quite so cheap any more, but I have just found them at €0.18 each. Perhaps a “buy one for yourself, get a hundred more for Kenya” marketing strategy could help? I have no idea how to do that without the annoying and condescending out-of-touch white-male saviour stereotype though.

[WA]

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.

[jazoom]

It seems my "life-tax" is needing to eat about twice as much as my wife. The extra food I eat costs more than pads. However, my wife prefers a cup, so that cost is gone. I'm still left with my dietary needs. Our weights are not that different and neither of us is overweight.

[franky47]

This "life tax" is hardly a surprise when most governments and boards of directors are made of mostly men, who have been taught not to ever speak about these issues (a taboo due to religious or social beliefs).

Now if there's a way to make money, suddenly it becomes an attractive subject for some, but the liberation of women with reusable products (menstrual cup, washable pads and period pants) will always come second to potential wealth increase with single-use solutions, especially for someone who does now experience the "problem" in the first place.

Worse than all that, the people in charge of pushing single-use products genuinely believe they are helping out women, when in reality we see cases of toxic shock syndrome due to chemicals in tampons, and the ecological impact of such single-use products.

My wife has been using reusable solutions for a few years now, the cup and period pants being the most liberating according to her.

[latchkey]

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.

[hycaria]

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

[mariam123]

I use it and it’s definitely a better option. I think one of the reasons it’s not more widespread is because we’ve created this stigma that menstrual blood is gross and should not be touched.

[m-p-3]

From my wife experience they work well assuming you have access to clean water and a proper environment. She wouldn't wear it in camping for example.

[miranda_rights]

I've worn it camping. It helps to have a little water to rinse it out, but I think it's significantly better than having to carry tampons and figure out what to do with them after use. In fact I originally got it for a camping trip, as I didn't want to carry a lot of tampons (too much weight in my bag) and the thought of not having enough tampons was a nightmare.

[dfxm12]

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

[jpindar]

No, they've been around for many years, and there are many different designs/brands.