 
"Care for a slice of spice cake with your douche, Ma'am?"
Read the Lydia Pinkham Come into the Kitchen
recipe 'n' hygiene booklet, about 1930.
"Complex Changes In The Brain's Vascular
System Occur After Menopause
" In a new study, researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered
significant changes in the brain's vascular system when the ovaries stop
producing estrogen. MU scientists predict that currently
used estrogen-based hormone therapies may complicate this process and may
do more harm than good in postmenopausal women." Read
the article.
"Hormone Disorder May Contribute To Lack Of Menstruation
In Teenage Athletes
"ScienceDaily (Jun. 17, 2008) - Researchers from Harvard
University have found a way to predict which teenage female athletes will
stop menstruating, an important risk factor for bone thinning, according
to a preliminary study.
"Amenorrhea, or absence of menstruation, occurs in as
many as 25 percent of female high school athletes, compared with 2 to 5
percent in the general population, . . ." Read
complete article.
Does the moon influence menstruation?
A Harvard medical school professor and MacArthur Award winner writes - it looks that way.
How did women get rid of used pads
and rags in the past? A reader writes.
"Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Linked
To Irregular Menstrual Cycles, Premenstrual Symptoms In Women" More.
A woman visitor likes this museum
"I think the website is great!
"I think young girls who are SO
EMBARRASSED about getting their periods and talking about it need to
realize that EVERY woman on this earth has to deal with it also, and that
there IS humor in it too.
"They need to see the website."
Another contribution to
Would you stop menstruating if you could?
"Irregular Menstrual
Cycles In Teens May Be Warning Sign Of Bulimia" Whole
article.
Does estrogen make women want to feel powerful
and have control? Maybe.
Daints tampons (1930s),
"For the Woman of Charm"
Lil-lets mini tampons ad from the U.K.
Nikini menstrual panties ads from England
EZO, a Tampax knock-off for Hollywood actresses?
Many new words and expressions
about menstruation:
TNSFF, ragdoll,
What a bloody mess! shark
bait, chumming the waters, dying
the beard red, I'm a ragdoll. (read
the users' thought processes.)
Black & red cans containing contraceptive
& menstrual sponges
(American? First half of the 20th century?)
The Art of Menstruation: Megan Morris
A contraceptive/menstrual sponge in a cardboard
box
"Hi,
"I'm an Irish teenager and thought you'd like some more
expressions used in Ireland.
"Most common are euphemisms like 'I've got woman things/the
woman thing', 'I'm not able to swim', 'I've got my flows' or 'I've got my
flowers.' Some men refer to menstruation as 'Munster playing at home' (a
reference to the red colours employed by the Munster rugby team). In the
Irish language menstruation is most commonly referred to as 'ta cursai mna
agam' (I've got woman things- the word 'cursai' is ambiguous but generally
means events). Also heard are 'i got/have my friend', 'I've the visitor'
and 'I'm menstruating/ have my menstruations' is becoming quite popular
when referred to in a kind of playful way. It also has to be pointed out
that verbal flexibility is highly prized and phrases vary hugely from person
to person."
Music & curing women, men and hogs:
"The stomach of a hog needs cleaning out once
in a while . . . ." You do too!
Find out how in The 20th Century Song Book (1904)
from the Chattanooga Medicine Company
Red dragon
"I have one that I didn't see. My good friend who's a guy always refers
to it as the 'red dragon.' Red as in blood and dragon as in the girl's temperament
at that time."
Read more
Words and expressions about menstruation
Stress worsens endometriosis
Read
a study.
EEEK! What's a man doing here? Why, this eighty-year-old
is attesting to the effectiveness of Black Draught in
Home Treatment for Women, probably before 1920.
New menstrual cup (What are cups?)
Hi, I love your site and I am a cup user. I just heard about a new brand
of cups that is one the market (I believe in Finland. [It looks to me to
be the Czech Republic.]) The website is http://www.ladycup.eu/.
They just came out in January.
Thanks for your website.
