Yeah, I'm going there. "Down there."

Since we started this project, I have only made two non-food related purchases: my hiking boots and, upon arriving in Boston during the last torrential downpour, an umbrella made in Pittsburgh of 60% post-consumer materials. I’m pretty proud of the restraint I’ve shown, even keeping my baking needs/desires in check by passing on the purchase of a Bundt pan and instead improvising the ridiculous 7up pound cake you see below.

However, my consumer avoidance must now come to an end. It is now “that time of the month,” and my medicine cabinet is on the empty side. I’m faced with a major consumer choice right now. Am I really prepared to purchase MORE sanitary napkins and tampons? Yeah, I’m gonna go there. If you don’t want to read about my girly business, I’d suggest you move on to another post.

OK, for me, I use about 20 sanitary napkins per menstrual cycle. I think that’s about normal (based on an informal survey of my friends). So, if you assume that most women menstruate 12 times per year, that comes to a total of 240 each year. Using my mother as a yardstick, it is very likely that I will menstruate for at least 40 years (side note: SERIOUSLY?! I hate thinking about this.). So, 240 times 40 is...9600 sanitary napkins in my lifetime. UGH. At $0.25 each, that’s $2400. Why am I crunching these numbers? To show that the choices we make regarding how we manage our danged periods actually have a pretty significant environmental and economic impact. Not only is that a LOT of waste, but sanitary napkins include a wide array of forestry and plastic products. (Check out this cool video by the Discovery Channel to learn more about how pads are made.) Many health researchers also assert that typical menstrual management methods can pose health risks (e.g., chemical exposure, toxic shock syndrome, etc.). So…all of this has me wondering, WHY do we continue to use these products? Why are such wasteful, unhealthy, expensive products so mainstream?

Women had alternate means of dealing with their periods for hundreds of years prior to the invention of the disposable pad in the 1880s – there are definitely other options out there. I have a few friends who use cloth, reusable menstrual pads, but I have a hard time imagining incorporating those into my lifestyle – I don’t think my roommates would appreciate “the bucket” in our bathroom, and I can’t figure out what I’d do at work. (If this is something that interests you/if you’re home more often than I am, check this out. Or this.) I also have several friends who use menstrual cups – they swear by them as the best option when doing field work, and since they are made of medical grade silicone, they have none of the same health risks as other menstrual products. This sounded like it could be a winner for me. And so, with my Urban Ecological Citizenship class in mind…I bought myself a Diva Cup today.

It’s too soon to tell whether or not I’m a permanent convert, but I have already managed the first few hurdles that had me concerned. First of all, I figured out how to put the darned thing in. And take it out. It also appears to be doing what it’s supposed to. I can’t feel it, so that’s good. And I have not yet “sprung a leak.” I’m glad to have a couple of days at home to figure this business out, but I really don’t think this is going to be a big deal. It might actually be MORE convenient than pads or tampons. We’ll have to wait and see.

That's enough on uber personal subjects for this post. But if you have further questions (and care to get specific in the comments), I'm happy to oblige as I hope to (even awkwardly) share this as a learning opportunity for all.