How I Found Out About the Menstrual Cup.

This is the second post of my three-post series about menstruation and menstrual cups! It's fine to not read the posts in order, but if you want to know how I feel about menstruation in general, please read the first post here.

I first heard about menstrual cups from a BuzzFeed video. The video had a few women testing out the product for the first time, and talking about their experience using it. I was aware the existence of tampons, but the idea of a menstrual cup was totally new to me.

Basically, a menstrual cup is a cup-shaped silicone designed to catch period blood. To use a menstrual cup, you have to insert it into your vagina, and it will catch the blood from your cervix, if you inserted it correctly. It's like a tampon, but instead of absorbing blood it collects them.

According to users of the menstrual cup, they are the better alternative to tampons and pads. Why? Well, here are the benefits:

1. They don't leak. (if you inserted it correctly)
2. You can go swimming or do intense exercises. (if you inserted it correctly)
3. They are reusable, thus better for the environment.
4. They save money because you don't have to buy pads or tampons anymore.

These benefits apply to you if you inserted it correctly and the menstrual cup works for you. (hint: it doesn't work that well for me, yet.)

After watching that video, I thought: Wow, what am I doing here with my pads when I could use a menstrual cup and say goodbye to all my menstruation problems while saving the planet?

Unfortunately, I didn't join the cup gang as soon as I learned about it.

I wasn't sure if it was even a thing in Malaysia. I didn't know where to look for them.They definitely don't sell them in pharmacies. And I knew nobody who used them. I just didn't know where or how to start. I even asked my Facebook friends, but it wasn't much help at all, ha!

It wasn't until my mom stumbled upon Malaysia’s First Zero Waste Fest on the newspaper. She told me besides holding talks about the zero waste lifestyle, this event had a market that sold bulk goods and you guessed it, menstrual cups!

I had been researching about menstrual cups before learning about that event, but I had been hesitant in getting my own. I still wasn't confident in trying it by myself and they're quite pricey (costs at least RM90.) So, I had been delaying in getting it for a while.

My mom then told me to just go to this event and get one, as there's no point waiting. So then I thought: Fuck it, my mom's right. Let's go.

I brought my Freedom Cup there at the price of RM90. There's only two sizes: one for ladies who have given birth, and another for those who hadn't. Till this day, it doesn't make sense to me, but I had no other choices.

I also spoke to a nice lady that explained to me how to use it. She told me her first time using it, how to insert it, and how it may be difficult at first. I know I can get these information online, but it just more reassuring to hear someone talk about it in real life.

I can hear the disgusted ews coming from some people from the moment I mentioned that the menstrual cup had to be inserted inside your vagina. In fact, none of my friends, even my mother, reacted positively to menstrual cups a year ago. They thought it was disgusting.

They either thought inserting something into your vagina was gross, or dealing with period blood was gross.

I don't blame them. I grew up in society that believe your vaginal canal has to remain untouched until you are married. Nothing should enter your vajayjay unless it's your husband's dick. In fact, don't talk about your lady parts at all!

I never had those thoughts, that's why I wanted to try using a menstrual cup.

For me, even though there wasn't a 100% chance of a leak-free period, I knew using a menstrual cup would save me money in the long run. Most importantly, I won't have to dispose as much plastic trash than when I was using pads.

I have been using my menstrual cup for more than a year now, and finally, I making myself to write about my experiences. My plan isn't to convert girls to use menstrual cups, but just to let them know that they have a choice.

I'll talk more about my struggles of using the menstrual cup and answer some of the common questions I received about using the menstrual in future posts. I hope anyone reading this will find this information useful.

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To whoever is reading this, thank you! If you're curious to learn more about my experience using a menstrual cup, please click here! In that post, I'll go into more details about the struggles in my journey to switching using cups, and some questions people asked me about it.

Thank you again for reading!