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The Museum of Menstruation and
Women's Health
Former museum - future - visit to the museum comic strip
Site guide for historical
books,
pamplets & booklets
promoting patent
medicine, douching, hygiene,
cups
and/or explaining puberty,
menstruation, the facts of
life, sex companies
& nonprofits made for girls,
teens, and their parents, women
- and sometimes boys
(Pad
[towel, napkin] directory
- Tampon
directory)
Companies (and other
organizations) making menstrual
products sometimes produced, and
produce, literature for women and
girls - and boys, for sex
education - to explain
menstruation, menarche, "the
facts of life," and company
products.
As far as I know the first
booklets appeared in the 1920s, at
least in America. Professor Joan
Brumberg, of Cornell University,
has written about how the teaching
of the facts of menstruation
passed from the family in the
early 19th century to the schools
and then to the companies, which
sent its
information to the schools. And
girls who start with the product
supplied by a company in school
seldom change their brand. So it's
an important step for companies to
interest the schools in their
teaching material. (See "Something
Happens to Girls': Menarche and
the Emergence of the Modern
American Hygienic Imperative"
by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, of
Cornell University, in the Journal
of the History of Sexuality,
1993, vol. 4, no. 1.; see also Lynn
Peril's essay on this MUM Web
site.)
You can
find the following on this Web
site.
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Menstruation
& sex education booklets for
and about girls, women &
boys
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Accent on
you (complete
booklets, 1970s-1980s?,
1980
& 1983,
Tampax, U.S.A.)
Always
Changing (complete
booklet, 1995, Always pads,
Procter & Gamble, U.S.A.)
Always in
Style: Your Personal Guide to
Choosing Feminine Protection
Products (complete
folder, 1993, Always pads,
Procter & Gamble, U.S.A.) For
teenagers.
Are you in
the know? Great
BOOKLET collection of the
etiquette ads Kotex ran for
decades
(U.S.A., Kotex napkins and
belts, 1956)
As one Girl
to Another (complete
booklet, 1940, Kotex,
U.S.A.) Complete, 1943.
And "No Need to
Hem and Haw: Give her this
booklet to read - now!"
ad
from Kotex for the booklet As One Girl to
Another, 1942,
U.S.A. - "'Have
you read the new booklet - As
One Girl To Another?'" ad,
probably included in a box of
Kotex.
Becoming
Aware Educational Kit (Complete kit,
Kotex, 1992?) Contains booklets
for girls and their mothers &
sample pads and tampons. Donation
from kind site visitor!
See
many more kits at the bottom
of this page.
Boys: Have
you wondered what happens when
girls grow up? (complete
pamphlet, Personal Products
Co., 1973) Quick lessons for
probably only mildly interested
boys.
Coming of
Age by Lawrence H.
Mayers, M.D. (complete
pamphlet, Tampax Inc., early
1940s?). A frequent Dutch
contributor kindly donated the
scans.
Congratulations!
You're growing up!
menstruation: a guide for
maturing young women
(complete
booklet, 1978,
Midol pain medication, Glenbrook
Laboratories, U.S.A.)
Discovered
and overheard secrets in the
area of women's hygiene and
rejuvenation by Nurse
Thekla Buckeley (Dutch,
1928, selections
about menstrual hygiene,
with my translation into English.
Dutch title: Ontdekte en
afgeluisterde geheimen op het
gebied van dames-hygiene en
-verjonging.) Booklet
for women about menstrual hygiene
among other things. Great picture
of the woman of ill repute who
represented Camelia
menstrual pads. A Dutchman
generously sent these scans of
his booklet.
Es geht um
die besten Jahre Ihres Lebens !
("It's About the Best Years
of Your Life!" 1956?, complete
booklet, with my translation
into English Tampax,
Germany). A Dutchman
generously donated the scans of
his booklet.
Essence of
Womanhood (complete
booklet, 1959, Personal
Products Corp., Modess tampons,
U.S.A.)
Facts About Menstruation that every Woman should know (complete booklet, "By an Eminent Medical Authority," copyright 1933 - 1935 - 1936, International Cellucotton Products Co.)
Facts and
Frauds in Woman's Hygiene: A
Fearless Exposé of
Misleading Claims and Dangers of
Widely Advertised Products Used
by Women, 1936 [excerpts
about menstrual
pads and tampons, their
advertising, cost and defects]
by Rachel Lynn Palmer and Sarah K.
