Ad for an Elldy tampon (Japan) with applicator (October 1996).
Early Japanese tampon (1977): Shampon Young.
A Japanese university student generously sent me the ad, along with others, some very old, which were part of a paper she wrote about the history of the Japanese menstrual products industry.
Ads for the Kotex stick tampon (U.S.A., 1970s) - a Japanese stick tampon from the 1970s.
Early commercial tampons - Rely tampon - Meds tampon (Modess)
And, of course, the first Tampax AND - special for you! - the American fax tampon, from the early 1930s.
See a Modess True or False? ad in The American Girl magazine, January 1947, and actress Carol Lynley in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" booklet ad (1955) - Modess . . . . because ads (many dates).
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.

Ad for Kotex menstrual napkins, March 1992,
Good Housekeeping magazine, U.S.A.
No one forced her to do this!

Look at the most painful smile you'll probably ever see in an ad for menstrual gear!

Who can blame her? Someone asked her to wear white pants, sit on a bench and invite millions of people to look at her crotch to see if they can see a menstrual pad or, worse, red. Or even worse, both. And she's not looking you in the eye.

On the other hand, I don't think she's doing this for free.

I find her expression agonizing; she might be ready to cry (see an enlargement below the ad). The guy is more relaxed but he wasn't asked to expose himself in the worst way possible for a clothed woman. Properly brought-up American women don't - well, you know!

As I mentioned elsewhere on this site, the Rumanian-American artist Saul Steinberg said that Americans don't smile on only two occasions: when looking at art and in the presence of a dead person (although I dispute the latter based on my attendence at funeral parlor viewings).

Americans wear emotional masks; Steinberg made and often wore real masks when being interviewed - after he became naturalized as an American. The Smithsonian's Museum of American Art once presented a gallery of Steinberg's work and the masks he made - and a photo of his wearing one.

Japanese also wear masks; that's another fascinating topic.

Mormon proselytizers in Switzerland were once warned in a booklet that the Swiss smiled far less than Americans, saving them often for family and friends. So remember that when you knock on their doors.

OK, now look at a French woman in a similar situation! Sure, it's a false smile but at least she's not ready to have a nervous breakdown. Those French!

Pad directory - tampon directory


 
Below: What a brave, painful smile! It'll all be over in a second! Oh, wait, you'll be featured on a Web site 15 years later. Um, what's your name? The guy's thinking, Can't wait till I tell my buds what I did today!
 
NEXT white ad (Camelia, Germany, 1992) - Ad for an Elldy (Japan) with applicator (October 1996) - Early Japanese tampon (1977): Shampon Young - Pad directory - tampon directory
© 2007 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