I found myself unexpectedly moved when my niece told me that her periods had started. Not quite a ‘my little girl is a woman!’ moment – she’s not my little girl; she’s not a woman; and I’m just not that motherly – but I was impacted nonetheless.

For starters, how awesome that she could tell me something like this? Apparently making it clear that I am the auntie she could talk to about anything has actually gotten through. So we sat on the sofa with Buffy playing on while she told me when it had happened and what it had been like (not something I am sharing with you, dear readers), and I returned the confidences by telling her about my own first periods.

But here’s where it gets interesting. She talked about what she’d learned in school to prepare her for her period. And it was pretty much almost exactly what I’d learned in school. Disposable pads and tampons. Someone (quite possibly sponsored by one of those companies) coming out and showing the girls the different products and how to use them. Warnings about toxic shock syndrome. And that got me thinking.

I know that when my mother was growing up, period choices sucked – I remember her saying that they had thick disposable pads with girdles to hold them in place. And no tampons with applicators, which was her preferred choice. By the time I came along, I got to learn about disposable pads with stickiness on the bottom (wings came along soon after).

Pads and tampons. Tampons and pads. Anyone would think that there were no other choices.

When the Buffy episode had finished, my niece and I went on a quick tour of the bathroom. I showed her where to find the disposable pads and pantyliners, in case she ever had an emergency and was caught out. But I also showed her my Diva Cup, which is what I use for my periods. I explained that it’s made of medical-grade silicone so it doesn’t leach toxins or suck up any natural juices and lubrications. It just catches the menstrual blood. I mentioned that it only has to be emptied once every 12 hours, can be worn swimming, and overnight. I also showed her (without actively demonstrating) how I fold the cup, insert it, and where it sits internally. It’s a choice she didn’t know about.

Then I showed her my cloth pads. I explained how to me they feel more comfortable than the disposable ones, demonstrated how they clip over the knicker gusset so they stay in place, and she figured out herself that being cloth they can be reused again and again. They’re easy to make, and it’s another choice.

Chances are that I’m the weird auntie, and that’s okay. I like being the weird auntie. But now she knows that there are other things out there for periods – something I didn’t know for a good decade or more. And when she’s struggling to get a tampon in where it doesn’t want to be (did they talk about lubricant when they talked about tampons?), or dealing with a rash from wearing disposable pads, or just tired of spending her money on the same brands month after month, she’ll remember.

There are other choices out there.

- Curvaceous Dee