I am painting portraits and writing a book about the museum to generate the income to retire, which I am eligible to do right now - yipee!!!! That will let me spend much more time on getting the museum set up again, this time in a public space. (Take a tour of the museum as it was in my house four years ago.) And I'll be able to return to weekly updates of this site as well as organize the huge amount of information scattered around this virtual museum, a problem some of you have e-mailed me about. In the meantime I need the weekends to create this income to enhance my long-awaited retirement, which will enable me to do something worthwhile.
"Sanitary panties," incontinence, briefs, etc., by Kleinerts, Ashley Lee and others
Hygienics Direct-Incontinence products: http://hygienics.com/ FYI
Mike Brier
CEO
Contribute to moving mountains!
Dear Mr. Finley,
A friend told me about your Web site just yesterday. I was thrilled to hear about such a concept. I would like to put a link to your museum Web site on my Web site mountainmovingday.org.
I developed the mountainmovingday.org Web site for a women's history month event. Now that the event is over I would like to us the remaining six months that I have the site to motivate and encourage other women to tap into their power to make things happen, as well as self-acceptance. The thought came to me that I might achieve my goal by including links to sites already online that have a similar focus. I'd also like to make it a posting site for those who would like to make creative contributions in the form of art/music/poetry/ceremonies/videos or little-known facts about women (such as your museum provides).
I wish you success in finding a permanent home for your menstruation treasures.
Sincerely,
Senga N. Fittz
Dutch site about menstruation
About the menstruation things: I've got a Dutch one (The Netherlands). It's good to find this sort of sites. I like it! We even have a menstruate startpage. It's from a big national Web host. http://ongesteld.pagina.nl. Take a look - but it's all in Dutch.
She's tried Instead and The Keeper menstrual cups (see them) and . . .
I've just used the Instead for the first time. I've never used anything like it before. I had gotten a free sample of it about 5 years ago, saw it, thought it seemed gross and stuck it in the bottom of my drawer.
A group of women I know online were raving about The Keeper and one said she used Instead. So I dug mine out and gave it a try.
I really like not having a pad between my legs and I didn't even notice it was there. Unlike tampons, which I seem to feel almost all the time. It was amazingly easy to get in and take out. It was a bit messy when I removed it but not too bad. I did NOT like that it did end up leaking a bit. Plus I had to change it every two hours on my heavy day, (I have to change a tampon every hour on my heavy day) but that is a LOT of money if I don't wash and reuse it.
However with the warning of not reusing it I have decided that it is not worth the risk. So, I plan on purchasing The Keeper. I hope I find it as easy to use. I do plan on keeping a supply of Instead on hand. It was great when it came to having sex. No mess and we didn't notice it being in there at all.
She likes the site
Hi :) I really want to thank the people who are in charge of this Web site - you guys do a great job for giving news. YOU guys are a great help not only to me, but to a lot of girls. The first time I heard about your Web site was in the book "Cunt" and now this site is one of my favorites. Thanks for posting a lot of interesting stuff online.
Where can she buy InSync Miniforms? [See them]
Hello,
I've been a regular, happy user of the InSync Miniforms since 1998. When I moved east, I ordered a year's supply at once (cheaper shipping). Now I'm down to my last two boxes. I went to their Web site to order more, but it seems the company has gone under. I had no idea this was coming. I would've ordered dozens of boxes if I had a clue.
By some miracle, do you know of any distributor who might have a back supply they would be willing to sell me? I'll take whatever they've got.
Sadly,
[Reply to me and I will forward your mail to her.]
Menstrual huts and customs in the Solomon Islands, rags in Eritrea, etc.
What a great Web site! I haven't fully explored it, but will have to take the time to do so when I'm not at work!
I lived in the Solomon Islands (South Pacific) as a Peace Corps volunteer. In the past, menstrual huts were the norm and are still used today in some of the more traditional areas. There are lots of traditional prohibitions against women's body fluids generally which have not all disappeared (women bathe downstream from men, etc.). When a family experiences some bad fortune, violations of taboos by family members are looked for (and usually found). Women either menstruating or urinating in the house, at least in the past, were often suspected as the "cause" of bad stuff in the family. Houses traditionally had and often still have dirt floors.
It had occurred to me when I was living in Eritrea (East Africa) that women in poor, traditional societies may not spend much of their time menstruating (for the reasons pointed out on your Web site). So I was surprised that there was such a tradition of menstrual huts in the Solomons, where you'd think women would be pregnant most of the time. However, there are also a lot of taboos/restrictions about male/female relations. Traditionally husbands and wives don't even sleep together; there are men's houses and houses for women and children (I think sex was mostly had on the sly in the bush, where it still happens among teenagers and trysting adults). Men can't have sex during the main fishing season, and there are other restrictions as well. From a practical standpoint, these religious prohibitions functioned to keep the population from growing too quickly (an important thing on a small island). And - back to menstruation - women in these cultures probably had periods more of their lives than their sisters in other traditional societies.