Puberty & menstruation booklet for girls, 1963: How
shall I tell my daughter?
Two letters to
Would you stop
menstruating if you could?
1. "I
absolutely would love to stop having periods. I've always had super painful
and super long periods that last up to 8 days . . . [more]"
2. A bipolar woman
writes, "I think it is so easy for many women, especially
young girls just starting out to say 'Yes! Make it stop!' Most people if
they knew what effect my periods have on me would probably be shocked by
my answer. . . . [more]"
Where is a
"discussion of the many different ways women have conceived of and
rediscovered/reinvented their understanding of menstruation in the last
20-30 years"?
A letter to MUM
I recently discovered your MUM website. It is so very helpful
to have so many interesting links assembled in one place.
It's a little odd, I admit, realizing that this was started
by a man. I'm puzzled how a man would become some passionately interested
in what is a peculiarly feminine topic. However, as a teacher of mine was
often fond of saying - ideas do not have pedigrees and there is much about
this site that shows a lot of serious and thoughtful work has been assembled
whatever the gender and academic credentials of its curator (you seem a
bit defensive on your credentials. [More here.]).
As much as I appreciate the site, there does seem to be a
very significant omission. If it is on the site, I can't find it. This is
a discussion of the many different ways women have conceived of and rediscovered/reinvented
their understanding of menstruation in the last 20-30 years. For example,
Jewish feminist thinkers have done considerable work on the meaning of mikvah
and woman's connection to cyclic notions of time - topics that are deeply
connected to menstruation. The section on Judaism and menstruation contains
no mention of their work. [True. Does anyone want to write
something about this?]
I realize some women have found it affirming to make art out of menstrual supplies or refuse (they even dispute
that the body fluids of menstruation should be called refuse), but this
is not the only modern feminist reinvention of menstruation.
There are many others, myself included, who have taken a different
tack in reclaiming menstruation - they have chosen instead to place the
five days of flow into their larger context. Put another way, the importance
of menstruation is *not* the five messy and sometimes painful days of blood
flow (which is but a transition from one cycle to the next) but the creative
process of which it is a marker. I have that five days because for the previous
20 days my body was preparing to do what no science has yet figured out
how to do - nurture and create life from its very beginnings. And all science
that has done to help in the process ultimately is modeled on the process
which nature has given to my feminine body as a matter of course.
When viewed in that light the monthly period, even with all
its pain and mess, is little more than a transition from one creative cycle
to the next. Its presence reminds us all of the continual possibility that
creativity can be renewed even when it seems to be losing its very lifeblood.
I am by no means unique in feeling that there is something profoundly holy,
even priestly in this uniquely feminine cycle and the lessons with which
it can empower us.
Nor do I mean to romanticize the five day of blood flow -
like many women, I can get pretty bad cramps and migraines. However, transitions
of any sort - menstrual and otherwise - come with a cost. Whatever the outcome
they are usually pretty messy when they are in process. This too is part
of the feminine wisdom that can come from such intimate association with
the cycles of nature.
The first Junior
Tampax
Anshin - Peace of Mind - tampon for the
origami-loving Japanese
Hello Harry,
I am so pleased to be contacting you. I have appreciated,
been inspired by and benefited from your Museum of Menstruation for years.
Thank you for all the work you do!!!!
I am now contacting you on behalf of Metaformia, a new online
Journal of Menstruation & Culture, www.metaformia.org. The founding of
Metaformia and its editorship are jointly Judy Grahn, author of Blood, Bread and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World
and Deborah Grenn, of the Lilith
Institute. Our journal seeks to further explore Judy's metaformic theory,
a theory of human consciousness originating with menstrual consciousness,
as well as other menstrual perspectives about the origins of culture. We
invite submissions of all sorts and hope to engage with readers of all backgrounds
and interests.
We want to inform you of our journal and also inquire about
the possibility of supporting each others' work. . . .
Thank you again for all of the diligent work you do and I
look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers,
Annie Lapham
Hello Harry.
