Adventures with the Diva Cup

Hello, menstruation!

It's been a couple months. I missed you.

I recently finished a book which I would highly recommend to all women and any man who loves a woman. It's called "Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation" by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim. It is all about periods - everything you ever wanted to know, didn't know you didn't know, the history of menstruation, the cultural and historical attitudes, loads of interesting information about what the fem care industry and birth control companies are trying to tell us, and much more. From a literary standpoint, not the greatest (some intense bias and a lot of chapters that end with rhetorical questions); but for all those inquisitive minds like mine (hats off to you, Jeanna and Kat), a lovely read. You'll feel enlightened to be sure.

It's also been a very lovely form of method acting as I try to grasp my character in "The Vagina Monologues," which is coming up in a couple of months! All you who are able, end of Febs, M-Shop, fundraiser for ACCESS Women's Shelter in Ames -- be there.

I have lots of thoughts and fun facts I could share, but the most important thing I took away from the book is this: menstruation is beautiful; tons of blood soaked tampons and pads in landfills, not so beautiful. There are a couple of alternatives (like re-usable pads that get washed in the laundry or dead sponges), but the one that seemed the most likely for me to switch to is a new little friend called The Diva Cup.

I had already been eyeing Miss Diva at Wheatsfield, but after reading Flow, I couldn't not buy one. I had been planning on waiting to buy it until after I used up my current stash of tampons, but then my period started about the same day I finished the book (interesting), and I just couldn't wait. I rushed to Wheatsfield and purchased my first Diva Cup.

The Diva Cup is just one of many versions of menstrual cups available to Green Goddesses(-wannabees) like myself. Other brands are The Keeper, The Moon Cup, and Lunette. The menstrual cup is a reusable cup which is folded and then inserted into the vagina like a tampon (minus the applicator). It creates a suction and catches the blood, then you pull it out, empty the blood, wash the cup, and reuse. It's so simple! For me, the hardest thing (which I would have previously put my foot down about) is that you have to use your fingers to guide Miss Diva into your vag. But I've been getting acquainted with my "eccentric tulip" for the Vagina Monologues, and this was just another way to do that.

I'll be honest, it was really really weird the first time I put it in. But nobody was home, I laughed by myself a lot, and after some rotating, leg lifting, etc., I finally got it. And then... nothing. It was just like having a tampon in. And taking it out was easy, and dumping the contents out was easy, and by the time round two of insertion took place, I felt like a pro.



What can I say? It may be something that takes time to sit in with some of you, but here's what should really help you at least consider this as an option: the average woman will throw away 250 to 300 POUNDS of tampons, pads, and applicators in her lifetime (pg. 235). And don't play ignorant: that waste isn't getting recycled in any way, shape, or form; it's going into our landfills, our dumps, our earth. This is just one simple way to cut back on this bloody mess. Plus, you'll definitely save money over time with the cup - it can be reused for years, if properly maintained.

And I won't even get into the issue of some of the dioxins, bleaches, etc. found in most tampons. Maybe they haven't bothered you. But we've only been using tampons for less than 100 years - who knows if there may be longer term risks.

Anyway, I want to end on an fun note. Here are some intercultural ways to let someone know you're "on the rag."
Netherlands - "The Tomatoe Soup is Overcooked."
Brazilian - "I'm with Chico"
Chinese - "Little Sister Has come"
Latin America - "Jenny has a Red Dress on"
Australia - "I've Got the Flags Out"
Denmark - "There are Communists in the Funhouse"
Ireland - "I'm wearing a Jam Rag"

and many more, if you grab yourself a copy of Flow.

Bleed on, my ladies, bleed on.

P.S. PLEASE comment. I have had so many fun and interesting conversations with people via Facebook in regards to numerous posts I've put up. The purpose of this blog is to have a conversation HERE. If you have a thought, please post it here, and post it with confidence. Trust me - you're not the only one thinking whatever it is you are itching to say to me. So just do it - comment!

Movie Recommendation: Food, Inc.

Put this on your holiday list, folks: Food, Inc. Visit this website: http://www.takepart.com/foodinc

The Point

HI all. First, an apology: I really have never been too fab at keeping up with blogs. If I thought anyone read this on an ongoing basis anyway, I'd maybe try harder. Hint.