When I arrived in Eritrea in 1997, I was a dedicated user of flannel pads, but had trouble figuring out what women there did and if it was okay to hang them to dry in public. With water being scarce outside the rainy season, I soon reverted to disposables imported from the U.S. When I was back visiting in 2000, a new Modess factory had just been built in the town where I had lived.
In the Solomons, my high school girls used rags and were very eager to see my flannel pads and learn how to make them.
Your section on underwear was quite interesting. The crotchless pantaloons would have been useful in both places. Skirts are definitely the best clothing when one may have to go to the bathroom in full view of others (which was the case in both countries), and underwear that wouldn't need to be pulled down would have been great.
Anyway, thanks for the informative Web site!
[See and read more about menstrual huts.]
Hindu woman describes her menstrual customs, seclusion as well as celebration - and the evil eye
Hi. I came across your Web site today for the first time and would like to contribute my thoughts as well.
I am a Hindu woman born in Sri Lanka and raised in Canada. I am a 25-year-old community worker. Your site sparked my interest as I was browsing for more information about menstrual cramps. I learned a lot of neat things such as how the concept of seclusion of a woman during her menstrual cycle is alive in many cultures other than my own. Today, I would like to enlighten you about some of the practices my family followed and still follow today.
One such practice is not entering the prayer room of our house. To a greater extent, I was not even allowed to roam around the entire house. Of course, my mother would describe to me her younger years when she was secluded to a single room apart from everyone else. Could you imagine the sheer boredom?!! I rebelled. Another practice was to shower on the third day of your cycle. Also, one must wash all clothing and linen used in the days previous. My mother would not allow me to touch her!! No woman could enter a Hindu temple while menstruating. My sister-in-law described to me how when she first started menstruating, that her family not only secluded her but also prevented her from eating. All she could have was water!! This is was a nine-year-old child who had no clue what was going on!! I was thankful that I did not have to experience such a thing.
On the other hand, the first sign of menstruation is a time of celebration as well. The female is dressed to look like a bride in much jewels and glory. Some families go all out and invite hundreds of people to gather in a hall. Then a priest comes and carries out his rituals of blessings - anything to ward off all evil eyes. Mine was a small gathering in my house. Yes, it was quite embarrassing but the exciting part was receiving all the wonderful gifts!! Some young women of the next generation choose not to carry out the celebration.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading, and please continue your exciting work!!
P.S. I still think menstruation is a curse or some sort of punishment for women. Yes, I have come to accept it as a part of my life, but not the painful aspects of it - if only you knew!!
Why do men fart more than women? Stop it, this is serious! And two product ideas.
Dear Mr. Finley,
I love the site. It also reminded me of a theory I have - why men seem to fart more than women. I believe it is because every time a woman goes to the toilet, she sits down. Many times, gas is expelled at this time. I was raised to only pass gas in the bathroom, and I am sure other women were taught the same. Men stand up to urinate and are holding their sphincter muscles so they would not be as inclined to fart at that time.
I also have long wanted to develop two products. One would be a handy but discreet dispenser for pads, tampons and shields that would be accessible to the person sitting on the toilet. I think every home with a woman should have this. How many women have waddled across a bathroom to access the needed supplies? And how many times in someone else's home, having to search through the cabinets? A lot, I assure you.
The other would be a small, attractive bucket with an attached lid. You would purchase this bucket (in an attractive color to match your bathroom) and inside would be wrapped enzyme tablets. Fill the bucket two-thirds full with cold water, drop in a tablet and put it in a discreet but handy place in the bathroom. Every time you get some stained panties, you would drop them in. In a couple of days or whenever, you dump the contents of the bucket in the washer and do a small cold load. This would also be good for women of post-menstrual age who sometimes "leak."
I just haven't figured out how to market these products.
Martha
[If you can help with the marketing, contact me and I'll forward your mail to her.
But there are two similar products already on the market - at least there used to be. See below, from the museum collection.]
Above: a ceramic pot, with spout, for soaking used washable pads (pictured), once sold by Womankind, Tamara Slayton's company. Tamara e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago, writing that she is recovering from breast cancer. I wish her a full recovery! The two of us might collaborate on a book.
Right: Beechwood dispenser for applicator-less tampons, such as o.b., made and sold by the Swede Maria Kreutz. Address:
Maria Kreutz, Västra Rönneholmsvägen 50C, S-21741 Malmo, Sweden or e-mail her: mariakreutz@hotmail.com
The price for the painted ones (red or white at the moment) is $49 or £33.
