{"id":6803,"date":"2015-03-06T19:39:48","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T11:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?p=6803"},"modified":"2020-05-27T15:13:05","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T13:13:05","slug":"history-menstrual-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of the Menstrual Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Menstrual cups might seem like a totally new creation, but did you know that the modern menstrual cup and the disposable tampon were invented in the same decade?<\/p>\n

Women have been searching for the perfect period protection for millennia, but once we did find the ideal solution it still took nearly 80 years for menstrual cups to become popular. Here\u2019s a quick rundown of the evolution of menstrual cups.<\/p>\n

Early Devices<\/h2>\n

Women have been experimenting with internal period protection since ancient times \u2013 but in the late 19th<\/sup>\u00a0and early 20th\u00a0<\/sup>centuries, the idea of using an internal cup to collect menstrual flow started to take hold. Many cup-like devices were patented in the US and abroad, some used flexible sacks to collect the fluid but others used metal cups \u2013 talk about uncomfortable!<\/p>\n

Most of the devices also required belts to hold them up<\/a>, which meant they weren\u2019t very discreet. Needless to say the majority of these devices were never sold commercially.<\/p>\n

The 1930s \u2013 Leona Chalmers’ Patent<\/h2>\n
\"Leona<\/a>

Leona Chalmers’ menstrual cup patent in 1937<\/span><\/i><\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

In the 1930s several devices resembling the modern menstrual cup were patented. Leona Chalmers\u2019s cup, patented in 1937, is regarded as the first commercial menstrual cup available for sale in the US. Her cup was made out of rubber and held in place by a woman\u2019s pelvic floor muscles<\/a> \u2013 no more bulky belts!<\/p>\n

The outbreak of World War II and the scarcity of rubber forced her to shut down production, and though she continued to sell the cups after the war it was difficult to convince women to make the switch. At the time menstruation, and indeed women\u2019s bodies and sexuality in general, were a taboo subject, so touching your vagina was unthinkable for the majority of \u201cproper\u201d women.<\/p>\n

The 1950s \u2013 A New Cup and an Education Plan<\/h2>\n

From the 1950s to the 1970s Chalmers partnered with a larger company to produce a new version of the cup called the Tassette, the company even created a disposable version of the cup (the Tassaway).<\/p>\n

In order to combat the popularity of disposable pads and tampons, the company invested in a huge education campaign, sending discount offers to registered nurses and hiring them to give advice to women in drugstores around the country.<\/p>\n

They even had a 40 foot tall billboard in New York City\u2019s Times Square, but women still weren\u2019t comfortable being so intimate with their vaginas. Sadly in 1973 the company shut its doors and the cups were no longer available in the US.<\/p>\n

The 1980s \u2013 A Slow Revival \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Over a decade after the Tassette company closed its doors a new latex rubber menstrual cup made its way on to the American market and beyond. The Keeper, made of brown rubber, carried on Leona Chalmers\u2019 legacy and is still available today.<\/p>\n

The 2000s \u2013 New Materials, Softer Menstrual Cups<\/h2>\n

The new millennium saw the rise of medical-grade silicone: a new material that is bacteria resistant and hypoallergenic \u2013 unlike latex, which many people are allergic to. This silicone was quickly adopted as the standard material for menstrual cups, both because of these benefits and because it is so much softer and more flexible, making the cup easier to fold and insert.<\/p>\n

Plus, the softer silicone makes the cup more comfortable to wear \u2013 no more hard rubber edges.<\/p>\n

2014 – The Reinvention of the Menstrual Cup<\/h2>\n

The design of menstrual cups hadn\u2019t changed much since the 1930s, and it wasn\u2019t until Intimina\u2019s 2012 introduction of the Lily Cup<\/a> that menstrual cups began to evolve again. We completely rethought the shape of the cup so that it fit women better and found a medical-grade silicone that was much thinner, softer and, more flexible, making the Lily Cup so much more comfortable to wear.<\/p>\n

