For most of human history,
menstruation has been subject that was rarely spoken of. Even as modern
menstrual technologies began to develop, beliefs about menstruation being
unhygienic and unbecoming have kept menstrual products out of the mainstream.
Before 1985,
the word “period” (to mean menstruation) had never been uttered on American
television. As period technologies have improve, how have they changed the
females that use them?
The average American woman today has far more periods (and options to deal with a period) than she would have had centuries ago. Not only do modern girls get their first period at a younger age. Females also tend to have fewer children. In earlier times, women spent most of their fertile years pregnant, which puts menstruation on hold.
Without much knowledge about biology or the human reproductive system, ancient and medieval humans simply saw menstruation as females bleeding without being injured (a phenomenon that appeared to correspond to changes in the moon). A look back at period products through history will make a female grateful for these innovations:
Women
in Egypt used papyrus as tampons. Women in ancient Greece and Rome wrapped lint around wood
to create tampons. In ancient Japan, women turned to paper to absorb blood. The
Native Americans made pads out of moss and buffalo skin. These were the first
“all natural” products. Historians do know that in many parts of the ancient
world, menstruating women were strongly associated with mystery, magic, and
even sorcery. For example, Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and natural
philosopher, wrote that a nude
menstruating woman could prevent hailstorms and lightning, and even scare away
insects from farm crops. (Menopause
could begin as early as 40.)
Period
blood held plenty of different meanings in ancient cultures, and was often used
as a charm of sorts based on a belief that it had powerful abilities to purify,
protect, or cast spells. In biblical times, ancient Hebrews upheld laws of
Niddah in which menstruating women went into seclusion and had to be separated
from the rest of society for seven “clean” days.
1879- The Hoosier sanitary belt, an odd contraption worn under
women’s garments. From the late 1800s until the 1920s, women could purchase
washable pads that were attached to a belt around the waist. The Hoosier sanitary belt was said to be made of metal. It was stamped
from a solid sheet spring brass, carefully rounded and polished and heavily
nickel plated by a special process.
1888- Nurses began using wood
pulp bandages they found in the hospital as disposable pads. Because it was a
highly absorbent material normally used to bandage wounds, and was cheap and
disposable, it worked well to soak up menstrual blood flow. This same material
was later used for the first Kotex pads.
1890s-The first
commercial products available for a mainstream audience Menstrual tools
including a “Ladies Elastic Doily Belt” (a silk and elastic belt to which you’d
attach a pad) and “Antiseptic and Absorbent Pad” were introduced at around the
same time.
1896- Lister’s Towels (a precursor to maxi
pads) became the first commercially available disposable sanitary napkin for
sale made of gauze and cotton. They were developed by Johnson & Johnson. Originally, these sanitary napkins were part
of a maternity kit given to women. While they could be used to absorb
postpartum blood, women
realized the pads could also be used for menstruation and encouraged the
company to sell them separately.
Disposability represented a major
breakthrough. The early period panties worked like the rubber diaper covers
used for cloth baby diapers. They weren’t well received by the public and
failed to sell because women were horrified at the thought of purchasing the
towels and thereby declaring to the public that they were menstruating.
Early 1900s-During
World War I, nurses in France noticed that the cellulose they used for bandages
absorbed blood much better than cotton. They began using it for their menstrual
blood. This inspired the first cellulose Kotex sanitary napkin, made from
surplus high-absorption war bandages, which was first sold in 1918.
These napkins
were disposable, but not self-adhesive, which meant you had to attach the pad
to a sanitary belt with hooks or safety pins.
1921- Kotex had
become the first successfully mass-marketed sanitary napkin. In addition to
providing the innovation for a product that would drastically change the
options available to women, the war caused another major shift in women’s
lives: they were now needed to contribute to factory production in a way they
had never been before.
Through ads and bathroom redesign, factory employers
during WWII encouraged women to use menstrual products in order to continue to
work during their monthly bleeding. The beginning of mainstreaming period
products meant women could take more control of their autonomy, allowing them
to work and participate in activities outside of the home in a way they hadn’t
been able to before.
1929- The first commercial applicator tampon with
a handy cord for removal was invented by Dr. Earle Haas. Haas originally got
the idea for the tampon after learning his friend in California used a sponge
tucked into the vagina to absorb blood. He had the idea to take strips of
cotton fibers connected to a cord that extended out of the vagina for the
person to pull out. Modern disposable tampons were patented in 1933 under the
name “Tampax.” By 1936 his product was on the market.
Around this time, in order to purchase commercial
feminine products, women had to secretly place money into a box at the store
instead of buying in front of the salesperson.
1950s- Pursettes creates
tampons without applicators. This was the first time that women’s sanitary
products were marketed in fashionable ways with Pursettes being packaged in a
black carrying case and marketed to trendy women. Pursettes released a “pre-lubed”
tampon. They were easier for inexperienced women.
While tampons
were available from the 1930s, many women still used the sanitary belts during
this ‘50s. These pads were considered more appropriate for unmarried women.
1956-Mary Beatrice
Davidson Kenner, a female African-American inventor, patented the sanitary
belt, the first product featuring an adhesive to keep the pad in place.
1966-Kotex begins to individually
wrap pads for increased hygiene and convenience while travelling.
1969- Stayfree
created the first maxi pad with an adhesive strip. Now you just needed the pad
itself, and not a complicated contraption to keep it secured.
1978- Proctor and
Gamble created an extra absorbent tampon. It was made from a new material that
expanded when it was inserted to create a cup shape. It wasn’t until the early
80s that health professionals realized that this material was contributing to
hundreds of cases of Toxic Shock Syndrome which led to several deaths and
prompted much stricter product approval methods for women’s hygiene products.
1990s-Applicator tampons got smaller,
pads got thinner, and brands
started using packaging to hide their products.
2000s-In the new millennium, women
began to skip their periods all together. In 2003, the FDA approved Seasonale,
a birth control pill that allowed women to bypass monthly menstruation.
Women
entrepreneurs today see an opportunity to bring period products in line with
the needs of the modern woman. In 2016, Cora launched its
subscription service for organic tampons. Cora’s tampons come in sleek black
packaging. They’re an alternative to drugstore tampons filled with toxic or
unreported ingredients and packaged in noisy wrappers.
For
every month of Cora tampons you buy, Cora provides one month’s worth of pads
and reproductive education to women and girls in need in India and Kenya,
helping women all over the world have access to the period technology many in
America take for granted.
“Menstrual blood is the only source of blood that
is not traumatically induced. Yet in modern society, this is the most hidden
blood. The one so rarely spoken of and almost never seen (except privately by
women) who shut themselves in a little room to quickly and in many cases
disgustedly change their pads and tampons wrapping the bloodied cotton so it
won't be seen by others, wrinkling their faces at the odor, flushing or hiding
the evidence away. Blood is everywhere, and yet the one, the only, the single
name it has not publicly had for many centuries is menstrual blood. Menstrual
blood, like water, just flows. Its fountain existed long before knives or flint.
Menstruation is the original source of blood. “(Judy
Grahn)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“A Brief History of Feminine Hygiene Products” By Carly Jacobs
·
“A Brief
History of the Menstrual Period: How Women Dealt With Their Cycles throughout
the Ages” By Lecia Bushak
·
“How did we end up with the tampons and pads we all know? "by Jennifer Kotler
No comments:
Post a Comment