Greenberg, M.D., The Sun Dial
Press, New York.
Getting to
Know Yourself (complete
booklet, 1962, Pursettes
lubricated tampons, U.S.A.)
Growing Up
and Liking It (complete
booklets: 1944,
1949, 1957, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1991.
The Personal Products Company,
U.S.A.) (many covers,
1944-1991)
Having Your
Period (complete
booklet, 1985, Planned
Parenthood Federation of America,
Inc., U.S.A.) Text and pictures
are to the point; there's no
product to sell.
Health Facts
on Menstruation, by Lloyd
Arnold, M.D. (here,
1933, Kotex, U.S.A.)
HET RODE BOEKJE
OVER ONGESTELD ZIJN
("The
Little Red Book About
Being Indisposed")
By Renate van der Bas, the
Netherlands, 2011. EXCERPT
(with my translation into
English from Dutch) about
Anne (for Annelies)
Frank's role in recent
Japanese menstruation
history.
How Can
We Teach About Sex? by
Benjamin C. Gruenberg, Public
Affairs Pamphlet No. 122,
1946, Public Affairs
Committee, Inc, New York City,
U.S.A. A prominent sex
educator discusses sex
education in schools, venereal
disease, doctors, religion,
the Catholic Church, marriage,
divorce, children, character,
moral training, parents.
How shall I
tell my daughter? [How Shall I Tell
My Daughter? in the 1954
edition & Daughter
in 1969] (complete booklets, 1954, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1981,
Personal Products Co.) See covers of
Modess booklets. Excerpt
about how to fasten a pad to a
belt and about sanitary panties
& a funny story from the 1969
booklet.
Hvordan
Kroppen Din Forandrer Seg ("How
Your
Body Changes," complete
booklet, Tampax tampons,
Norway, 1990; with my translation
into English). A Norwegian kindly
donated the booklet.
It's a
Woman's World (complete
booklet, [1980s?] Tampax,
U.S.A.)
it's
natural[,] it's normal[,] it
has a purpose... by
Eleanor Howe (complete booklet)
(1952, Tampax Inc., U.S.A.)
it's time
you knew . . . [all about
menstruation] (complete
booklet, 1966, Tampax,
U.S.A.) - undated different
version, 1960s-1970s
Just Between
Us . . . 1950
edition - (1961
edition, cover & several
pages about menstrual belts
and panties, Beltx). See Betty
Kay's spiraling
eyes! Compare hers to the
spiraling eyes (in the opposite
direction) of the Mad Hatter on a
wrapper for LSD.
[The] Life Cycle
Library: The Miracle of
You, Your Years of
Self-Discovery and You and Your
Daughter (covers and
excerpts, 1968, Kotex,
U.S.A.)
(The) Life Cycle
Library Kotex): The Miracle of
You (complete
booklet,
1968)
[The] Life
Cycle Library for Young People,
Book I (Parent and Child
Institute, U.S.A., 1969), Chapter 4, Book
I: A Girl
Becomes a Woman. In contrast to
the Kotex series with a similar
name (above), this one is hard
cover. It's odd that the two
apparently independent series
appeared in consecutive years.
Marjorie May
Learns About Life (complete
booklet, 1936, Kotex,
Canada)
Photo of Mary
Pauline Collender, author
of the Marjorie May stories (biographical
information)
Marjorie
May's Twelfth Birthday (almost
complete booklet, 1928,
Kotex, Australia)(complete
booklet, 1935, Canada)(cover,
mid-1930s, U.S.A.)(complete
booklet, 1938, U.S.A). Photo
of Mary
Pauline Callender, author
of the Marjorie May stories. Biographical
information for Mrs.
Callender.
Marriage
Hygiene: The important part it
plays in the ideal marriage
(complete
booklet, 1932, Lehn &
Fink, Inc., distributor of Lysol
vaginal douche). Promotional
booklet for Lysol & douching.
[Die]
Menstruation (excerpts,
1977, o.b. tampons, Germany, with
my translation of parts into
English). Photographer David
Hamilton contributed many
photographs to this explicit and
beautiful booklet. By the way,
"Die" in the title means "the,"
not to lose life.
