Meet Cuterus, a Uterus-Shaped Vending Machine for Women's Health Products
Access to birth control should be as easy as walking up to a vending machine like the Cuterus, created by The Pill Club—the direct-to-consumer sexual wellness brand, which includes an online birth control prescription and delivery service—for World Contraception Day.
Cuterus was in New York City on Sept. 26 to build a line of communication between people and access to contraception.
"Last year, around World Contraception Day, [Supreme Court Justice] Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away," says Sarah Abboud, director of communications at The Pill Club. "We raised a ton of awareness last year on social media and decided to take our message out of home in 2021."
So what's inside the Cuterus? Let's start with what's not inside: birth control pills, because a prescription is needed.
• Honeypot: Normal Wash, a plant-derived feminine wash
• Honeypot: Normal Wipes, unscented feminine wipes
• MedSur's BCase, a birth control storage case that affixes to phones
• Dripstick from Awkward Essentials, a post-sex cleanup sponge
• Love Wellness: The Killer, a solution for use after your period or after sex
• Love Wellness: Good Girl Probiotics, shelf stable probiotic vitamins
• Varying items from The Pill Club like generic Plan B, lube, condoms, pads and tampons
The vending machine products cost anywhere from $2 to $24.99; many products were provided by respective brands at a discount.
Click / tap the thumbnail images to enlarge.
"We went all out in the creation of the vending machine," Abboud tells Muse. "The uterus on top is provocative and eye-catching. We thought about calling it Womb and Bloom but decided on Cuterus. Access to contraception should be that easy. It helps empower women to take control of their futures. It's an antiquated model to get access to contraception."
The Pill Club handed out free condoms to destigmatize women carrying condoms. Wrappers had cheeky jokes like, "What's long and hard and full of semen? A submarine." Free stickers said "Viva la vulva" and "Free the uterus."
There will be another Cuterus sighting on the East Coast this year, which the company has dubbed "The Cuterus Road Show."
"It's all about educating," Abboud says. "People who follow us on Insta are already on the same page with us. We wanted to activate a new audience and draw attention to accessibility."
Accessibility and women selecting the birth control that works best for them has been discussed as of late, with the launch of an over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.K. and Annie Murphy's campaign for Phexxi, a hormone-free birth control product.