They are also available unpainted for $45 or £30 (the most popular, actually).
It costs about $9 or £6 to send it by mail.
The delivery time will be approximately one week.See details of construction and more current products.
Photos and finger by Harry Finley
Maternity clothing, etc.
Hi!
We've had a link up to your site for a long time now and would love if you would be able to link back to us. We are a baby and maternity store, with lots of unique products.
Thanks!
Amy Hyatt
www.bareware.net
The bare necessities for you and your little one!
"Health and Happiness For You"
Dear MUM.org,
Have just visited your fine site, it is a great presentation and a terrific resource. Our site is Health and Happiness For You at www.healthhappiness.com.au We would love to exchange links. Please add our link to your page. If you would like details for a text or logo link you will find it at www.healthhappiness.com.au/linktohh.html If you do add our link to your site please e-mail us and we will respond shortly to tell you your link has been added to our site.
We hope you like our site and we hear back from you so we can be of mutual benefit
Kindest Regards
Mark Plumridge & Morgen Brown
Directors,
The Worldwide Art Gallery www.theartgallery.com.au
Health & Happiness For You www.healthhappiness.com.au
Entertainer wants to entertain in the museum - great idea!
Absolutely fascinating and important Web site and museum. I heard about your museum in 1999 (Roadside America maybe) and was very intrigued. Your ideas are right on. One of your goals should be to make people feel comfortable. Humor would be perfect. How about comedy acts or short skits in the beginning of the tours or in the lobby? I know this sounds strange and corny, but it could work. By the way, I am a writer, singer, and general performer. I also have a master's degree in English. But mostly I am the mother of five [!] boys, 11 months to 14 years - all with the same husband - MINE! (Sorry.)
When I decided to e-mail you I was only going to compliment you and make some scholarly suggestions, but the entertainer in me took over. Perhaps you'd like me to send a few jokes or skits to you. Some of my recent endeavors include designing and constructing Joseph's coat for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," writing a monologue and providing costuming for an Indiana revue that included a section about Hoosier author Gene Stratton Porter. (I also portray her in my own first-person portrayal of her.) Singing back-up on my sister's C.D. and singing the role of the fairy a la "Mae West" style in a new recording of a musical version of "The Velveteen Rabbit" that Scholastic Books is sponsoring.
But mostly I just change diapers with three kids under five. Which leads me to how I found your site anyway! I've been starting to make my own cloth diapers and menstrual pads and your site came up on one of my searches.. Anyway, I've got to stop. It's 2:10 am and I still have two kids running around awake, too excited to sleep after fireworks and picnicking. Please contact me if you are at all interested in my ideas. I gotta million of 'em! [I did, although we'll have to wait 'til the museum gets a physical space.]
Natural progesterone cream
Hi,
I came across your site and I am impressed with its content. I notice that we have similar content in our sites and, would like to have my site listed on yours.
http://www.noestrogen.com
Endau is a natural progesterone cream. This is a pre-hormone that supports balance and the body's efforts to overcome deficiencies.
I am willing to trade links if your interested!
Thank you
Michelle Leudy
www.noestrogen.com
Natural progesterone for menstrual discomfort
Would you like to forget that it's "that time of the month?"
Natural progesterone is a safe, natural way to help with those uncomfortable symptoms women experience before and during their menstrual cycle. And along with that, you will be supplying your body with something it needs now and also will be benefit you in the years to come.
Details are here: http://www.progesterone.com/
Bold sites for women
FYI, your site has been (re-)linked from Such A Pretty Face Intelligencia located at
http://nodltd.com/leighisfat.shtml
NoOne's Daughter
http://nodltd.com/home.shtml
on the NoOne's Daughter Web site.
Cheers!
Leigh
Leigh Baker-Foley
Holy Hormones, Honey!
Harry - just spent hours going over your Web site and - it is fabulous.
Sorry to hear that you are still struggling to find a site for the museum. But guess what? My Holy Hormones Honey! Web site is finally done: www.holyhormones.com
Already have you listed on my site - would love to be linked with yours.
Leslie
A Harvard student comments on MUM, menstrual cups, sponges, living in dormitory conditions, a pioneer diary - and prudery
I stumbled onto your Web page maybe as long as four years ago, and come back periodically to browse. I'm interested in history of all kinds and I'm always thrilled when such a personal part of history is preserved and detailed. So much of what daily life was like in the past seems to get lost (few good sources exist for material like this!).
