And read comments from people who have used a cup.
Do cups cause endometriosis? Not enough
evidence, says the FDA.
 
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A History of the Menstrual Cup (continued)
Foldene (1930s-1940s?, U.S.A.)
Printing on the box claims that this cup is based on the same patents
as the Daintette cup (see here on
the Daintette page); the cups look alike except for color and Foldene's
slightly smaller size. Both boxes carry a silhouette of a woman, although
they're different. The Foldene came from Foldene Inc., in Cleveland, Ohio,
but the Daintette stems from almost half a country away, The Dainty Maid,
Inc., company of Middlefield, Connecticut. Another mystery to solve!
Procter & Gamble kindly donated this cup, along with many other
items, to the museum.
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The arrows point to two of six holes allowing air in, making it easier to
withdraw the cup without taking your insides with it, as the air breaks
the vacuum.
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The greatest diameter is about 1.4" (ca. 3.7 cm.);
this example is bent out of shape and very hard.
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The bottom of the box bears the stamped words, JUNIOR SIZE.
The "no belts, no pins, no pads," above, or variations thereof,
is very common on tampon boxes and in advertising of the 1930s and 1940s,
when tampon manufacturers were trying to wrest women away from pads - they
still are. Tampons are a hard sell in much of the world. But women chaffed,
literally, under the burden of belts and pads (read a medical
report from 1945 about this).
"THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONS [sic] CONTRIBUTION TO Womanhood"
seems like a pittance of a contribution from thousands of doctors, but cups
are an advance if women can get themselves to use them. The statement aims
to make the reader believe that doctors invented the cup, which is otherwise
unproved. But it would likely impress the woman considering buying it.
The cup the museum has is hard as a rock,
in spite of the statement at left. It must have been flexible in its youth
- this is FOLDene, after all, and would be inserted by folding the cup upon
itself, as these types of cups are (see the patents).
Unfortunately I found no instructions in the box.
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© 1997-2006 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 hfinley@mum.org
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