However, the biggest evolution yet came in 2014 with our Lily Cup Compact<\/a> \u2013 the first ever collapsible menstrual cup. This cup is made out of the same soft silicone, but it collapses flat and fits into a small case the size of a tin of lip balm, making it super easy to carry with you.\u00a0It has brought menstrual cups into the mainstream and introduced more women to the benefits of reusable cups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

Traditional cups vs Lily Cup and Lily Cup Compact.<\/span><\/i><\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

So there you have it \u2013 the evolution of the menstrual cup from a bulky, belted device to a tiny compact that fits in your pocket. It took over 80 years for women to begin embracing cups, but now that they have the knowledge has spread like wildfire and there are finally better options for women. With this sudden burst of innovation who knows what menstrual cups will look like in 10 years? Keep an eye on this spot to find out.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Menstrual cups might seem like a totally new creation, but did you know that the modern menstrual cup and the disposable tampon were invented in the same decade? Women have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":17569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe History of Menstrual Cups | INTIMINA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn more about the evolution of the reusable menstrual cup, from its early beginnings in the 1930s to becoming the world\u2019s best period protection.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"INTIMINA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"INTIMINA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f50537a97d16dabefc697e8585013e87\"},\"headline\":\"The History of the Menstrual Cup\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-06T11:39:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-27T13:13:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/\"},\"wordCount\":805,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Menstruation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/\",\"name\":\"The History of Menstrual Cups | INTIMINA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-06T11:39:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-27T13:13:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn more about the evolution of the reusable menstrual cup, from its early beginnings in the 1930s to becoming the world\u2019s best period protection.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Intimina\",\"description\":\"A Health and Wellness Resource for Women\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Intimina\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/INTIMINA_logo-02.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/INTIMINA_logo-02.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":543,\"caption\":\"Intimina\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intimina\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intimina\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/intimina\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/intimina\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCR_3_GPO6pkhDiFU9TZRdYA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f50537a97d16dabefc697e8585013e87\",\"name\":\"INTIMINA\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d41ce57083541d7ecfdc50159a46958f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d41ce57083541d7ecfdc50159a46958f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"INTIMINA\"},\"description\":\"A collective group of \\\"lady experts\\\" at Intimina who love sharing our personal experiences, even when they are a little\u00a0too\u00a0personal. We believe it's time to start breaking down the taboos around menstruation, motherhood, and menopause, and start owning our female health.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/author\/intimina\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The History of Menstrual Cups | INTIMINA","description":"Learn more about the evolution of the reusable menstrual cup, from its early beginnings in the 1930s to becoming the world\u2019s best period protection.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"INTIMINA","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/"},"author":{"name":"INTIMINA","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f50537a97d16dabefc697e8585013e87"},"headline":"The History of the Menstrual Cup","datePublished":"2015-03-06T11:39:48+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-27T13:13:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/"},"wordCount":805,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Menstruation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/","name":"The History of Menstrual Cups | INTIMINA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-06T11:39:48+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-27T13:13:05+00:00","description":"Learn more about the evolution of the reusable menstrual cup, from its early beginnings in the 1930s to becoming the world\u2019s best period protection.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/history-menstrual-cup\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/","name":"Intimina","description":"A Health and Wellness Resource for Women","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Intimina","url":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/INTIMINA_logo-02.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/INTIMINA_logo-02.png","width":1000,"height":543,"caption":"Intimina"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intimina","https:\/\/twitter.com\/intimina","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/intimina\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/intimina\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCR_3_GPO6pkhDiFU9TZRdYA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f50537a97d16dabefc697e8585013e87","name":"INTIMINA","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d41ce57083541d7ecfdc50159a46958f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d41ce57083541d7ecfdc50159a46958f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"INTIMINA"},"description":"A collective group of \"lady experts\" at Intimina who love sharing our personal experiences, even when they are a little\u00a0too\u00a0personal. We believe it's time to start breaking down the taboos around menstruation, motherhood, and menopause, and start owning our female health.","url":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/author\/intimina\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}