Nancy's
Biggest Day at Camp (complete
booklet, 1941, Modess
menstrual pads, U.S.A.) Nancy's
biggest day was learning about
menstruation at summer camp, not
about having her first period
there unless the company just
didn't want to discuss that. No
discussion of tampons, which
Modess also made, probably because
many people thought they would
turn a virgin into a fallen wom-,
er, girl, a problem Tampax
discussed in an ad.
Black and white. Generous gift
from an anonymous donor!
now you are
10 (complete
booklet, 1958, Kotex,
U.S.A.)
Omdat de
lijnen van je lichaam veranderen
(Dutch; English: As the lines of
your body change), 2007, The
Netherlands, Libresse pads &
puberty booklet
Ontdekte en
afgeluisterde geheimen op het
gebied van dames-hygiene en
-verjonging (by Nurse
Thekla Buckeley, 1928?, The
Netherlands, selections
about menstrual hygiene with
my translation of parts into
English. English: Discovered and
overheard secrets in the area of
women's hygiene and rejuvenation)
Booklet for women about menstrual
hygiene among other things. Great
picture of the famous woman of ill
repute who represented Camelia
menstrual pads. A Dutchman
generously sent these scans of
his booklet.
Parent's
Guide (complete
tri-fold, 1992, Kotex) part
of Becoming
Aware Educational Kit
[The]
Periodic Cycle (complete
booklet, 1938, The Personal
Products Corp., U.S.A., maker of
Modess pads) The booklet states
that this is for older teenage
girls, and is probably a companion
to What a
trained nurse wrote to her young
sister, below.
periods and
puberty: a practical guide for
girls (complete
booklet,
1987, Procter & Gamble,
Always pads, U.S.A.)
Personal
Hygiene for Women (complete
booklet, 1928, Kotex) How to
flush Kotex down the toilet,
physiology, etc. Contemporary with
Kotex's booklet for girls Marjorie May's
Twelfth Birthday, almost
complete booklet, 1928,
Australia.
Preparing
for Womanhood (almost
complete booklet, 1920s,
Kotex, Australia)
Q girls
& boys A (complete
booklet, 1987, Tambrands,
U.S.A.) Puberty
booklet for girl & boy
teens. Explains menstruation,
adolescence, personal care,
exercise, tampons, menstrual
pads, nutrition, TSS, skin care
& it promotes Tampax
Maxithins, panty shields, &
tampons
Sally and
Mary and Kate Wondered . . .
(complete
booklet, cover,
1956, Personal Products Corp.,
U.S.A.)
Sarah's
Story (complete
booklet, 1990, Kotex) part
of Becoming
Aware Educational Kit
Small
Wonder: How Tambrands began,
prospered and grew (1986,
50th anniversary of the company) history of
Tampax Inc. and Tambrands
that the company probably
commissioned. Tambrands
generously donated the beautiful
book.
Strictly
Feminine (complete
booklet with an actual
letter from a mother to her
daughter's doctor - 1969, Personal
Products Co. [Modess], U.S.A.)
Tampax Satin
Learner's Kit, 2001, in 3
languages: English.
Booklet, pads & tampons
Trousse de
l'étudiante French
Estuche de
Aprendizaje Spanish
Tell it like
it is: Straight talk about
tampons (complete
booklet, 1968, Kotex stick
tampons, U.S.A., revised 1974; complete
booklet, 1981, although the
title lacks the subtitle "Straight
talk about tampons"). I wonder if
"straight"
alludes to the shape of
tampons.
That day is
here again . . . (That day is
here again . . ., 1944,
Kotex, International Cellucotton
Products Co., U.S.A.) World War II
influences this booklet in
drawings and text. A frequent
Dutch contributor generously sent
the scans.
Very
Personally Yours
(complete booklets, 1948, 1961,
& 1981,
Kotex, U.S.A.) The 1948 booklet
praises
Allah,
something Muslims might be as
puzzled about as well as
believers in other religions.
Volwassen
worden ("Growing up," the
Netherlands, excerpts,
2004, o.b. tampons)
What a
trained nurse wrote to her young
sister (complete
booklet, probably late
1930s-early 1940s, The Personal
Products Corp., U.S.A., maker of
Modess pads). Probably a companion
to The
Periodic Cycle (1938),
above, written for older teenage
girls.
