More ads for sanitary underpants: Sears, 1928 - bloomers, Sears, 1928 - step-in, Hickory, 1928 - Modess, 1960s
More ads for napkin belts: Sears, 1928 - Hickory, 1920s - modern belts - modern washable - Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the museum
See a prototype of the first Kotex ad.
See more Kotex items: Ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (booklet for girls, 1928, Australian edition; there are many links here to Kotex items) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing disposal method - box from about 1969 - Preparing for Womanhood (1920s, booklet for girls) - "Are you in the know?" ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) - See more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
Ads for the Kotex stick tampon (U.S.A., 1970s) - a Japanese stick tampon from the 1970s.
Early commercial tampons - Rely tampon - Meds tampon (Modess)
DIRECTORY of all topics (See also the SEARCH ENGINE, bottom of page.)
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage | LIST OF ALL TOPICS | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

Sanitary panties ads, 1970s?, U.S.A. & U.K.

Sanitary panties - underpants designed to be used during menstruation - have been around since at least the 1880s. Below are ads for models probably during the 1970s, magazines unknown.

Below: This ad undoubtedly appeared after the early 1970s when stick-in pads appeared, replacing menstrual belts; towels of course are what Americans call sanitary napkins. Other panties show different ways to hold the pads.
 
Below: Disposable underpants for menstruation, U.S.A., 1970s? The text actually says "menstrual periods"! Finally, an ad with no euphemisms! But associating it with a flower (and she apparently is holding morning glories) is a common trick, like putting white clouds on a toilet paper wrapper: anything to draw your attention to an opposite. In a castle in Germany I saw a small book filled with pictures of famous paintings hanging next to the toilet paper in a "bathroom." The owner told me it was to lure one's thoughts to higher things. Disposable underpants come and go (literally), going possibly because of their low cost and not being profitable enough.
Strangely, a British company from about the same time also produced a disposable "pantee." It doesn't seem to be the same company.
 
More sanitary underpants: Sears, 1928 - bloomers, Sears, 1928 - step-in, Hickory, 1928 - Modess, 1960s - More napkin belts: Sears, 1928 - modern belts - modern washable - Modess, 1960s - miscellaneous packages

© 1999 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org