Kotex sells its pads in early vending machines. See a Kotex pad sold in a 1930s vending machine.
See some pad dispensers and ads for pads that come with pouches: New Freedom and Whenever, from the U.S.A., and Camelia, from Germany.
See also the booklets How shall I tell my daughter? (Modess, various dates), Growing up and liking it (Modess, various dates), and Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (Kotex, 1928).
And read Lynn Peril's series about these and similar booklets!
See more Kotex items: First ad (1921) - ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog) - Lee Miller ads (first real person in amenstrual hygiene ad, 1928) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (booklet for girls, 1928, Australian edition; there are many links here to Kotex items) - Preparing for Womanhood (1920s, booklet for girls; Australian edition) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing disposal method - box from about 1969 - "Are you in the know?" ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) - See more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepageMUM 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

Disposal bags for sanitary napkins, page 5 (see pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Melissa Terras, now Director of University College London Centre for Digital Humanities and Professor of Digital Humanities, UCL, generously contributed these bags she collected on her visits to conferences around Europe. Years ago Dr Terras started these pages by sending me disposal bags while studying at Christ Church, Oxford University for her doctorate. Thanks again, Mel!

Except where noted, the backs of the bags are blank.

Read an introduction on page 1.

 

 
Above: This a plastic bag from the Hilton Hotel at Gatwick Airport, England. The other bags on this page are paper. I find it interesting that it has only English text unlike the other European bags.
Above: From Paris.

 

 

Above: From Oslo
Above: What looks like lilies of the valley seems designed to counter the odor of menstruation, at least mentally. See a later version.

 

 

Next Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 of disposal bags. Kotex sells its pads in early vending machines. See a Kotex pad sold in a 1930s vending machine. See some pad dispensers.

© 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