So I had a conversation with someone close to me yesterday, and I felt like it got a little heated on my end. First, let me write it down, then I'm going to dissect. We were talking about where to go grocery shopping. This is not verbatim, sorry - I'm doing my best.

Her: We can stop by Wal-Mart.
Me: Or Wheatsfield.
Her: It's cheaper at Wal-Mart.
Me: Wheatsfield's producers grow organically and ethically, ensuring a better environment.
Her: God will take care of our environment.
Me: No, he won't - he left us to be the earth's stewards, it is OUR job to take care of it.
Her: God is in control.
Me: I'm not saying he isn't. He is in control - but it doesn't mean we can ignore our responsibilities.

Now, I'm really not trying to force my beliefs on people about eating organically. If you don't want to or you don't understand why it is important, then I'm sure you wouldn't want to go out of your way. I would think it is wise to choose education on any subject over ignorance, but that's your prerogative. For now. Maybe we won't see much of a change in our own lifetime, but I am sure that our kids will reap the destruction that we've sown, and I'm totally not trying to be apocalyptic.

Ok, my real problem with the conversation is - and has been - when Christians just blow off facts or responsibilities and pass the problem over to God, even when God has asked us IN THE BIBLE to take care of the earth and everything we've been given. I grew up believing it was okay to throw my trash out the window and into the ditch as we drove by because - hey! - we know how the world is going to end (RAPTURE - NOT EXCESSIVE LITTERING), and God is in control, so why bother?

Why bother, hmm? Then why bother asking people to come to church? GOD IS IN CONTROL! Why bother going to work? GOD WILL PROVIDE. Why not do whatever we feel like doing?

Oh, right - because that same God gave us a conscience to know the difference between good and bad. Plants thriving, animals reproducing, humans living in harmony with nature - GOOD. Trash everywhere, plants covered in pesticides, air pollution, animals mutating, and humans ignoring all of it - BAD.

That's the point. It's why I stopped going shopping for clothes every week so that I can spend slightly more to buy food that isn't ruining the world. That and avoiding sweat shops and promoting local artisans. The point is that we all have a responsibility to take care of the world around us. Even if you DON'T [somehow] believe in global climate change [which has been scientifically proven and the whole world conferred on it last week in Copenhagen], how hard is it to respect the land we live on? Why is it SO BAD to consider the plants, the air, the animals that we are polluting and hurting and destroying? God gave the land to us to rule, but not rule like a selfish tyrant, making choices for ourselves and ignoring all of those that are effected by our decisions. God is in control, but I have yet to see him step in and intervene when corporations pump toxic gases into the air, dump pollutants into the water, and fill landfills with waste. He isn't going to step in - he asked us to take care of it. And like everything else I've seen in human history, humans do reap what they sew. So I'm asking this: why are so many people defiantly defending their right to ignore that responsibility and do as they please, regardless of the consequences?

Steam...

I apologize to you, other person in my conversation, if I got snappy or rude. But I felt like the rules of civil discourse and logical reasoning had been thrown out the window and into the ditch just so we could carry on a conversation where the truth can be warped to create a world where everything is okay as long as you trust in God. I don't live in that world. I trust in God and I want to treat this world with the respect I believe God has asked me to give. But I love you.

Jeanna's Christmas Trees

I think recently, full of the holiday spirit, I've been making snarky comments about Christmas trees and how it's so wrong to cut down trees just to put in your house. Then my very insightful and good friend Jeanna told me I was wrong, and told me she'd fill me in later.

I spent the next couple of days contemplating that, and then I decided that it made sense. Fake trees are made out of plastic and are not bio-degradable. Real trees are planted yearly on Christmas tree farms, which is good for our environment! They aren't being cut down from forests, which means that (unlike what I was thinking) it isn't adding to deforestation by any means.

I think a problem I still have with Christmas trees is just that, if you buy one to last you forever, you aren't spending as much money than if you buy a real one every year. So that's my two cents about that.

Don't get me started on the holidays though. Two words: consumerist brainwashing.

Happy Holidays!

http://www.countryliving.com/homes/home-maintenance/eco-friendly-christmas-trees?click=main_sr