See the same ad from the Netherlands, 1938, with slightly different text. See a very early ad, 1936, U.S.A.
More Tampax items: First tampon with applicator (1931-33?) box, tampon, instructions - 1936: box, tampon, patent (with a short account of the invention of Tampax by Dr. Earle Haas, and of the first Tampax president, German immigrant Gertrude Tenderich), ad, instructions, dealer's instructions, dealers' advisory
See also Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) - Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) - Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) - Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Liasan (2) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol ad, 1938 - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone menstrual pain pills ad, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Sterizol douche liquid ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) - Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page
More Midol: Midol booklet (selections), 1959, and Midol ad, 1938
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.

Tampax menstrual tampon ad, 1938, U.S.A.

Tampax made possibly the first widely successful commercial tampon in the early 1930s (see a contender) but faced opposition from the Catholic Church and those thinking that using tampons would take a women's virginity (that was - is? - still an issue in the 1990s in America). Another concern was that it could get lost. Some of these problems Tampax addressed through the Dickinson Report, in 1945, but some linger today. And then there's the toxic shock possibility (read about Rely tampon), although that likelihood is much reduced.

"No belts, no pins, no pads" addressed one of the main complaints women had in dealing with menstruation and Tampax used those words for many years. See a later one. And see a clever French translation in another 1938 ad.

The same ad with slightly different text appeared in the Netherlands in 1938. My guess is that Tampax was the first commercial tampon in Europe, although women had made their own for decades and probably longer, especially in the theatrical profession.

Tampon directory.

See the same ad in Dutch, 1938, with slightly different text. Tampon directory.

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