See an ancient Peruvian bowl with the image of a menstruating vagina inside.Snap-on style washable pad -Washable pad with belt - See how women wear a belt with a pad - see a Swedish ad showing a belt and pad - German pattern for washable pads, probably before 1900 - And see a menstrual spongeWashable pads from Almora, Uttar Pradesh state, India and Rajasthan state, India - Nineteenth-century Norwegian washable pads - Italian washable pad, probably from the 1890s - instructions for making Japanese pads, early 20th century? - German, about 1900Famous women in menstrual hygiene advertising:
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Bowl for soaking used washable menstrual pads, sold by New CycleEven after disposable menstrual pads became widely available in America in the early 1920s (especially Kotex; see an ad from 1921 showing a confrontation about washing pads) some women made or bought washable pads. After wearing one the user had to wash and dry it. The first step was usually to soak it in water, often in a bucket under a sink.The (American) New Cycle company offered a shiny clay pot, below, not a bucket, that I bought in the early 1990s for about $30. Instead of dumping the menstrually water (it's more than bloody) down the drain, the spout encourages the user to water her plants with it, blood (etc.) adding to the nutritive powers of the water. Hey, gardeners sometimes use blood meal as fertilizer.In March, 2006, someone sent me the following:
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The round opening measures 4" in diameter (10.16 cm)
and the spout is about 2.5" (6.35 cm) wide. The bowl stands 7"
(about 17.8 cm) high.
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Look at the beautiful crackle glaze! |
The base on the outside bears "C Boyd" - I'm sure the potter - and " '91." Two crescents flank a full moon above the name. |
Above we see the colorized name and logo on a display (here) in the actual Museum of Menstruation in
my house from 1994-1998. Start a tour of the
actual (but closed) museum.
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