Still Using Pads and Tampons?

So for the past 6 or 7 years now I've been menstruating. And I always thought that the only stuff to use were pads and tampons. Pads got sticky and gross, and tampons were always leaking, left particles inside the vagina, and also hurt to take out when not completely soaked through. And on top of that you had to buy new ones every month and throw them out when they were used. (I know there are reusable cloth pads out there, but personally carrying around pads is a pain and I already hate doing laundry as it is.)

And then I heard about the Diva Cup.

Basically it's a silicone menstrual cup that collects menses in the vagina until you take it out and empty it and wash it out and reuse it. Indefinitely. I read that some women have had theirs for over 10 years and it still works like new.

I bought the Diva Cup 1 online for maybe $32 and tested it on my last period, and for me, this is GREAT! Other than getting used to inserting it, this thing is amazing. You don't feel it at all when it is inside, it's just like a tampon without a string. It also lasts for about 6-12 hours depending on how heavy your flow is. I had no leakage after biking 12 miles, sleeping and dancing at a wedding for hours. I had no real problem getting it out either. Plus it even has little measure marks on the inside to tell you how much you've bled in ounces and mL! NUTS! Cleaning isn't that bad, you just dump the blood into the toilet and then wash it out in the sink with some soap. In a public restroom? Wipe it off with some toilet paper and just pop it back in or just wait until you get home (it'll probably hold up) if you're squeamish.

But the best thing about it is that you don't throw it away. It's eco-friendly and pays for itself after a couple months of paying for disposable pads or tampons.

If the Diva Cup isn't for you, there are other brands of menstrual cups such as the Lady Cup or Lunette. Each has a slightly different design so if one doesn't fit as well as you'd like you can always try a different brand!

I've also tried Insteads, which basically use the menstrual cup idea in the form of a Livestrong-esque band that has a bag membrane on the inside. You can find them at almost any pharmacy. I haven't had very good luck with them as they always leaked on me, and they are also unfortunately one use only. Supposedly one can have non-bloody sex with one of them in (you still have to use a condom, it is NOT a contraceptive!!!), but I haven't tested that capability. I'd just prefer the bloody sex rather than have something stuck inside me but hey, that's just me.

Have any of you tried a menstrual cup? How was your experience?

On Catcalling

If you are a female and reading this, I'm willing to bet that at least once in your life you have been catcalled at. And for most women, it has nothing to do with what you wear or how you act, and there is almost no way of avoiding street harassment in daily life.

Street harassment ranges from the lewd guy screaming "SHOW ME YOUR TITTIES BABY!" out of his car as he zooms past to some guy masturbating on a subway while he grinds himself against you. To them it's all about control. And I fucking hate them.

Last year I was walking to my car in a parking lot at night when some drunk asshole shouts out of his parked car window as I walk past, "HEY SLUT COME SUCK MY DICK!" or something to that effect. Me, tired and not taking any more shit from any jerks screams back at him, "Fuck you, you fucking asshole!" while I flip the bird at him and continue to my car. Now of course, since street harassers have to have the last word and hate it whenever people just accept that they're being jerks and ignore it, he gets out of his car and starts stomping toward me. I was with one of my friends, who tried to get him to go away but the jerk just started trying to punch him. So naturally I jumped in and we had a pretty nasty fight and we eventually left after he stopped trying to hit us while he was on the floor. I got away with just a black eye and my friend with his glasses broken and shirt ripped off, but I realize it could have gotten a lot worse if I was alone.

Nowadays I don't really curse back at them, since my previous experience has been being attacked for saying something back. What I do now is if they're close enough to me I'll start talking to them about how it's rude and how it makes me feel when they say things like that to me and other women. Usually they just look at me stupidly and try to ignore me, but someone has to say something to them.

I would LOVE to go out one day and be able to just walk outside on the street and have no one shout vulgar things at me or have to fear for my own personal safety. I wish that it would be NORMAL to live like that and not expect men to act like scumbags who think they have the right to harass me.

Luckily I've found this great blog called Hollaback NYC where people take pictures or descriptions of the street harassers and post it to the blog for everyone else to see. There are also similar ones of other major cities too, so look for yours on the sidebar of their blog if you're not from NYC! It's nice to take some power back after being harassed and treated like a piece of meat and spreads awareness! Yay!