eco menstrual stuff - boring for men

[Helsbells]

Is it the sort of thing where you could practice putting it in when you dont have your period, so you can get good at it and so you dont get blood (eyw gross the mere thought!) on your hands (eugh)
I mean I know you can do this with tampons but is it ok with the moodcup.
Also what if you are out? does it have to be washed under the tap everytime you take it out? Cant imagine doing this in a restaurant or friends house?!

[red]

Is it the sort of thing where you could practice putting it in when you dont have your period, so you can get good at it and so you dont get blood (eyw gross the mere thought!) on your hands (eugh)
I mean I know you can do this with tampons but is it ok with the moodcup.
Also what if you are out? does it have to be washed under the tap everytime you take it out? Cant imagine doing this in a restaurant or friends house?!

yes you could practice.

when out and about.. that was the bit that worried me the most.. but its ok. At friends houses etc.. its fine as usually the loo and sink are in the same room. Its entirely possible to manage without any messiness at all. The cup forms a barrier - you handle the outside of the cup.

if you are in a restaurant or public loos, slightly more tedious as the sinks will be outside the cubical, but can be managed with loo paper, in the cubical.

[Helsbells]

I becoming more convinced, I might just get one, its not like I have to use it just cos I got it!
Oh and how long can you keep it in?

[LSP]

Just to say I'm back here to do some research on sanpro -- and because Andy sent an email to say he's going to purge the list! -- and found this interesting discussion.

Has anyone thought that a woman 'being unclean' might be a good thing?

I remember a Jewish man on TV saying that he was not allowed to be intimate with his wife when she's 'unclean', during certain days of the week, and boy! does that not make him love his wife all the more!

Strange as it may sound, all the Jewish teaching on ritual purity means a woman has legitimate reasons to avoid intercourse with her husband. So while the feeling is not nice to be told 'women are unclean' and not to be touched, there must be lots of women who appreciate the chance to have a rest from being -- so-called -- touched!!

In a perverse sort of way, the Levitical rules protect the women.

Just to put a different gloss on the matter.

[Annpan]

I just say no, I'll give a reason if I need to, but I usually don't need to... but I have had a few friends who warm up around their time of the month... each to their own I guess.

I do like when we look to history and we find that they had different reasons for such things, whether put down to religion or something else. But I don't like the thought that there are some people who translate old texts literally and believe therfore that woman are a lower class of being... because we bleed.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi LSP - Andy wasn't going to delete anybody who has already posted! We were just getting rid of about 2000 spammers who had invaded the member list. Anyway nice to 'see' you again!

Quakerbear - not too graphic at all! This is Ish after all and we talk about such things.

[LSP]

I do like when we look to history and we find that they had different reasons for such things, whether put down to religion or something else. But I don't like the thought that there are some people who translate old texts literally and believe therfore that woman are a lower class of being... because we bleed.

Precisely because we bleed -- so profusely AND STILL LIVE! -- women are supposed to have certain extraordinary powers in certain cultures.

'Ritual pollution' (bleeding, death, etc) of course are the sort of stuff us anthopologists are into. We never take anything at face value. Bah!

Back to sanpro, I remember my mum telling me how on reaching puberty they have to sew those pads (filled with shredded off-cuts, etc) which they had to wash and hang up to dry every month. I guess it was with a great sigh of relief that she greeted the invention of disposable pads.

What would she think, were she still alive, if I told her I am experimenting with reusables again?

[QuakerBear]

The unclean thingie is abit of a thorn for me. I don't see why one has to have an excuse not to be intimate. Surely in a relationship between two equal adults compromises are met in an amicable way without one person being obliged to do things they don't want.

Incidentaly some very orthodox communites do have birth rate issues becuase a woman is not only unclean while she's bleeding but for a certian number of days afterwards as well. Thus it's quite hard to hit the fertile window.

As for Leviticus, as far as I'm concerned scripture is an impediment to a relationship with God. Some good poetry there, exellent scholarship as well, but the Light is not in man's written words, it's inside and a part of us. And would you believe it, some denominations have chucked me out for saying that! Huh.

[red]

The unclean thingie is abit of a thorn for me. I don't see why one has to have an excuse not to be intimate. Surely in a relationship between two equal adults compromises are met in an amicable way without one person being obliged to do things they don't want.

xactly. never occured to me that i was either 'unclean' or needed an excuse.. strange.

[LSP]

Problem is when they are not 'equal partners'. I've been involved with the local women's centre enough to realize the extent of 'DV' (domestic violence) cases to appreciate the equality I take for granted in my own marriage.

Any way, ladies (and gentlemen), while continuing my research I found this site: http://www.mum.org/

Totally fascinating site.

[Moonwaves]

I just bought a mooncup at the weekend after more than a year of using washable pads (and using the soaking water to fertilise houseplants, they've never looked so good!). I'm another one who can't believe I went so long (20 years almost to the month) without realising there are alternatives to disposables (and to the huge, embarrassing pads I remember hearing my mum talking about once).

Although I love my washable pads I decided to give the mooncup a go because for travelling it would definitely be easier. A friend is heading off to Africa for a year or so soon and will be travelling up and down the continent and so I told her about the mooncup and it got me thinking about it again so I decided just to go for it. Am going to save up and buy some for my two teenage nieces as well - I imagine they'll think it disgusting but if I can at least get them to promise to not throw it out maybe one day curiosity will get the better of them.

Thanks for that info on how much of your fingers you might need to insert to get it out - that's the kind of thing that's not covered in the leaflet and it's hard sometimes to find people willing to speak openly about such things. I've heard the customer service people in mooncup are great as well.

[QuakerBear]

No probs Moonwaves.

To anyone, please don't feel shy about asking questions.

[kiwirach]

you wont look back moonwaves....i've only been using it for 2 months, but already i'm loving it!!.

[wiggy]

you can also get sea sponges - but im not too sure if i like the idea of that!

I reckon the NHS should give out free moon-cups. Or local councils should supply women with one!
They are soooooo much easier than tampons and towels

[Annpan]

I think the NHS should certainly fund the mooncup, when I was a teenager (from 14 onwards) I got a set allowance and I had to cover all expenditures from it (including sanitary products) I remember spending 2 weeks worth each month on towels and thinking that really the NHS should be able to assist - I did have VERY heavy periods and I was given the pill and iron tablets to slow them down (on the NHS of course) I still didn't get help paying for the boxes of towels I was going through though.