My thesis, The Men$trual Origins of
Money: Radical Economics in the Presence of the
Divine, Sacred Feminine is a published book at: www.lulu.com/radwoman
Also, there are links to my book on my website: www.radwoman.com
Thanks so much.
Peace,
Polly
www.radwoman.com
A Rorschach test? Nooooo. Jennifer
Weigel, The Art of Menstruation
Did you know the J.C. Penney stores sold their own brand of menstrual pads?
And see many ads for pads made of disposable
paper before Kotex appeared.
More Words and expressions about menstruation: "I'm pinkin'" and
"I'm going through a detrital phase."
"I don't know if you are still collecting code words for
menstruation, but I always just said 'I'm having my period' to other women;
to men., 'I'm Pinkin'.'"
"I don't know if you're still collecting and adding, but I like
to use the expression: 'I'm going through a detrital phase.' I derived it
from the word detritus, which means 'loose material' or 'a product of disintegration,
destruction, or wearing away.' 'Detrital' is simply the adjective form of
the noun. So basically, menstrual blood and such are categorized as debris,
or 'detritus.' Of course, it gets interesting reactions, but that's what
I aim for in the first place!"
She offers a petition
I recently called the number to Always pads. I told them the
last time I used their product my skin peeled. I asked them for a list of
ingredients so I could determine what I was allergic to. They informed me
that because pads are a medical device, they don't have to tell me the ingredients.
They took all of my information, and told me to hold on to the pads in case
their health and safety team needs to retrieve them.
I have started a petition. Menstruation is not a medical condition
anymore than pooping. Pads are not a medical device in any way. Please read
this petition, and if you like it, maybe you could put a link on your site.
http://www.petitiononline.com/pmppg9/petition.html
Thanks :-)
Kurb your enthusiasm because you're a few decades too
late! Try writing a slogan for Midol instead
and win $100! Aw, darn it, you're almost 100 years too late on that
one!
Ever think you might want to try douching (even though you shouldn't) but
didn't want to buy the thing until you're sure? Here's just
what you need!
The earliest ads for Modess menstrual pads, 1927?
Midol: from headaches to (Oh, excuse me!)
hiccups and back.
The Keeper menstrual cup writes MUM about a new
cup
November 12, 2006
Dear Harry:
We want to thank you so much for letting women know about
The Keeper throughout the years. Your kind words and support have been extremely
important to us!
I am writing to you today because we want you to be among
the first to know about our newest product, The Moon Cup, a silicone
version of The Keeper. Our Moon Cup was developed in response to numerous
requests from latex-sensitive women, who asked us to create a silicone version
of The Keeper, so they could experience all the benefits their friends were
enjoying: the freedom, as well as the economic and environmental advantages
that are the hallmarks of The Keeper.
These women told us that they felt it was important that this
new silicone product be manufactured by our company, since The Keeper, Inc.
is the leader and most trusted name in the menstrual cup industry.
Like The Keeper, our Moon Cup has FDA approval. And since
the Moon Cup has been in the planning and development stage for several
years now, we are delighted that it is finally ready for "prime time."
Please feel free to go to www.keeper.com
or www.mooncup.com (both are the same
site) to learn more about both products.
Again, Harry, thanks so much for your support over the years.
Many thanks,
Julia Schopick
Marketing Director
The Keeper, Inc.
[See what menstrual
cups are and see The
Keeper page.]
Did American women send their washable pads
out to be laundered in
1909?
Kotex starts! 1920.
Ad for Delicate pad 'n' belt in a tube, 1953
Words and expressions
about menstruation: Shark
week (U.S.A.)
"My favorite expression for mensturation is Shark Week. Blood
in the water. I first heard it on a livejournal community called tmi_chix.
http://community.livejournal.com/tmi_chix/profile I know it comes
from Discovery channel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_Week but I don't
know who first coined it for use as an euphemism for menstruation. I
do like it better than Aunt Flo, or surfing the crimson wave, or any of
the others I've heard or used in the past. It more accurately describes
how vicious an attack of menses can be for some women. :)"
Read more Words and expressions about menstruation.
