Nadeesha Paulis
I am in a state of revelation. I am on the third day of my menstrual period, and I am not wearing a pad! I haven’t been wearing one for this entire period, and I am ecstatic. I don’t have an annoying sandwich-like wad of tissue and plastic in between my legs, and I do not even feel like I am on my periods. Before you gag and call me an unhealthy heretic, hear me out because this may as well change your life as a woman forever.
When I was in India last year September, I met a feisty young woman named Sonal. Sonal is from Chennai, and she is travelling across India exploring her beautiful country and trying to push a cup inside every woman’s body, Literally. She is the co-founder of Boondh Cup, a social enterprise in India that is working hard to cupvert as much of its female population as possible. That’s 623.72 million women who are 51.5% of the whole population as of 2011. How she does it, I have no idea, but the fact that she introduced me to the menstrual cup has changed who I am, and how I look at myself as a woman, forever.
How I used to dispose of my pads
I began by ripping the pads up (cotton and plastic separately, mind you) and flushing it down the loo. Bad idea because it clogs the drain. I then started wrapping the pad on a piece of paper and storing it in a bin to dispose of later. But I had to wait until my whole period was over so that I can do it all in one go.
And then this pile would start smelling and attract flies and worms. And then I would try burying it, only for my dog to sniff it out and bring it to the front yard and make a massive mess on the lawn for me to clean up the next day before rushing to work!?
Finally, I tried burning it. But no, the material in it would only half burn so I had to put thinner on it to make it burn but that would also still leave some waste. And I would just repeat to myself: ‘It’s just once a month, don’t stress over it, just get it over it, and don’t think about it too much.’
Since I moved, I don’t have a backyard, and I wondered how women in apartments or who are living in houses which don’t have yards, dispose of it. I have never let anyone else apart from myself touch my pads so no, throwing it out on to the garbage truck is not happening.
Since I was interested in the cup, Sonal was keen on sending me a cup somehow all the way from India. It was only this year, in March too, that I finally stuck it in. -pun- Following is an IG post on the day I received the package including the breakdown of the cost involved in menstruating in Sri Lanka.
My Journey With The Menstrual Cup
I have been transformed. I have transformed from that woman who chases after her dog and walks around the humid tropical Sri Lankan climate, wearing a period-soaked pad between her legs. I am now free.
I can swim, an activity I used to avoid, although periods do tend to pause while you’re submerged in water because of the pressure difference. I didn’t want trails of blood following me, and any wandering sharks to eat me while I was swimming in the ocean. Since I backpack a lot, I need this kind of magic because I just cannot deal with a pad when I’m hiking a mountain.
I bachata and kizomba, another activity I avoid when I have periods because it somehow made me very insecure to be with a man, most of the times a stranger within that level of proximity, to be comfortable enough to dance during my period.
No leaks; once the cup is inside you, it creates a vacuum and seals the hole, preventing leaks. When I looked at the pad, I felt that I bled gallons. But actually, it is not a lot of bleeding. I don’t even bleed a half cup on the slow flow days and just less than a full cup on a heavy day (about 10ml). The blood is spread out on the pad and also leaks when it’s saturated, which is why we think we bleed such a lot.
I used to wear pads for four days, but now I only bleed three with the cup! I assume it’s because it collected the blood from the inside. Saw that!? Periods even reduced by a day! Whoever heard of a three days period?!
I don’t have to spend on pads, or battle with my dog to dispose of it.
In essence, I am never sighting a pad ever again in my life. (A moment of silence to a sanitary napkin manufacturer who just lost a customer who would have otherwise paid over 60k during her entire lifetime).I reduce my carbon footprint by a significant amount. Around 7200 pads throughout my life!
I can sleep without waking up on the Japanese flag.
I can pee/poop normally, without messing with pads/tampons. If you haven’t noticed, we have three holes to do three different things. I initially felt worried that the cup would plop out, so I took it out and did it. See, it’s the same motion of bearing down or ‘Thatamanawa’ that you have to do when you defecate, too. But later on the 2nd day and so on, I just pooped with it, and it wasn’t an issue. I read this article about pooping with a menstrual cup just to ease the tension. In short, I am never bothering with pads or tampons ever again.
Even though I now sound like I invented this cup, to be very honest, I was scared at first. It felt weird even to consider doing this thing.
Here are a few of the questions that I found myself asking.
1.What if it gets lost in there?
It will not because only liquids go past your cervix. This cup will come out, the same way a small human being pops out of you, or a penis, or your fingers.
2.What if something goes wrong?
The worst thing that could happen with a cup is that it might leak due to incorrect placement, but no, it is not going to get stuck in there.
3. What if it hurts when I stick it?
Personally, I found that it didn’t hurt: there was just a slight pressured sensation for the first few seconds which is also rather pleasant when the cup is warm after sterilisation, till I push it past the flappy bits of the vagina opening. I did a little standing up/ squatting dance till the rim of the cup was inside and just pushed it and floop it slides into place and opens up. And after that, I don’t even feel it. I am not exaggerating. You don’t feel it inside you. When you’re removing it, you have to pinch the base of the cup and break the suction or vacuum created by it. Then it’s just a matter of pulling it out. Don’t worry though; you will get it right when you use it a few times.
4. Is it safe?
Very much so. The only hiccup would be an infection that gets into your vagina during the inserting process. This we avoid by washing our hands very well before using the cup and sterilising the cup with hot/boiling water between cycles. I try to disinfect between uses too, just to be on the safe side. It’s also more reliable than having a chemical- saturated wad of cotton and plastic wedged up against your vagina.
Note: I cook in the morning, so I had to wait until all the spicy-ness goes away from my fingers before I handled the cup. Also, I noticed that my nail polish was flaking, so I removed it because I didn’t want any bits going in there.
What if I lose my virginity?
(Takes a deep breath)
If by virginity you mean the first time you have sex, the answer is a strict no; you cannot have sex with a menstrual cup for the first time. If at all, virginity is not something you lose.
We need to move away from that mindset!