I have occasionally told friends and family about your Web site and I'm constantly amazed by the almost universally negative response that I get about it. It's "weird" or "gross" or "bizarre" to be interested in such a thing, I'm told - and by extremely well-educated women. Such irrational prudishness never fails to amaze me.
I wanted to add some comments on the menstrual cup issue. (See them and read a bit of their history.) I've been an on-and-off user of Instead for the last four years (went out and bought some after seeing them on MUM and liked them) and just got a Keeper a few months ago. I find that I have leakage with both devices and must always wear a pad with them. However, using them has cut down on my use of disposable products to just one or two small pads per day.
I have always reused Instead. It's just plastic and I think if you wash it with soap and water, like the Keeper, there isn't any reason not to reuse. They're very durable. I used the same one for over a year. It does tend to get stained a little after awhile. When it got gross-looking, I chucked it and used a new one. I carried around in a round plastic case my orthodontist gave me for a retainer but never used.
As for the whole "public restroom" issue: I've lived in dormitories for the last seven years. I used a public restroom all the time. And there are indeed discreet ways of working around the issue. First, my understanding is that the cup need not be washed every single time you empty it - once a day is good enough if your hands are very clean when you handle it. Simply use toilet paper to blot off the excess blood and reinsert. Yes, your hands will probably get messy, but then, I always had that problem with tampons, too. I shared a bathroom with between 30-70 girls and never once did I have a problem being discreet about washing up afterwards. And, even if someone notices your hands are messy, it's nothing other women haven't had to deal with before. A thorough hand washing takes care of any hygiene issues.
I use a mixture of all different kinds of menstrual products - Instead, the Keeper, natural sea sponge tampons, disposable pads, and (when I can't help it) disposable tampons. I think it's a matter of having an open mind and playing with the options. For example, I like Instead and the sea sponges more for the very light days of my period. They leak on heavier days. I only use the Keeper during my very heaviest flow, with a pad. I find it too uncomfortable to insert on light flow days.
Oh, and I always soak all my reusable products in a solution of water and tea tree oil after the end of my cycle. (This is especially important for the sea sponges - see some menstrual sponges - which you cannot get totally clean with mere soap and water.) This kills many bacteria without resorting to harsh chemicals.
It feels a little odd to be writing all this to a man I don't know (!) but in the interests of helping other women out, I offer these observations. I think a lot of women are unhappy with the menstrual products they use. Learning to mix-and-match has made me a much more satisfied customer.
Thanks so much - your site is truly inspiring.
[She later added, in part:]
And as a student of history, what makes me cringe more than anything are the interesting historical figures who edited their memoirs or heavily glossed over certain issues then considered "indelicate". Two relevant incidents come to mind: one, when Queen Victoria's daughter Beatrice went through and redacted her mother's memoirs, taking out everything that would be considered even mildly scandalous; and second, when the editors of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book "On the Way Home" took out of her diary the references to how she dealt with her period while they were pioneering from South Dakota to Missouri. (Actually, if you're interested in that one, I think the original manuscript with said references is available at the archive in Mansfield, Missouri - they just won't publish it.) I want to scream, why why WHY? It's not like it's a secret that these folks had normal bodily functions and urges. - grr. Where did being repressed ever get anyone? :)
I've been meaning to write for quite some time, and am glad I finally did. I always meet the most interesting people on the Internet.
Great cultural history from Appalachia: washing home-made pads in a stream, bears, pads in the outhouse, etc.
I loooove!!! your museum. My granny (who is 85 now) grew up in Appalachia in the southern U.S. Her Grandpa would never let menstruating women go with him when he hunted bears or large predators. He believed the animals could scent the women, and that any hunt they participated in would be unsuccessful as a result. I was raised an emancipated woman who learned from my own mother and from Sesame Street that women could do anything men could do. I remember being small (maybe 5) and being absolutely outraged that Grandpa would treat girls differently when it came time to do the fun stuff like hunting bears. Oddly, he did not have this prejudice about bringing menstruating girls with him when he hunted smaller game.
I read all your different ways of referring to menstruation. I read Maggie's Drawers on the list and absolutely lost it, I laughed so hard. I run a Web site called Maggie's Modest Christian Clothing [the writer told me she's not quite ready to give out the URL]. I sew old-fashioned drawers, bloomers, knickers and tap shorts for modern plus sized women who want modest underthings to wear under their dresses. I had considered expanding my line of bloomers to include red flannel fabric, in addition to the basic white and ivory. I got my inspiration from the Psalms 31 in the Bible where it says something about not being afraid for her household, "for all her household is clothed in scarlet." I wonder if all of this scarlet clothing comes from being better able to hide the stains of blood?
