See a Dutch Libresse ad, 1998. See an old American tampon, Lotus. Read a Personal Products booklet for older girls from about this time, The Periodic Cycle (1938). See similar booklets on this site. Booklets menstrual hygiene companies made for girls, women and teachers - patent medicine - a list of books and articles about menstruation - videos What did American and European women use in the past for menstruation? See also How shall I tell my daughter? and Personal Digest and read the whole booklet As One Girl to Another (Kotex, 1940). See a Kotex ad advertising a Marjorie May booklet. See many more similar booklets. See ads for menarche-education booklets: Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (Kotex, 1932), Tampax tampons (1970, with Susan Dey), Personal Products (1955, with Carol Lynley), and German o.b. tampons (lower ad, 1981) See also the booklets How shall I tell my daughter? (Modess, various dates), and Growing up and liking it (Modess, various dates) And read Lynn Peril's series about these and similar booklets! Read the full text of the 1935 Canadian edition of Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday, probably identical to the American edition. Is this the first Tampax tampon? Go to Early Commercial Tampons Other early commercial tampons - Main Tampax patent - Ad from 1936 - World War II Tampax sign More ads for teens (see also introductory page for teenage advertising): Are you in the know? (Kotex napkins and Quest napkin powder, 1948, U.S.A.), Are you in the know? (Kotex napkins and belts, 1949, U.S.A.)Are you in the know? (Kotex napkins, 1953, U.S.A.), Are you in the know? (Kotex napkins and belts, 1964, U.S.A.), Freedom (1990, Germany), Kotex (1992, U.S.A.), Pursettes (1974, U.S.A.), Pursettes (1974, U.S.A.), Saba (1975, Denmark) See early tampons and a list of tampon on this site - at least the ones I've cataloged. 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. Shame in a Polish menstrual napkin ad for Libresse, c. 1998 Elvira, who contributed to the Art of Menstruation - here - sent this Polish ad that she translated into English for the museum. (It's possible the ad was created for the markets of many countries; the appropriate languages then filled the balloons.) Born in Poland but living since she was six in Austria, she returned to Poland for a year in 1998 and found this ad in a magazine for teenagers. She writes that in Catholic Poland menstruation, masturbation, homosexuality, abortion and contraception are very taboo and hardly discussible, more so than in Austria. Sounds kinda like parts of America - and my family! In her Polish biology book, in 1998, there were four pages of tips to help young people avoid masturbating (read a famous American doctor's tips to avoid masturbating.) After Elvira decided to study medicine, her mother's first words were, "I hope you won't become a gynecologist." "As if that were something disgusting," she adds. Good luck, Elvira! Staining their clothing with menstrual blood is a concern for many women and this ad demonstrates that - and how to solve it the Libresse pad way! See an earlier ad, this time American and for small tampons, that also takes place in a gym and similarly concerns that timeless concern, shame. Note the very feminine main characters and the masculine instructor with the short blonde hair. And it seems to me that Japanese manga comics influenced the drawing, especially the eyes. A section of the Polish language part sits below the large ad.    Below: part of the ad showing the original Polish.   See a Dutch Libresse ad, 1998. See an old American tampon, Lotus. © 2005 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 [email protected]