See also the first Kotex ad (1921) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday, (Kotex booklet, 1928), which has many Kotex links - the booklet Preparing for Womanhood (by Kotex, ca. 1928)- "Are you in the know?" ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) - and more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
See the Kotex Quest menstrual pad deodorant.
But read what really causes menstrual odor - you won't like it.
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 (Germany) - Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) - Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page
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? | 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.


The Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health

Kotex menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1926

Ads early in the 20th century could be wordy, as we see below in one for Kotex in March 1926. It was typical in that aspect as well as in the beautiful illustration that accompanies it; the first photo ever used in a menstrual hygiene ad was in a 1928 Kotex ad showing the photographer Lee Miller before she had started her career.

The early Kotex was expensive, about five cents a pad - today, that's maybe 40 cents - and the ad carefully acknowledges that it's designed for a moneyed class of women ("Almost 80% of all women in the better walks of life . . . ."). Other women washed their rags, even as some do today. The ad promotes the advantages of Kotex over this time-honored method.

The ad also discusses the Kotex vending machine, still anchored in many women's public toilets

 

More Kotex: Ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday

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