Been Down the Feminine Products Aisle
and Still Not Satisfied?

oin the hunt for a cheaper, greener solution
Jen Murray, The Underground (University of Toronto, CUP)

Every menstrual product I have ever known
has been plastic, shrink-wrapped and stiff. I
cannot count the number of times I have
been scratched by plastic liners, stabbed by
applicators, or waxed by overzealously applied
adhesive.

Like many women, I was raised on tam-
pons and pads and their tidy little wrappers.
After many years (and many pad-related wax
jobs) I was curious about alternatives, but
unsure where to start. My curiosity was
piqued when a friend mentioned that one of
her friends uses a tampon alternative called
the Keeper, a rubber cup that collects men-
strual blood.

Her friend, “Nancy”, bought the Keeper
after working at an all-female camp in
Quebec, where the little cup received rave
reviews. Curious and wanting a healthier
method to deal with her period, Nancy went
shopping—only to leave it in the box.

“T put off using it for so long because I
was so freaked out!” she said. “It looks like a
little mouse plunger!”’

Nancy eventually took the plunge—so to
speak—by bringing a limited supply of tradi-
tional products to camp with her, forcing her
to use her new Keeper.

pfeatures@gmail.com

 

“Tt wasn’t bad at all,’ she said of her first
experience.

Another friend of hers had to be coached
from outside the bathroom door on how to
insert it. “I didn’t need anything like that, I
was just like ‘Okay, it’s in’ and it was fine; I’ve
never had a problem with it,” Nancy said.

Yes, but was it icky?

Apparently, it wasn’t icky at all.

The association of “ickiness” is a symp-
tom of our modern society, according to
Madeleine Shaw, creator of Lunapads wash-
able menstrual pads. She says using dispos-
able pads and tampons turns menstruation
into a negative experience: “It’s just a waste
product, and waste products are things we
think of as gross. ‘It’s garbage, it’s disgusting!
Throw it in the garbage!” she said.

“All a woman’s normal, natural bodily
processes are treated as diseased,” Shaw said.
I mention to her how pretty her washable
pads are, and I feel like ’'ve made her day.

Having tried a similar product to the
Keeper in the past, an experience I can sum
up in the word ‘Ouch,’ I came to the conclu-
sion that it isn’t for me. Washable pads, how-
. And okay, Pll admit, the
idea that I can pick Irian print or poodle

ever, I can deal with

 

print fabric is part of the appeal.

Unlike the plastic pads, these things actu-
ally absorb fluid, not just the mystery blue lig-
uid from the commercials. As for washing the
fabric, it was easy enough.
I simply put some laundry
soap in a bucket, and
rinsed the pads before
soaking them. Mind you,
my mother gave the dog a
bath the day before so I
used a garden hose attach-
ment to rinse the pads, no
doubt affecting the ease
with which they came
clean, but no matter. They
went in the wash and
came out fine.

I found the experience
comfortable enough that I
actually ordered some
Lunapads for myself.
While I might not use

them all the time,

it’s nice to have a choice,

especially when you can choose between

leopard print and poodles

 

 

 

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