I totally agree with your suggestion that women have sometimes simply bled into their clothes or petticoats. There is a reason that red petticoats have a special place in a woman's heart. I believe they disguise the stains, like Maggies' Red Flannel Drawers above. I also believe that it was something which some women looked down on other women for doing. My Granny used the same cloths for diapers that she did for menstruation, she just folded them smaller for herself, than for her babies [exactly what many women did before disposable pads, which came into general availability in the early 1920s, in America anyway.]. She would talk bad about women who didn't wash the diapers every time their babies wet them. Some women would let the diapers which were just wet, dry off on the line, without washing them in hot sudsy water first. Granny was much more fastidious than this. I remember her whispering about one women who didn't wash any of her rags "she just kept using 'em, even when they were full." I didn't know what she meant at the time, although I did understand she wasn't whispering about diapers, but something more taboo which she couldn't say out loud. In retrospect, this was the same woman who didn't wash the diapers which only had urine on them and I am pretty darned sure Granny was talking about menstruation.
When I get my period, we refer to it as a "Maggie on a string"; the string refers to the tampon. We also call the tampons bullets, as I saw you already had listed. I think it is funny that my nick-name Maggie has been used to refer to menstruation before. Makes me feel kind of special, actually :-)
Thanks for all the good work - I just adore it all.
It does society good to know more about the subject, rather than less, and your contributions are such a blessing. Thank you so much for all you do.
Maggie
[Then Maggie wrote the following. This is all great cultural history and shouldn't be lost!]
I hope you don't mind me sending in the rest of the Bear story. I did some investigation with several family members and apparently the following story is about a woman who was related to my Great Grandpa. This is where he got his prejudice against bringing menstruating women hunting:
After the Civil War, but before the 1880's a relative of mine named Ora or Ola got a sewing machine after a particularly good tobacco crop was sold. She was the first in her area to get a sewing machine. She spent the winter learning how to use it, and one of the first things she made with it was sanitary napkins. She was particularly proud of them, because she had made them real fancy compared to the ones everyone else was using. I don't know the details of their construction, only that they were fancier than most. She took careful care of them, and even made a string or twine bag to put them in (I assume it was crocheted or tatted or something). To clean them, she put the used ones in the bag and hooked the bag to a rock in the creek. The rock kept them from washing away. The bag allowed the the cool running water easy access to the fabric. The cold water from the creek bubbled over them and through them, and washed them clean and fresh. Apparently she was suffering from a bit of vanity over all of this, and as the story goes, she got what she deserved as a result.
So spring rolled around and the bears were coming out of hibernation, and were sort of groggy and sluggish and hungry. Ola had put her bag of pads into the creek to wash and carefully hooked them to a rock so they wouldn't wash away. A bear found the bag and tore it to pieces. All of Ola's hard work had been for naught. The nice new pads she was so proud of, and the twine bag she had made for it, were all torn asunder. Afterwards she was careful not to be so prideful over something like sanitary pads, or so the story goes.
I think this is soooo funny the way the morality is worked into the story. Also, Ola or Ora, was 2/3 Native American. During the Trail of Tears in the (1830's I think) when the Cherokee were made to leave their homes in the East, some of the Native American women stayed and married into the mountain culture of Appalachia. I don't know how someone can be 2/3 Native American, but Granny insists this is the correct proportion. One must remember that in the Southern Hills, way back in time, there really was a great deal of inter-marrying, and cousins certainly married cousins regularly. I think this has something to do with the odd fraction of 2/3's.
Also, I remembered something which I didn't see on your site. Poor women today make sanitary pads from toilet paper. An Aunt of mine, married a musician in the Seventies and they couldn't afford sanitary pads because they were so poor. She made them from toilet paper, rolled up tightly, and just changed them every time she went to the restroom. They traveled in their old van, and she used the paper at road side stops and gas stations as they drove along. She continued using toilet paper for pads up into the mid 80's when her own daughter came of age, and demanded the store bought ones, which all the girls at school used. I thought maybe she was the only person who had thought of this, but after looking at your site, it occurs to me that probably lots of women have done this very same thing.
:-) Maggie
[And she added this:]
By the way, here is another interesting tidbit. When some of my older aunts began using disposable sanitary napkins there was a big hullabaloo about their disposing of the blood soaked napkins in the outhouse. They didn't get indoor plumbing until the mid Seventies. The concern was about the blood attracting animals, and also with the napkins filling up the out house hole too quickly, requiring a new one to be dug. With seven girls [!!], this is in fact what happened. I remember the new outhouse being dug right at the time I was potty training. My grandfather built a two-seater, one small seat and one larger seat, so that I wouldn't be so worried about falling in. I remember the old outhouse being filled with used pads, you could look down through the hole and see them, there seemed to be hundreds, at least.