What a Young
Woman Ought to Know, Self and Sex
series, 1913, U.K.
Mrs. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D. Selections
World of a
Girl (complete
booklet, 1963, Scott Paper
Co., U.S.A., Confidets menstrual
pads) Colorful, beautiful
illustrations.
You and Your
Daughter: Asked & Unasked
Questions Every Mother Should
Answer (complete booklet)
Kimberly-Clark,
U.S.A., 1968, Kotex: The Life
Cycle Library, Volume III (3)
Your
Personal Guide to Menstruation
and Tampon Usage (complete
booklet, U.S.A., 1988, o.b.
tampons)
"You're a
young lady now" (complete
booklets, 1952,
1959,
1961,
Kotex, U.S.A.) The first owner
might have printed her named on
the back of the 1952 booklet.
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Facts and Frauds in Woman's
Hygiene: A Fearless Exposé
of Misleading Claims and
Dangers of Widely Advertised
Products Used by Women [excerpts:
pp.
142-157 concern Zonite
and Lysol, other pages
are about menstrual
pads and tampons] by
Rachel Lynn Palmer and Sarah K.
Greenberg, M.D., The Sun Dial
Press, New York, 1936.
Facts
for Women (1931, Zonite
Products Corporation, New York,
Montreal)
The
Intimate Side of a Woman's Life
by Leona Chalmers, 1937, book,
128 pp. Cleanliness! Douching,
bathing, , etc., and the author
discusses the menstrual cup,
possibly the first in the U.S.A.
Also: how to get a man by staying
very clean.
Home
Treatment of Female Diseases (1894,
complete), mostly about how Cardui
patent medicine effects cures.
With sections on douching.
Mon Docteur vaginal douche
set (complete?), with
(separate?) documents, American,
1928-29?
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Criticism
of menstrual cups, U.S.A., 1930s.
Daintette cup: See instructions for the cup; information about the
Dainty Maid douche apparatus
(and see a set); and covers of
Mon Docteur and Daintette booklets; items the company
sold (sells?); "unsolicited
testimonial letters," and ads in
newspapers seeking women
to sell the product at parties.
The
Intimate Side of a Woman's
Life by Leona Chalmers,
1937, book, 128 pp. Cleanliness!
Douching, bathing, etc., and the
author discusses the menstrual
cup, possibly the first in the
U.S.A. Also: how to get a man by
staying very clean.
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Patent
medicine booklets, mainly
for women
(see more patent medicine here)
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Portfolios
and guides for teachers
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"A
Teaching Guide for Menstrual
Hygiene" (cover,
1962, Personal Products Corp.,
U.S.A.)
"A Teacher's
Guide to Feminine Hygiene" (cover,
1973, Personal Products Corp.,
U.S.A.)
"Becoming
Aware Educational Kit "(Complete kit,
Kotex, 1992?) Contains booklets
for girls and their mothers &
sample pads and tampons. Donation
from kind site visitor!
"Educational
Material on Menstruation
furnished by the makers of
Tampax" (1966) U.S.A.
Folder with
huge number of information
sheets, etc.
"Educational
Portfolio on Menstrual Hygiene"
(1968) U.S.A. Teacher's kit for Modess
sanitary napkins, menstrual tampons
and panties (mostly complete)
"From
Fiction to Fact: a teaching
guide about puberty,
menstruation and the human
reproductive system" (complete 1966, 1986,
Tambrands, U.S.A. The 1966 version
is part of the huge "Educational
Material on Menstruation
furnished by the makers of
Tampax," 1966)
"Teacher's
kit" (complete,
early 1950s, Personal Products
Corp., U.S.A.)
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See also .
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Four
Young Men Go In Search Of
A Profit!
The Story of Kimberly-Clark
Corporation
(1872-1957)
[By] John R. Kimberly
An address at New York to the
Newcomen Society in North
America, 1957
Sex Facts
for Women, by Richard L.
Lambert, Ph.G. [Graduate
Pharmacist], M.D., 1936, New York
Special
Book for Women by
Gilbert Thayer,
1910s-1920s?, 20 pp., Lafayette,
Indiana
Woman's
Physical Freedom, by
Clelia Duel Mosher, M.D.,
The Womans Press, New York
City, U.S.A., 1923, 87 pages
Walt Disney film for Kotex, excerpts
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