See an ancient Peruvian
bowl with the image of a menstruating vagina inside.
See how a woman wore a belt in a Dutch ad.
See a classy 1920s ad for a belt and the first
ad (1891) MUM has for a belt.
See how women wore a belt (and in a Swedish
ad). See a modern belt
for a washable pad and a page from the 1946-47 Sears catalog showing a great variety.
More ads for napkin belts: Sears,
1928 - modern belts - modern washable
- Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the
museum
And, of course, the first Tampax AND - special
for you! - the American fax tampon,
from the early 1930s, which also came in bags.
See a Modess True or False? ad in The American
Girl magazine, January 1947, and actress Carol Lynley
in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" booklet ad (1955) - Modess . . . . because ads (many dates).
 
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Ad for Camelia menstrual pad (1990, Germany)
By the 1990s many companies world wide put small
pouches into their packages of pads so a woman could carry a single
one, concealing it, and use it to contain the used pad before throwing it
away. (Here are ads for New Freedom and Whenever showing pouches, and here are pouches
found near toilets to contain used pads.)
In addition, Camelia, the second German disposable pad - Hartmann's
Mulpa was the first - demonstrates here a very
different attitude from its American counterparts.
The woman, below - she looks like a teenager - openly
carries the package of pads; the heading reads, "For me, the
most natural thing in the world." Contrast this with the emphasis on
shame in an American Kotex
ad for teenagers from two years later and in an ad
for a tampon from the 1970s, which emphasizes the
ease with which it can be concealed.
By the way, the maker of Kotex bought the Camelia company in the late
1990s - the first widely successful disposable pad in America buying the
first widely successful one in Germany. This does not mean that Kimberly-Clark,
the new owner, will advertise the products the same way. As we see with
another amazing ad for Kimberly-Clark's German Freedom,
Kotex, like all companies, advertises for the people who read the ads, tailoring
them to their feelings.
Advertising almost never tries to change cultural
attitudes - it exploits them to make money, perfectly understandable because
the bottom line is - the bottom line. That's the business of business.
See another Camelia ad, from
1926
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The large text reads in my translation:
For me the most natural thing in the world.
Camelia
Naturally safe. Naturally Camelia.
The small text is below.
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My translation of the above text:
Because "the days" are completely natural, many women want to
experience them as such and not hide them. Thus they use Camelia. Everything
takes its natural course. Camelia with the close-fitting natural-fiber fleece
in addition guarantees security.
There's a right Camelia pad for every women. For example, the Camelia Thin
Pad. So thin that you hardly feel it, and safe, as you are used to with
Camelia. For women who are confident enough to be complete women.
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See another Camelia ad, from
1926
© 2000 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
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