I live in Southern Virginia. My family is from ********, close to the border with West Virginia. And thank you for being so sensitive to the odd privacy issues which menstruation seems to bring up.
Blessings:-)
Maggie
Malaysian homemaker site wants to link to - MUM
Hello,
We are a network of homemakers based in Malaysia and from July, our Web site, mom4mom.com, will be transferred to a new portal and will be known as www.myhome4work.net
www.mom4mom.com is a comprehensive website focusing on issues that are relevant to homemakers and their families. Working at home, parenting, caring for the community/environment and health/gender issues are some of our major concerns.
As we are currently compiling some information on menstruation for the benefit of our surfers, we request the permission to link with you at your Museum of Menstruation Web site. We will be placing this link in our Health section.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.
The Web Editor
mom4mom.com (www.myhome4work.net)
Menstrual gravy boats? Identify, please!
Dear Harry,
I have several things to say.
One is that I absolutely love the mum.org site. I've been a fan of it for several years. I shared it immediately with my friends, and they loved it too.
Second is that for my English class (English: A Common Language) in my junior year of college, about three years ago, which was about the evolution of the English language, I used some of the references (and pamphlets) you have on your site, and compared the evolution of euphemisms/terminology about menstruation from that time period to that in "Our Bodies, Ourselves"(if I remember correctly, it was published in 1993. Or 1996). (During this time, my roommate recorded all the little snide comments I made about some of the euphemisms used in the pamphlet I used for my paper).
Thirdly (Yes! A third thing!). I am not sure if you are aware of this, but there is a collection of ... I am not sure what they are called. They look like gravy boats and were used when women way back when were menstruating. I visited a museum here in Munich last fall after moving there for the year, and not only do they have the world's largest collection of those gravy boat shaped things, but they also have the world's largest collection of chamber pots, Easter bunnies, perfume bottles, and pedal cars (think Kiddie Car Classics from Hallmark). It's called "Zentrale für aussergewöhnliche Museen" (Museum of Unusual Museums) and it is not far from Marienplatz, maybe 100 meters from the clock. [If anyone know what these "gravy boats" are, please e-mail me!]
Keep up the good work. I would love to see this museum become a physical reality--hopefully in the U.S., so I can visit it sometime.
Utne Web Watch watches MUM
I thought you might like to know that we ran a link and a summary to your Web site in the Utne Web Watch. You can check it out at
http://www.utne.com/webwatch/archive.tpl?d= 06/21/2002.
Also, feel free to contact us any time you post something online that you think is especially worthy of a mention in the Web Watch.
Keep up the great work.
Julie Madsen
Speaking of the Utne Reader
A friend has just e-mailed me this site (found on Utne Reader??) and I am fascinated by the thought of this museum being a reality. I'm surprised NOT to find any references to the wonderful book the "Great Cosmic Mother." One of the authors is Monica(?) Sjoo. (I have given away every copy I had of this book to friends, my mom, etc., so I don't have it on hand to give you more details about the book), but I know you can find it in the library. The book isn't solely about menstruation but it is the most profound book I've ever read about women and our history on this planet. Pease check it out; you may find some info useful. It's also one of Alice Walker's favorite books - that's what interested me in it in the first place.
The sacredness of women's bodies (and of men's) is what has led to the destroying of our bodies and thus our lives and thus our precious earth.
Menstrual blood is sacred.
Kudos to you and to your endeavor if you can raise the awareness on this subject even just a little bit!
I hope my book suggestion helps in some way. I look forward to reading more of your site and passing the site on to some friends. Thanks for having the ovaries to step out and do what you're doing, hon!!!
In peace,
Senufa Salley
Good luck.
One hundred failures would not matter when a single success could change the destiny of the world.
- 2002 Space Odyssey
STRATEGIES FOR ACTION ON WOMEN'S HEALTH
The 9th International Women's Health Meeting (IWHM)
AUGUST 12 -- 16, 2002 at York University, Toronto, Canada
The 9th IWHM will bring women from around the world to examine the many threads that form the fabric of women's health. The meeting will focus on action and the development of strategies, solutions and approaches to the promotion of women's health.
The 9th IWHM is being organized collaboratively by activists at the local, national and international level and will focus on the following three themes:
· sexual and reproductive rights
· violence against women (state and family)
· environmental health
Our aim is to deepen our analysis and strengthen our base of support for further political action and change. Together, we hope to forge a woman's health agenda for the future based on equity and social justice.
Who can participate?
Women in the women's health movement, activists from all levels, and women the world over who want to share action strategies for advancing women's rights to health.
