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
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"Why was I
born a Woman?"
Ad for Kotex menstrual
pads, September 1941, in
Woman's Home Companion magazine,
U.S.A
Study the
enlargements of the ad
below.
Now,
tell me what the guy's name
is!
What year of school -
freshman, etc. - in college or
high school is he in?
And why is he wearing eyeliner?
I thank the generous donor,
who has contributed many items
since the start of MUM, in 1994!
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 The circles
refer to comments below.
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Below:
The red
circle above envelops the
girl below. Study
the picture for the boy's
name. My answer at
right.
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Menstruating,
she plays
solitaire. Her lips are
pressed against J -
she's practically eati-,
um, him, er, the card -
and her
lip shape reflects the
shape of the heart!
And we know that hearts
and lips are red
- as is MENSTRUATION!
(Sorry to mention that.)
J
of course stands for Jack
(John), the
boy's name. At
least that's my take on
it. And I made her the
queen.
The
Queen loves Jack.
Do the rest of the cards
mean anything?
Another name for
solitaire is Patience,
which Kotex doesn't advise
in the ad.
The size of
the cards in the
original ad is
very small
and I doubt readers would
have picked up on the joke
- if it is one. The artist
might have just been
chuckling to himself.
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Below:
Kotex chased
solitaire away!
Question: Is the boy a freshman
or what?
Let's assume "42" means his class,
the year he'll graduate.
This ad appeared in September of
1941. He would graduate
the following year, 1942. That
made him a senior!
Last
question: Why is he
wearing eyeliner? Dunno!
I've known men who have lots of
dark eyelashes on the lower lid;
maybe that's the case here.
In 1941 I doubt eyeliner was the
choice of preppy boys, and
gays were well closeted. Either
illustrator Nurick had something
for him or just wanted to
emphasize the eyes.
Look! She
doesn't meet his gaze - she has
her eyes on his ice cream
cone.
If she can finish hers fast maybe
she can get him to give her his.
Women!
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Note the incredible
irony of BLUE, as in "the
blues," being Kotex's
official color.
The official color of the leading
pad maker reflected the feelings
of many women
before and during their periods.
Were they awake when they picked
it?
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© 2010 Harry Finley. It is illegal to
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without written permission of the author.
Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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