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Is America's economic downturn so dire that women should resort to reusable sanitary products? That's what the makers of the DivaCup -- a silicone Dixie cup that you insert to catch all of Aunt Flo's messy mess -- seem to think.

Riding the recession news angle, DivaCup explains in a press release that the cup would save you about $150 to $200 in pads and tampons each year. That's because unlike disposable femilady products, you empty, rinse, (occasionally boil) and reuse one DivaCup for up to a year. "Hundreds of women a week tell us how personally empowered they feel," says co-founder Francine Chambers.

The menstrual cup has been around for decades -- a rubber version was first patented in 1932 -- but disappeared in the 1960s after little commercial success. Today's modern iterations retail for around $30.

Click here to read what some women say about this product.

We asked a handful of women how they felt about the menstrual cup, prompting two very different -- and passionate -- reactions:

Um, Ew
Those who'd never heard of it expressed alarm. Here's why: Using a menstrual cup requires that you are really, really, REALLY cool with your body ... and period blood ... and the insertion of foreign objects.

If o.b. tampons give you pause or diaphragms make you squirm, the DivaCup is not for you. Even fervent devotees cop to the fact that there is a certain level of mastery and pain involved in properly folding and inserting the cup, at least at first. (One DivaCup-loving friend explains that she folds it like a "taco.") If you do it wrong, you run the risk of leaking, and ladies, pray this cup doesn't runneth over, else you runneth to buy new pants.

Plus there's the whole having-to-boil-it-after-every-cycle thing, and that just sounds kind of gross, right?

Um, Love It
Then we asked self-described "fans" who already use a version of it. In fact, there are whole livejournal communities devoted to the topic.

Ickiness factor aside, there are some definite benefits:

(1) You are, to a degree, liberated from your period in that you don't have to carry around supplies 24/7, or run the risk of bumping into your boss on the way to the restroom for a changing of the guard with tampon in hand.

(2) You're not exposing yourself to the harmful chemicals built into some of today's leading period products.

(3) Menstrual cups cut down on serious waste. Billions of sanitary pads are dumped each year, generating tons of landfill garbage, whereas you use and dispose of one cup annually.

(4) And yeah, the math adds up. Investing in a reusable product ends up costing you less in the long run.

Worth It?
Will the cash-saving, earth-friendly DivaCup catch on in today's downtrodden market?

We're not sure. Adding a "Diva-" prefix doesn't make a blood-cork any more glamorous or sexy-seeming. Bleeding for a week each month sucks, no matter how you cope

And pads and tampons are convenient and reliable. Unless you cycle like clockwork, the cup doesn't make allowances for emergencies ... unless you tote it around all the time. We're not trying to hate on any woman's choice, but imagine the standard office convo gone cupped ...

Pam, a worried look on her face, peeks around Sheila's cubicle wall.

Pam: "Hey, Sheila, the crimson tide has just come in. Do you happen to have a (whisper) tampon?"
Sheila: "Oh sorry, Pam. I don't. Use my cup instead."

We guess the point is that everyone's ladyflower is different and special. Tell us. Would you invest in the DivaCup?