“I’d Be Scared of Getting it Stuck”: Understanding Perceptions of Menstrual Cups Among U.S. Menstruators

Although menstruation is a biologically significant part of life, U.S. menstruators struggle with managing their menstrual cycle. One tool developed to aid in this process is the menstrual cup. A menstrual cup is a bell-shaped device, made of medical grade silicone, used to collect menstrual blood, and has been identified as a safe, cost-effective and environmentally beneficial menstrual management tool. Despite its benefits, menstrual cups remain underutilized and under-researched within United States contexts. As such, this study serves as a first step to understand perceptions of menstrual cups by U.S. menstruators. Qualitative responses were collected using Amazon's Mechanical Turk, then thematically analyzed using the extended parallel process model as a guiding framework to understand menstruators' beliefs regarding the product. Findings from <i>N</i> = 341 participants (<i>M =</i> 38.8 years; <i>SD</i> = 9.6) ranging from ages 21 to 75, illustrate the constructs of self-efficacy and response efficacy and were found to align with participant perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of the menstrual cup. Theoretical and practical contributions, including how communication theory can help understand the reasons why people may choose to adopt a new menstrual management tool, are addressed.