read the second A Note from Germany
- see another Camelia ad
A Note from Germany
(1997)
by Petra Habiger
When I came across the MUM site for the very first time I was
surprised.
I had never seen or heard of anything comparable before.
I thought that this museum was a really great idea! The topic
"menstruation"
is still taboo and many people (men and women) don't exactly know
how to
behave or deal with it, because there are still few people (men
and women
again) who really understand the mental and physical processes or
accept
them as something as natural as eating or breathing. There are
also many
prejudices against menstruation coming from ancient myths.
And the industry of female hygiene products brazenly exploits
that.
Well, part of my job is to inform young women and girls at
schools about
women's health and advise them concerning menstrual hygiene. I
once posed
a question to MUM, and I have to admit that
I was
not pleased that my question was answered by a male. Of
course, I believed that a Museum of
Menstruation could only be
run by a woman.
Well, I was wrong! Harry Finley is the proof! Of course, a man
can never
really "feel like a woman," but Harry convinced me that it is
often better that someone not personally involved in a subject
create a
museum for that subject. For Harry, menstruation is interesting
from the
standpoint of the history of culture.
The MUM site is unique and marvelous. I never saw something of
that
complexity before so full of information. Maintaining and updating
those
pages is a lot of hard work.
I would almost say that the MUM pages represent a kind of online
museum.
You can find everything that has to do with menstruation in the
broadest
sense.
Recently Harry asked me to provide him
with news
from abroad from Germany or Europe. It's a pleasure for me to do
that.
And for all who want to know something
about me:
My name is Petra, I am 31 and I live
with
my husband, my daughter and a little cat in a small village in the
beautiful
landscape of southern Germany.
My career started when one day I was asked to stand in for a
friend
who got sick and do her job as a counselor at the health
department for
three weeks. As I was already engaged in such things at a high
school, I
got to like it and I decided to stay with it. I also work as a
bookkeeper,
but I have the liberty to divide up my time by myself.
Now I am part of a group of women which teaches girls and women
at schools,
high schools and colleges the broad field of practical female
health. We
try to answer all questions women hesitate to pose. And this means
especially
questions concerning the health of genitalia, menstruation,
menstrual products,
sex education for girls (that far too often is neglected by the
parents),
etc. We recommend books and other literature, show pads and
tampons and
give instructions on how to use them. We arrange workshops in
bookstores
or cafes. If you have any questions please feel free to send me an
email
to aehnelt@mail.teleconsult.de
I also would like to show you an advertisement
that appeared
right before World War II for Camelia pads, the first disposable
pad in
Germany. I've translated the text instead of reproducing it:
(Text of the ad follows)
Is housework really only
"child's
play?
No, certainly not. Science found out that, for
example,
when ironing, a woman consumes as much power as if she were
carrying 26
kilograms. This doesn't matter to the woman pictured here even in
the worst
days of the month. You can see how cheerful she looks! Just the
type that
manages her life always with a smile on her lips.
Don't you want to be as powerful, and fresh and
bouncy
and never suffer from the critical days?!
Get help from the modern Camelia hygiene, because
Camelia
protects you from all unnecessary troubles. Camelia, the ideal
reform sanitary
pad, preserves your working power, your freshness and your good
mood. Because
of their great absorbency, the numerous layers of finest Camelia
cotton
wool (cellulose) give you the feeling of utmost safety and enable
discreet
disposal, whereas the unique Camelia belt supplies trouble-free
wear.
See another, earlier
Camelia
ad (at the bottom of that page).
Read the second A Note from Germany
first
page | contact the
museum | art of menstruation |
artists
(non-menstrual) | belts | bidets
| Bly, Nellie | MUM board
| books (and reviews)
| cats | company
booklets
directory | costumes | cups
| cup usage | dispensers
| douches, pain, sprays | essay
directory | extraction | famous
people | FAQ | humor
| huts | links
| media | miscellaneous
|
museum future | Norwegian
menstruation
exhibit | odor | pad
directory | patent medicine |
poetry
directory | products, current
| religion | menstrual products safety
| science | shame
| sponges | synchrony
| tampon directory | early tampons
| teen ads directory | tour
(video) | underpants
directory | videos, films
directory | washable pads
© 1998 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