To register or for further information:
Website: www.iwhm-rifs.org
Phone: (416) 465-6021
Fax: (416) 461-4662
Email: info@iwhm-rifs.org
A detailed agenda and program will be available by the end of June. We encourage participants from community organizations, institutions, etc., from across the continent to come and join us!
Call for papers: MENSTRUATION: BLOOD, BODY, BRAND
THE INSTITUTE FOR FEMINIST THEORY AND RESEARCH
WWW.IFTR.ORG.UK
LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY, United Kingdom, 24-26 January 2003
An under-explored territory for the scholar of the body-in-history, the menstrual has remained one of the last taboos of both cultural and academic discourse. A recurrent motif in specifying the body marked female, menstruation has nevertheless remained on the periphery of the feminist second wave. This interdisciplinary conference will bring together various previously disparate critical approaches to construct an evolution of menstruation. It will examine and revisit visual, literary, medical, legal, autobiographical and historical texts.
Keynote Speakers
Julie-Marie Strange
Marie Mulvey-RobertsProposed Papers/Panels
- Visual Culture and Menstrual (in)Visibility
- Menstrual Technologies
- The "Speaking" Body
- Revising the History of Menstrual "Disorder"
- Theorising the Menstruating Subject
- Female Bodies and "Emission"
- Enlightenment's Menstruator
- Taboo and Totem
- Menopause and Ageing Femininity
- Psychoanalysis and Hysteria
- Race/Blood
- PMS
- Advertising Menstruality
- Maternity vs. Menstruation?
- Vampiric/Gothic Menstruation
- Menarche and the Invention of the Teenager
- Periodicity and Images of the Natural
- Dioxin and TSS
- Gaps in the Civilising Process
- Class and Menstruality
- Feminist Waves and Menstrual Evolution
- Menstruation, Statute and Work
- The Wisdom of the Wound?
- Representations of the Bleeding Body[The MUM director was invited to talk about this museum either in person or by video tape.]
300-Word Abstract Deadline 31st August 2002
Abstracts by Post or by Email Attachment to
Andrew Shail
School of English
Queens Building
The Queen's Drive
University of Exeter
Exeter EX4 4QH
UK
Phone: (01392) 264265
Fax: (01392) 264361
Email: a.e.shail@ex.ac.uk
Participate in three UCLA studies
Dear Mr. Finley,
My students and I are currently conducting three online studies relating to menstruation. We are seeking volunteer participants, women age 18-50, to take a few moments to complete anonymous surveys. I would greatly appreciate it if the Museum could publicize our efforts.
These studies have been approved by the University of California Los Angeles Office for the Protection of Research Subjects; participation is on a strictly anonymous, strictly voluntary, and unpaid basis.
Participants can access each of the surveys by clicking on the Web links below:
Disgust and the Menstrual Cycle
http://hillinfo.orl.ucla.edu/disgust_survey/
Subjective Changes over the Menstrual Cycle
http://hillinfo.orl.ucla.edu/cabin_fever/01_info_sheet.asp
An Investigation of Opinions about Incest and the Menstrual Cycle
(for women over 18)
http://hillinfo.orl.ucla.edu/menst_cycle
Many thanks in advance,
Cheers,
Dan
Daniel M.T. Fessler
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
390 Haines Hall, Box 951553
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553
tel. 310 794-9252
fax 310 206-7833
Email: dfessler@anthro.ucla.ed
Participate in panel about possible dangers of menstrual products
Hello, folks,
My name is Gabrielle Roesch and I work at the Environmental Center in Bellingham, Washington, at Western Washington University (U.S.A.) and I am trying to pull together a women's health panel focusing on the toxicity of feminine hygiene products, i.e., tampons, pads, dioxin, bleach, etc., and possible dangers and alternatives. I already have a naturopath physician on the panel but I lack activists and/or educators on the subject.
Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested in being involved or if you know anyone who might be interested.
Thank you so much,
Gabrielle Roesch
earth@cc.wwu.edu
360-650-6129 or 360-392-3535 (U.S.A.)
Canadian TV film about menstruation Under Wraps now called Menstruation: Breaking the Silence and for sale
Read more about it - it includes this museum (when it was in my house) and many interesting people associated publically with menstruation. Individual Americans can buy the video by contacting
Films for the Humanities
P.O. Box 2053
Princeton, NJ 08543-2053Tel: 609-275-1400
Fax: 609-275-3767
Toll free order line: 1-800-257-5126Canadians purchase it through the National Film Board of Canada.
Did your mother slap you when you had your first period?
If so, Lana Thompson wants to hear from you.
