Shivangi Bagri, Trucup
When Shivangi Bagri founded TruCup, she wasn’t just creating menstrual cups — she was becoming part of a global movement advocating women’s health, sexuality, and rights. Beyond designing a quality eco-friendly, body-friendly, affordable, and accessible alternative to the usual sanitary pads and tampons, Shivangi aspires for her cups to pave the way for inclusivity. TruCup is dedicated to banishing period taboos with proper education, and desires to help all menstruators become aware of their rights and choices.
TruCup does this through The Red Understanding (TRU), a programme that has been key to bringing Shivangi closer to her goals of allowing women to experience menstruation that is positive, safe, and sustainable through workshops, partnerships, and entrepreneurship initiatives, as well as TruCup giving schemes that reach out to women in urban slums and rural villages.
We visited Shivangi at home to learn more.
Shivangi, has menstruation never been a taboo subject for you?
Yes, it was never taboo for me to talk about it with my family and friends. But menstrual taboos are deeply ingrained in our cultures, beliefs, and histories. Growing up in India, there were a lot of myths around ‘that time of the month’.
As Professor Chris Knight, a social anthropologist at London University, once said, “At the base of all the world’s religions, we find one fundamental idea. Some things are sacred. And if the body isn’t sacred, nothing is... Blood was a mark of the sacredness of the body. So, the paradox is that the very thing that benefited women throughout evolution is now made to be, and experienced as, the most disempowering.”
What has your personal experience with menstruation been like?
My personal relationship with menstruation has changed remarkably since I started ideating TruCup.
I used to suffer from the worst cramps and backaches during my periods, had to sleep absolutely straight wearing a pad or tampon, couldn’t play sports, and would barely be able to focus in school.
All that changed when I started using a menstrual cup. I started playing sports again, slept peacefully after years, and even the pain started diminishing. Now I actually look forward to my periods, after which my skin clears, there is no bloating, and it just feels like any other week of the month.
How do you think we can better initiate conversations about menstrual health?
My belief is that speaking openly about the topic is a necessary path to normalize menstruation.
Euphemisms serve a purpose. They give us words to talk about things that are considered culturally taboo. However, menstruation is a biological function; it’s not a “woman thing”. It’s an experience that can be highly variable and mean different things to different people. So, having inclusive conversations and asking questions instead of making statements work really well. It’s not necessary to gender body parts or bodily functions. We can demystify and destigmatize menstruation without shutting anyone out.
Tell us more about the social programmes you have to support and educate women in India, Singapore, and Africa.
The Red Understanding (TRU) is a programme for systemic change that aims to educate and influence the mindset towards positive menstruation in urban and rural communities. We work with different non-profit organisations across India, Singapore, and Africa to implement these programmes that support menstruators with the correct knowledge of their own bodies, as well as provide menstrual cups at subsidised costs. These non-profit organisations include schools and education centres for underprivileged girls, urban slums, and institutions that build community learning and interaction among young girls.
The TRU programme has four pillars: gender politics, sexual health, menstruation and menstrual solutions/products, as well as environment and ecosystem. We have developed this four-pillar model to influence 50,000 menstruators, achieve 25,000 Cup-verts, and transform 25,000 communities — ensuring that periods are sensitized through honest communication, motivated conversation and deep contemplation, as well as by providing the best innovative and sustainable menstrual solutions.
What are some of the challenges facing menstruators in the communities that you help?
The lack of education, knowledge, and accessibility is a huge problem for menstruators living under period poverty. They rarely know about the different options available for menstrual hygiene which makes them accustomed to the use of unhygienic things like sand, ash, and old cloth to take care of their menstrual flow.
In urban areas, women end up using pads or tampons which have extremely harmful chemicals and pesticides that not only harm the body, but also generate a lot of waste.
The fear of insertion and desirability of change has been a big issue for us. Many of us might have gone through sexual and menstrual health class in school, but there is still so much we don’t know about our bodies. TruCup is trying to make as many women aware of their anatomy and best hygiene practices as we can, every day. Fortunately, the market is definitely moving towards a better world that is freer of waste, and more sustainable in terms of health and wealth.
“Many of us might have gone through sexual and menstrual health class in school, but there is still so much we don’t know about our bodies.”
What advice would you give to girls who have just started their periods?
Welcome the changes in your body. The changes occurring in your body are healthy, so don’t fight them. Feeling connected to your body will ease a lot of mental stress in your mind and give you freedom to focus on more important things. Know that things pass as well. Music helps and so does keeping a journal. Write down your thoughts, feelings, and even mundane facts about your day. Head outside for a walk and take some deep breaths — everything will be okay.
Stop fixating on dudes. It’s all right to be fascinated by the opposite or same or whatever sex, [but] there’s a whole world outside to explore. Don’t confuse love with dopamine and oxytocin. Don’t pick at yourself too — both physically and mentally!
Designer Conversations is an interview series done in collaboration with Public Culture, an editorial experience studio that believes in connection over communication. This feature was photographed by Christopher Wong for Boutique Fairs Singapore and Public Culture.