Two more MUM pages translated into Spanish
by María García (Web
page):
Sincronía menstrual y suspensión
Los riesgos de las duchas vaginales
Art of Menstruation: Mayra Alpízar (Cuba)
Very early Kotex ad, 1920
Art of Menstruation and an invitation to you from
Hélène Epaud (France)
The earliest disposable pads? Second earliest,
maybe?
Words and expressions
about menstruation: U.S.A.:
"I was at a hockey game a while ago, and my brother was joking around
and said of the goalie, after stopping a puck, 'Fastest pads in the west.'
Me and my aunt started laughing, as 'pads' can really only mean one thing
to women, a bit to my brother's confusion. Relating this to my best friend
(21, I'm 13), we now sometimes use 'playing hockey' instead of 'on my period.'
I just hope I can keep going to actual hockey games without laughing, now!"
(Read more words and expressions)
More trustworthy than Rely? 1977
Ad for Modess pads in France, 1972
German mothers, daughters and dancers celebrate menstruation,
1988
Words and expressions
about menstruation: New: Philippines
"I have a Filipina fiancée and she uses the English
words Red Tide or misred to describe her menstruation. She will not take
a bath or shower during this period as she believes an ill wind will enter
her vagina. She does however wash locally but no bath or shower." (read more)
Stick 'em in! Oops! I mean UP!
Oh, no! Anyway, call Homeland Security!
The Menstrual Militia is on the move. Join
them!
(I thank David Pressman, patent lawyer, S.F., author of Patent It Yourself
(Nolo Press), World's Best Selling Patent Guide, www.PatentItYourself.com
for the tip.)
German cartoon strip
about menstrual synchrony - or lack of it.
Bath for Jews after menstruation, Germany,
built 1260.
Would you stop
menstruating if you could?
"I only do four times a year and would not change it for anything."
(continued)
NEVER IN AMERICA!
1. What's the name
of that pad again?
2. o.b. strikes again - but in Europe, of course!
3. Omagosh, you saw 1.
& 2. WHERE?
In a government museum?!
Why don't elephants use tampons? (Answer)
"Instead menstrual cups are now at http://www.softcup.com
just for the people who worried that they was gone," writes an e-mailer.
Did suction pull her cervix out?
"Back in 1996 I discovered the Keeper and bought one. It
was messy at first and I learned to break the suction when removing
it. I even took it on a trip, part of which was primitive camping. I
used it for three periods but quit when I had to push my cervix back
up inside. :-( A few months later I tried it again - thinking
maybe it wasn't the Keeper that pulled the cervix out. But within a
couple of days it was out again. I haven't used it since, but often
wish I could because I like the idea of not having to buy tampons every
month.
"I wrote to the makers of the Keeper but never heard
back from them. [Read more comments about menstrual
cups and read a short & incomplete history
of them.]"
to take your temperature? Another nurse in Kotex
ads, 1930s.
Make your own menstrual pads from "bird
eye" cloth - in 1904
Humor:
"My older brother loved to get into mom's thing's when little; make-up,
jewelry, and pads. Around age 3 (before my birth) my father hadn't heard
much noise from my brother and went looking for him. He found in the bathroom
peeling back pads and [continued]"
Would you stop menstruating if you could?
"A resounding YES!!! I despise having my period every month.
I have been experiencing my period since I was 11 years old and my family
is known to menstruate into their 50s - 40 years of blood every single month
is just too much! [continued]"
"The emotional effect of a male gynecologist
examining my wife could very well bring a violent and dangerous response."
E-mail from a reader of Dr. Soucasaux's article The
Psychology of Gynecology:
"Well, Doc, you've got a fascinating article on the psychology
of gynecology. But you neglected one thing: a lot of women don't like male
gynecologists because they just totally believe that the only man who should
be there is her husband. My wife is Brazilian and she has told me the same.
She would refuse to see a male even if it were a life-and-death emergency.