The approximately 4000 items of this museum will go to Australia's largest museum . . .
if I die before establishing the Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health as a permanent public display in the United States (read more of my plans here). I have had coronary angioplasty; I have heart disease related to that which killed all six of my parents and grandparents (some when young), according to the foremost Johns Hopkins lipids specialist. The professor told me I would be a "very sick person" if I were not a vegetarian since I cannot tolerate any of the medications available. Almost two years ago I debated the concept of the museum on American national television ("Moral Court," Fox Network) and MUM board member Miki Walsh (see the board), who was in the audience at Warner Brothers studios in Hollywood, said I looked like a zombie - it was the insomnia-inducing effect of the cholesterol medication.
And almost two years ago Megan Hicks, curator of medicine at Australia's Powerhouse Museum, the country's largest, in Sydney, visited MUM (see her and read about the visit). She described her creation of an exhibit about the history of contraception that traveled Australia; because of the subject many people had objected to it before it started and predicted its failure. But it was a great success!
The museum would have a good home.
I'm trying to establish myself as a painter (see some of my paintings) in order to retire from my present job to give myself the time to get this museum into a public place and on display permanently (at least much of it); it's impossible to do now because of the time my present job requires.
An Australian e-mailed me about this:
Wow, the response to the museum, if it were set up in Australia, would be so varied. You'd have some people rejoicing about it and others totally opposing it (we have some yobbos here who think menstruation is "dirty" and all that other rubbish). I reckon it would be great to have it here. Imagine all the school projects! It might make a lot of younger women happier about menstruating, too. I'd go check it out (and take my boyfriend too) :)
Hey, are you related to Karen Finley, the performance artist?? [Not that I know of, and she hasn't claimed me!]
Don't eliminate the ten Regional Offices of the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor
The Bush Administration is planning to propose, in next year's budget, to eliminate the ten Regional Offices of the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor. This decision signals the Administration's intent to dismantle the only federal agency specifically mandated to represent the needs of women in the paid work force.
Established in 1920, the Women's Bureau plays a critical function in helping women become aware of their legal rights in the workplace and guiding them to appropriate enforcement agencies for help. The Regional Offices take the lead on the issues that working women care about the most - training for higher paying jobs and non-traditional employment, enforcing laws against pay discrimination, and helping businesses create successful child-care and other family-friendly policies, to name only a few initiatives.
The Regional Offices have achieved real results for wage-earning women for eighty-one years, especially for those who have low incomes or language barriers. The one-on-one assistance provided at the Regional Offices cannot be replaced by a Web site or an electronic voice mail system maintained in Washington.
You can take action on this issue today! Go to http://capwiz.com/nwlc/home/ to write to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and tell her you care about keeping the Regional Offices of the Women's Bureau in operation. You can also let E. Mitchell Daniels, Jr., Director of the Office of Management and Budget, know how you feel about this. You can write a letter of your own or use one we've prepared for you.
If you find this information useful, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues and encourage them to sign up to receive Email Action Alerts from the National Women's Law Center at www.nwlc.org/email.
Thank you!
Book about menstruation published in Spain
The Spanish journalist who contributed some words for menstruation to this site last year and wrote about this museum (MUM) in the Madrid newspaper "El País" just co-authored with her daughter a book about menstruation (cover at left).
She writes, in part,
Dear Harry Finley,
As I told you, my daughter (Clara de Cominges) and I have written a book (called "El tabú") about menstruation, which is the first one to be published in Spain about that subject. The book - it talks about the MUM - is coming out at the end of March and I just said to the publisher, Editorial Planeta, to contact you and send you some pages from it and the cover as well. I'm sure that it will be interesting to you to have some information about the book that I hope has enough sense of humour to be understood anywhere. Thank you for your interest and help.
If you need anything else, please let me know.
Best wishes,
Margarita Rivière
Belen Lopez, the editor of nonfiction at Planeta, adds that "Margarita, more than 50 years old, and Clara, 20, expose their own experiences about menstruation with a sensational sense of humour." (publisher's site)
My guess is that Spaniards will regard the cover as risqué, as many Americans would. And the book, too. But, let's celebrate!
I earlier mentioned that Procter & Gamble was trying to change attitudes in the Spanish-speaking Americas to get more women to use tampons, specifically Tampax - a hard sell.
Compare this cover with the box cover for the Canadian television video about menstruation, Under Wraps, and the second The Curse.
An American network is now developing a program about menstruation for a popular cable channel; some folks from the network visited me recently to borrow material.
And this museum lent historical tampons and ads for a television program in Spain last year.
Now, if I could only read Spanish! (I'm a former German teacher.)
Irregular menses identify women at high risk for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which exists in 6-10% of women of reproductive age. PCOS is a major cause of infertility and is linked to diabetes.
