Read 1930s criticism of Zonite and Lysol. See also Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) Liasan (2) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) Midol menstrual pain pill ad, 1938 (U.S.A.) Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) Myzone menstrual pain pills ad, 1952 (Australia) Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Nazi Germany) Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) Zero-Gel Vaginal Cream magazine ad (U.S.A., 1932) The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) Odor page SEE the directory of all tampons on this site. See also Ads for Teens Booklets menstrual hygiene companies made for girls, women and teachers - patent medicine - a list of books and articles about menstruation Many more PADS, BOOKLETS - See TAMPONS, MENSTRUAL BELTS, CUPS, SPONGES, UNDERPANTS HOMEPAGE CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could? Some MUM site links: HOMEPAGE | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | Email the museum | Privacy on this site | Who runs this museum?? | Amazing women! | Art of menstruation (and awesome ancient art of menstruation) | Artists (non-menstrual) | Asbestos | Belts | Bidets | Birth control and religion | Birth control drugs, old | Birth control douche & sponges | Founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | Books: menstruation & menopause (& reviews) | Cats | Company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | Contraception and religion | Contraceptive drugs, old | Contraceptive douche & sponges | Costumes | Menstrual cups | Cup usage | Dispensers | Douches, pain, sprays | Essay directory | Examination, gynecological (pelvic) (short history) | Extraction | Facts-of-life booklets for girls | Famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | Feminine napkin, towel, pad directory | 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, towel, napkin directory | Patent medicine | Poetry directory | Products, some current | Puberty booklets for girls and parents| Religion | Religión y menstruación | Your remedies for menstrual discomfort | Menstrual products safety | Sanitary napkin, towel, pad directory | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | Science | Shame | Slapping, menstrual | Sponges | Synchrony | Tampon directory | Early tampons | Teen ads directory | Tour of the former museum (video) | Towel, pad, sanitary napkin directory | 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 | Read 10 years (1996-2006) of articles and Letters to Your MUM on this site. Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación. Ad for Zonite douche liquid, February, 1926 More douching and washing down there! Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) Below: A tiny version of the whole ad (below), which occupies the left half of a 10 3/4 x 13 3/4" (27.3 x 36 cm) page in the good old days of BIG magazines. Below: Well, Zonite had its own secret: What was in it? And Zonite itself also ignored physical facts, the necessity of keeping the good bacteria in its customers' vaginas ALIVE. It says right out that "It kills all germs present and prevents their multiplication," as if dead "germs" could multiply. And I assume by germs the company means bacteria, good and bad. But also sperm - that's where the word multiplication suddenly gains meaning. Zonite meant birth control as did sponges. The ad tells us what Zonite is NOT but not what it is. It's a weak bleach solution, something a woman could make cheaper on her own if she was happy with the consequences. (Just a few years after this ad appeared, two women wrote a withering attack on Lysol and Zonite - and the American tampon and sanitary napkin companies.) Twice - dainty and daintily - the ad uses words often associated with this indelicate subject. "Daintily illustrated"? That must mean the pictures are as evasive as this text is. And dainty helped conceal the not dainty act of sticking a nozzle up her, um, vagina. As you see in the company's address, it operated from the Postum Building (still majestically standing), which might remind some of you of Postum Post Toasties, the cereal - or of Postum, the coffee substitute. Or of the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University. All stem from the rich man C. W. Post, a cereal king. End | Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Nazi Germany) Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) Midol menstrual pain pill ad, 1938 (U.S.A.) Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) Many more BOOKLETS - See TAMPONS, MENSTRUAL BELTS, PADS, CUPS, SPONGES, UNDERPANTS © 2010 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org