The Ruby Cup: Way More Than a Menstrual Cup

I remember getting my first period. I was twelve years old and I wasn’t afraid, I was prepared mentally and, I think, emotionally when I saw the tell-tale colour one day. I remember calling to my mom to come in the bathroom, and getting a hug. She showed me where the pads were, and how to stick them in my undies. We weren’t a really open kind of family. I think my mom wanted to be more relaxed about sex and share her feelings and experiences with me and my sister, but it just wasn’t how she was raised, and she didn’t know where or how to start.

From the moment I held my daughter, I knew I would try my hardest to break that awkwardness and talk to her openly and honestly about life as a woman – the good, the bad, and the downright messy. As she grew we talked about her changing body, how babies are made, and then finally we celebrated her period.

My daughter is lucky; I was lucky. There are young women all over the world who never had the education or support my daughter and I had, but there are people who are working to change that, one period at a time.

Women have more choices on how to handle their periods than ever before with pads, tampons, special panties, and silicon cups. I am firmly in the silicon cup camp, loving the reusable, washable comfortable ease that comes with these cups. I especially LOVE the Ruby Cup and I will tell you why it is so different from any other silicon cup on the market.

The Ruby Cup works like any other cup, but it doesn’t stop working when it isn’t in active use. When a Ruby Cup purchased in the  online store, the company donates another one to a school girl in Africa. 

Many girls in Africa are sexually active at a young age. Sexual education is not available to girls there the way it is in North America. Because they’re so young, they often don’t know what menstruation is, why they bleed, or how the female anatomy works. Early pregnancies are not uncommon. And there are a lot of dangerous myths about how to avoid becoming pregnant and how to terminate pregnancy, and almost no information available about STDs. 

One of the fundamental parts of their mission is to provide education on basic knowledge on female reproductive health and menstrual hygiene. But more than that, a Ruby Cup allows her to stay in school during her period without having to buy tampons and pads that she can’t afford – if she even has access to them. The product and education empowers the girls of Africa. This is something I think as women we should all be on board with. 

So if you’ve been considering trying a silicon cup, go for the Ruby Cup and know you are helping change the way a girl in Africa sees her period. You might just change her life.