And read comments from people who have used a cup.
Do cups cause endometriosis? Not enough
evidence, says the FDA.
 
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Introduction to a History of the Menstrual Cup
(PICTURES of cups at the bottom of this page)
The commercial menstrual cup (photos below), a device inserted into the vagina to collect,
but not absorb, menstrual blood, has been around at least since the 1930s, when the American Leona
W. Chalmers patented it (see part 1 of
the history of the menstrual cup); an earlier patent
also exists for the Daintette cup - its history
is less clear.
(Read more about the history of the menstrual cup
- First cup? Tassette,
Tassaway, The Keeper,
Daintette, Foldene
Women didn't buy many of the Chalmers cups when
the company sold the hard rubber cup right before World War ll, and it failed.
It wasn't until 1959 that Tassette, Inc., began marketing a softer version,
in collaboration with Leona Chalmers. It also failed, in the early 1960s.
Women today can buy the reusable The
Keeper, sold since the late 1980s; the one-time use Instead
(1-800-INSTEAD, or Web site), which
Ultrafem started selling in the fall of 1996 in the western part of the
U.S.A.; the British Mooncup (Web site);
the Canadian DivaCup, made of silicone (Web
site); and the Finnish Lunette cup (Web
site). I'll add MUM pages for the latter four cups later.
(PICTURES of cups at the bottom of this page)
MUM board member Dr. Philip M. Tierno, Jr.,
director of clinical microbiology and immunology at the New York University
Medical Center, kindly donated both the rare Tassette and Tassaway cups
(below) to this museum. Robert Oreck, president of the company that made
the Tassette cup, gave the cup to Tierno, who then gave it to MUM. Dr.Tierno
is world renowned for his research into the safety of menstrual hygiene
products. Harry Finley, director of MUM, took the photos of the cups, which
are in the museum collection.
Long download time!
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Harry Finley, director of MUM, took the photos of the cups, which
are in the museum collection.
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© 1997-2006 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute
any of the work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written
permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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