"See, Doc, we both believe that any male inspecting a
female's genitalia would be violating the SACRED husband and wife intimacy
- which we both believe GOD recognized - but notice that nowhere in Scripture
does he recognize a doctor's intimacy with a man's wife. [continued]"
Read about the latest way of stopping menstruation on Slate.com
"I just wanted to let you know that the story on menstrual
suppression is out!
http://www.slate.com/id/2151746
"Unfortunately, there was very little room for quotes so I couldn't
include all the great info you gave me.
"Best of luck with your work!
"Sarah Richards"
There she goes again! Mrs. Pinkham's
pushes her Vegetable Compound, 1897
Wanna buy a tampon, lady? Tampax reps sell tampons, 1934
A company fails on its second try. Tassaway menstrual
cup, 1970
Wow! Mmm! Jersey doctors sure knew
how to eat in 1897!
Oh, those nurses! A short-lived medical
tampon in California, 1910.
Would you stop
menstruating if you could? She writes,
"I did stop menstruating for over two years. One might wonder
if it was a disease or maybe I'm some super athlete or something. [continued]"
Phone in your Kotex order, avoid embarrassment,
1923
Two new answers to Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Hi, MUM,
I wouldn't stop. I am a pagan and use my blood in rituals.
I like the idea of it, how it (continued here)
Words and expressions
about menstruation: U.S.A.: Kill
the babies, the red tent, Would you look at the calendar?
I'm 21, from Connecticut, and when my dad or brother catch
me being "moody" and start to complain about my attitude, me and
mother say "Would you look at the calendar?" Also, while in college
in Cambridge, Mass., I was in an all-girls dorm that was painted red and
within the first month the boys across the street starting referring to
our house as "the red tent" [the name of a famous book about menstruation].
My friends and I refer to cramps by holding our stomachs and saying, "Kill
the babies," i.e. we're glad to have our periods cause we know we're
not pregnant!
Love the site,
***
Writer disputes my interpretation of "wood wool" in the
first disposable pads
Hi, I've been reading your fantastic site, and I noticed your
explanation of "wood wool" on the page that has the ad for Hartmann's "sanitary wood-wool sheets."
My husband is British, and I'm almost certain that "wood wool"
is not shavings, but rayon. The British call "wool" anything that
looks like cotton (i.e., cotton balls are called "cotton wool").
And rayon (or viscose, as it is called in Britain) has been manufactured
since the 1890s from wood--cellulose. It is MUCH more absorbent than cotton,
and for this reason it has been used in disposable "feminine hygiene
products" since their earliest inception: rayon products leak a lot
less, apparently, than cotton ones (although I've read that rayon tampons
can leach chemicals into a woman's body more than cotton products, especially
organic cotton ones).
Just thought I'd mention this. I really doubt wood shavings
would have been used in these pads--the British would never have called
wood shavings "wool".
--Jennifer Matesa
author of Navel-Gazing: The Days and Nights of a Mother
in the Making (Random House, 2001)
Did Kotex Nurse Buckland really exist?
Read the explanations for four more contributions to
Words and expressions
about menstruation:
U.S.A.: "Ammunition," "I've got Grover," "Photons,"
and "She has her Red-Headed Stepsister"
Would you stop
menstruating if you could?
No, she writes:
"I know that science can medicate all that away for me,
but like ADD/ADHD and some depressions, I think magic pills take away from
the multiplicity of human experience." [She continues
here.]
Why are C-sections so popular? And why did doctors
conceal forceps for decades even though they were far better than what doctors
used before - and read about doulas, bleeding to death and other, um, gripping
things about delivering babies.
And how a woman anesthesiologist revolutionized obstetrics by scoring.
"Forceps deliveries are very difficult to teach - much more difficult
than a C-section. . . . With a C-section, you stand across from the learner.
You can see exactly what the person is doing. You can say, 'Not there. There.'
With the forceps, though, there is a feel that is very hard to teach."
Read the New Yorker article (9 October) "The
Score" by 2006 Macarthur Award winner Dr. Atul Gawande, of Harvard
Medical School.
