Menstrual cups

A very simple title, because it is really about menstrual cups that we are going to talk about and its existential simplicity!

Even if you have a male body, and you are reading this email, read through it all. In my view, there are not only women's or men's things. There are human things that, in this case, are used by people with a female body, who are not taboo and that are so good to speak about and explore.

It was the year 2008 and I decided to try something new - leaving behind the sanitary pads and tampons, so I could use the menstrual cup.
At the time I was so amazed that in April 2009 I sent an email to all my friends to talk about my experience with what I called the magic cup.

But before that, a bit of history.

The first absorbent registers are Egyptian and date back to around 2000 BC. They were internal protections made of processed papyrus. In Rome, the tampons were made of soft wool and later also appear as absorbents of wool in the manuscripts of Hippocrates, who lived between 460 and 370 BC in Greece. In the Medieval and European Renaissance, towels and cushions made of gauze and pieces of cambric and cotton wrapped in mosses and other grasses were used to increase absorption. It is observed that menstruation at this time was considered as bad and even poisonous, not only represented a period of not fertilization, but the release of all possible bad excrements of the body, which could transmit diseases. Sex was discouraged during this period, as this "poison" could burn the skin of the penis. It is possible to understand that a negative imaginary about the menstrual period was already in place.

The first absorbents designed for consumption were produced around 1854 in the USA. There are records of American inventors looking for the first patents of a belt with washable absorbent fabrics, thought to replace the towels used until then. The belt, in this case, was necessary for the fixation of the product in the body, the strips of bondable adhesives, now found in most of the external absorbents, were not yet customary. At the same time, in Germany, around 1890, the first disposable absorbents appeared, so that they could be placed in the briefs. They were sold in boxes with six units. During World War I (1914-1918), French nurses observed that bands used for bandages could be useful for absorbing menstrual blood because they contained cellulose, material with more absorbent characteristics than cotton.

The prototype for the production of an absorbent as we know it today was beginning to be traced: cotton scraps, cellulose, gauze and something to fasten it to his underwear, preventing his movement during day-to-day activities.
There were 1929 records of the American physician Earle Haas (1888-1981). He developed tampons with applicators, which were removal cables. Its invention was subsequently transformed into Tampax, the first domestic absorber with applicator marketed, and in 1974, the competitor OB, created and developed in Germany, was launched, whose name originates in ohne binde, a German expression which in literal translation corresponds the "no towel".

It is possible that it is still little spread by a cultural question that involves the manipulation of the vagina, as well as the tampons on which many doubts hang. For example, would the use of a tampon before sexual initiation involve the loss of virginity?

Other relevant issues relate to women's health and the environment. In 2015, the American model Laura Wasser had an amputated leg when contracted a rare disease provoked by the prolonged use of internal absorbent. The Toxic Shock Syndrome, a complication of bacterial infections, involving staphylococcal bacteria.

There is a repression of one's own body and of sexuality in cultural and social terms. There are a number of taboos, for example, that menstruation is dirty and one should not touch one's vagina. There is an indoctrination for the contempt of the woman's body for herself and for others.

Back in 2009, when I talked to my friends about the magic cup, the letter I sent them reflected wonder and empowerment through the use of the menstrual cup.

Why?

✨ economic
✨ practical, easy to use
✨ hygienic
✨ reusable
✨ environmentally friendly
✨ comfortable / comfortable
✨ intimate contact with body, vagina and menstrual blood
✨ self-knowledge
✨ doesn't release odors
✨ prevents infections and does not expose the body to toxic materials, such as:

Dioxin, chemical (pesticide) used in bleaching dressings and tampons.
Raiom or Rayon, artificial silk made from bleached cotton cellulose fibers with chlorine. It is the basic tissue of most of these products and the one that allows the absorption of the menstrual flow.
Viscose, artificial cellulose fiber made from pieces of tree wood. This material allows the velvety touch.
Plastic and phthalates, derived from petrochemicals. Widely used in sanitary pads and tampon applicators.
Non-organic cotton, where numerous pesticides are used for their cultivation and are genetically modified.
Neutralizers of odors and fragrances, contain chemicals and irritants to the mucous membranes.

The first few times I tried to use it was not easy, because I had to adapt to something new and very different. I really thought it was something that was not for me, it was not working!
It was different in the way it is introduced and in its daily handling.
But after this initial period of adaptation, I began to use it monthly and with great joy.

The menstrual cup is a cone-shaped container with a stem or rim that inserts into the vagina and collects the menstrual flow but does not absorb it.
The stream is retained in the glass until it is withdrawn. After being extracted it is easily washed with water. The menstrual cup can be used from the first to the last day of the menstrual cycle. And the blood can be delivered to the earth, in the plants, as a nutrient for them and as a sacred gift (soon I will write more on this subject).

Last but not least, it is necessary to question the accessibility and necessity of this product to women of the present time. It is still a product inaccessible to a large part of the female population. There are women who use bread crumbs to stop bleeding and street people also have this problem.

This month, in celebration way for a year of opening the online store Awakened Body, I will offer a menstrual cup.
To compete, and until the end of the month,
1. Share this image on your social networks and tag @awakenedbodyportugal
2. Do you like this post in instagram and facebook + tag a friend in the comments that you would like to give a hug-
3. Follow @awakenedbodyportugal.
And that's it!
You can tag many friends as you like, and for that, you should do it in different comments, because each comment is worth one entry.
A winner will be chosen on the 4th of August, randomly.

💃🏽 Menstruating is normal! 💃🏽