From The Onion, America's Finest News
Source:
Excerpt from a story about an bad ad agency, here:
Despite the failed campaign, the agency remains optimistic.
"Sure, we're disappointed" Kennedy said. "In this business,
you're only as good as your last ad. But we're very excited about our newest
client, Tampax. We feel we've really developed a great overall package for
them."
The upcoming 30-second TV spots, featuring celebrity spokesperson
James Garner and the slogans, "Tampax-For Those Awkward Bleeding-From-Your-Crotch
Days"; "Tampax-Inserts In One Quick, Painful Jab"; and "That
Ugly Bitch Is On The Rag-Tampax," will begin airing in late March.
and from the July 20, 1925 issue (hard to read; I did my best to improve
it):
The Onion also compiled a list of words for menstruation, here.
So what if the punctuation's wrong? It's America's first disposable menstrual pad!
Marvel vaginal douche in the Wild West!
and
Zonite antiseptic for douching and scrubbing
the floor, 1916
Dutch feminist exhibit about menstruation, 1982
Lysol in the press, 1891-1924: cleaner, insect
killer, birth control fluid, douche
An immigrant from Norway shows tampons to
Americans, 1935
Women discovered it in the personals section:
Tux tampon, U.S.A., 1930s
Contribution to Words
and expressions about
menstruation for U.S.A.
I lost my baby "There was a time
a while back when I thought/hoped I was pregnant (not really really hoped,
but you know, like, would have been happy), and my roommates and I were
joking about it and one of my roommates kept asking me if I was still pregnant,
and then one day I said, 'Well, I lost my baby,' so now that's my euphemism
of choice but it's not one that I use out loud, obviously. Please sign me
anonymous. Great site! Thanks!"
Read newspaper ads for early American tampons: B-ettes,
Tampax, Dale, Wix, Fibs and
one for the patent medicine Cardui.
Two women contribute to Would you stop menstruating if you could?
A reader wants to know if you can you identify
this model in an American 1970s Tampax ad. An
e-mailer thinks it's Angie Dickinson. Another says Jane Fonda. Right?
A retired American teacher writes
about how her very poor family did NOT bleed into their clothing, and other
matters, such as no-belt pads with no underpants (!),
recipes for poisoning instead of divorce, and make-shift birth-control methods
in the previous two centuries passed down in her family.
She also writes of the Tassaway
menstrual cup:
"I used Tassaway cups at age 17 when they first came
out. They were the best and I have used the other products made since (Instead,
which often leaks, Diva cup, which sometimes has leaked but I will continue
to use) but none of them have been as good. The holes prevented excess suction;
the ridges prevented any leaking, and held it firmly in place. Yes, they
could be rough inserting especially when cold (our bathroom where I kept
them was very cold in the winter) so I learned to run warm water over it
before inserting to soften. Even though they were supposed to be disposable,
since money was an issue, I reused it throughout my period then threw it
away and use a new one next month. I have missed them and was searching
for them on eBay and the Internet which led me to your Web site. I would
love it if they were brought back but I feel the main reason they failed
is not enough women knew they existed, and still don't. I have not known
another woman personally who even remembers them. I ordered mine from the
back of a magazine, then found them later at the drug store, but then they
were gone. Thank you for the Web site.
"P.S. The figure drawings in the instructions are misleading
as I inserted it all the way into the vagina and reached in to grasp the
loop to remove it. It wasn't sticking out. (women today are cutting down
the stick on menstrual cups that are too long) In fact I remember
something in the instructions that said if you had a hard time grasping
it, to bear down to push it out so you could grasp it."
Growing up in the Netherlands: puberty booklet, 2004
Korea spinning out of control!
Korean Transgender Singer to Do Menstrual
Pad Ads
Beauty in advertising: the Hickory menstrual pad belt,
1925
The irony of daintiness, pads, belts and menstruation: Formont
belt and "protector"
Girls with no father in the house have earlier
first menstruation
"Scent Of Father Checks Daughter's
Maturity"
Read the riveting story.
Fractures, no menstruation, death:
Running and not eating
The New York Times has a great article
about anorexia among athletes; coaches' reluctance to ask about menstruation
part of problem
A mother writes a letter to her daughter's doctor
about tampons and hymens.
And speaking of hymens and virgins, as this e-mailer does:
"About page: http://www.mum.org/tamvirad.htm
[a Tampax ad about tampons and virginity]
"I think the magazine must have been 'YM' (an offshoot
of 'Cosmo,' if I remember rightly). I had a subscription for a while when
I was about 13. I remember this ad distinctly, because even as a pre-teen
I thought, 'What the hell? You'd have to have SEX to not be a virgin! How
stupid can you be??'
"Anyway, I just thought it might be useful! I love the
MUM project, by the way!"
"Our church was going to the beach for a camp. My twelve-year-old
sister and her then-best friend Lyn were on their periods and were a bit
upset that they'd be unable to swim at the beach (tampon use is still uncommon
in Malaysia due to cultural taboos and the *&@#*! things being priced
about RM1 apiece). (Continued; from a 23-year-old
Malaysian woman biologist)
New Words and expressions about menstruation: Zambia (whole new
category)
NOTICE: "THERE WILL BE NO MORE . . . (continued)
The Art of Menstruation: sculpture by Roz Bonnet
Would you stop
menstruating if you could? She would:
"I see it as a curse, a harsh reminder from my body and my brain
that if and when I start having sex (yes, I am still a virgin, and
plan to remain that way for as long as I possibly can), I'd better be careful
to make sure I'm adequately prepared against pregnancy . . . ." (continued)
"Kotex Panti," 1970s
She defends the menstrual cup:
"Hi! I'm writing in response to the posting of a letter
on your site.
"The lack of logic of the person who sent the letter
about menstrual cups being dangerous astounds me! I never respond to web
postings, but I feel so strongly about this (and I do not work for a menstrual
cup company!!). How could cups possibly be any worse than tampons? How could
ANYTHING be worse than tampons?? Chemical, bleached, fibrous material that
absorbs blood and rots for hours... sounds wonderful to me. The cup holds
the blood for a time without interacting with it to make it something harmful
or poisonous. And obviously, don't leave it in long enough for the blood
to completely congeal and go bad... use some common sense! Wash it well
and often, don't be lazy and abuse the gift of the menstrual cup. Because
it can be a wonderful thing! Think about our landfills and what they would
be like if even one of of ten women used a cup instead of nasty and wasteful
tampons and pads. And think about the insides of women, free of foreign
and harsh chemicals and remnants. I'd like to see the references which the
writer claims to back her opinion up with.
'The point is: anything can be dangerous if abused or used
incorrectly. But in this case, tampons and pads are MUCH more likely to
cause harm than the menstrual cup.
"Thanks for letting me blow off some steam." [Read
some history of menstrual cups here and
some older e-mail from you about using cups.]
Two funny Kotex menstrual pad ads for 1950s teens
Do I have to use my finger? Ads, Germany
& U.S.A.
She likes MUM and directs you to a famous movie
Dear Mr. Finley,
As a former women's studies major, present nursing student,
and aspiring nurse midwife I admire you. Your Web site is so thorough, unbiased,
and INTERESTING. I find myself looking at it over and over again. No one
has addressed the history of menstruation as you have. I hope that someday
you will be able to open your museum. I think managing a museum like that
would be incredible and I only dream that I could someday do something like
that!
I have found a link that features the entire Disney film you
have mentioned. I do not know if you have seen all of it before. Either
way, please know that you have all of my support as you continue on your
exciting journey!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amVJpkJo-xw&mode=related&search=
Thank you for your contribution to the study of the female
experience.
****
An addition to expressions for menstruation:
"Love the site!!
"When I was in high school (upstate New York, 1970s)
and we had swimming in gym class, if you had your period you just had to
respond 'I'm Regular' when they took
attendance and you'd be excused from going in the water. Some girls were
'Regular' three out of four weeks!! [signed] ****" Read more Words and expressions about menstruation
| 
