On average, people who menstruate will have around 450 periods in their lifetime. If your periods last for seven days at a time, then that translates to over eight years of your life dealing with blood and all the discomfort, guesswork, and expenses that can come with it. In that time, weโll likely go through various menstrual products to make our cycles more manageable.
However, just like menstruation itself, period products are shrouded in myths and a culture of shame. The end effect is that to this day, there are so many misconceptions about what exactly a period is and what products are appropriate to help us manage it.
That said, the history of period products may not be something youโd likely see as a chapter in a history book. But Iโd like to argue that it lets us better understand the complex reality that around half of the world deals with every month or so. More importantly, it offers a way for us to demystify menstruation, and to work towards period equity for people around the world.
Why Period Products Are Important
Period products tend to be necessities for those who are assigned female at birth (AFAB). This includes trans men and non-binary folk who experience menstruation, too, unless they use hormone replacement therapy (and even then, theyโd still experience some bleeding as they transition). It is estimated that at any given time, 800 million people around the world are menstruating.
There are many reasons why period products are important:
Cleanliness. Hygiene is, first and foremost, the most important benefit that period products provide. It ensures that the vulva โ what people tend to call โthe intimate areaโ โ is kept clean and maintains healthy pH levels. This helps avoid the formation of yeast and other infections.
Comfort. The menstrual cycle already presents a myriad of uncomfortable symptoms, such as cramps and back pain. Products that provide relief are essentials for any menstruating person.
Mobility. Periods can be constricting. The right period products can help you move around with ease without having to worry about your period.
Body knowledge. Some period products have also been developed to help people track their cycles. Apps like Clue provide tons of useful information about all aspects of oneโs period so they can get to know their bodies better.
This is especially useful in understanding and discussing your reproductive health, and how it works outside of just the seven days of your period. For instance, youโre more likely to have higher energy levels, better memory, and less pain in the first two weeks after your period, and then be more sluggish and forgetful in the weeks leading up to your period.
Self-esteem. Learning how to manage oneโs period can significantly boost self-esteem. It allows you to feel more comfortable in your body, as you recognize that your menstrual cycle is just another part of being human.
Overall wellbeing. Because of these physical and emotional benefits, period products enhance oneโs health and way of life, making them essential for wellbeing.
A Brief History
Over the centuries, periods have evolved alongside humanity and our changing habits. For example, the average age for menarche (the start of menstruation) is now 12, while in the 1800s, people started menstruating around five years later at 17.
Scientists attribute this change to better nutrition since then, as well as higher levels of stress โ which helps explain why a lot of our cycles have been messed up since the start of the pandemic.
As our experiences with periods change, so have the products that were made to help us manage them. Today, for instance, we can have pads and tampons delivered right to our doorstep. Letโs take a look at how these innovations have changed over time.
Ancient History: Wooden Tampons
Tampons werenโt always so common, but the Ancient Egyptians knew a thing or two about the concept of absorbing menstrual blood from inside the body. According to the book Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation, Egyptians used good old papyrus for their tampons.
Other ancient civilizations managed menstruation similarly. In Greece and Rome, people wrapped lint around pieces of wood to create tampon-shaped period tools.
Meanwhile, the Japanese preferred paper pads, while Native Americans used moss and buffalo skin to absorb blood.
1800s: Menstrual Cups and the First Disposable Napkin
The โall-naturalโ methods of absorbing menstrual blood were widely used up until the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s. Up until this time, Europeans and Americans bought woven fabric or flannel cloth for their periods.
It wasnโt until later on in the 1880s that the menstrual hygiene market formally began, introducing several patents for menstrual hygiene products. Some of these included the first menstrual cup, rubber underwear, and Listerโs towels, which were the first disposable sanitary napkins available.
Early 1900s: Better Absorbing Commercial Products
War heavily influenced the development of several modern inventions, and that includes menstrual products.
During the WWI era, field nurses discovered that cellulose, which was a commonly used polymer in bandages for wrapping wounds, was much better at absorbing blood than cloth bandages.
The first commercially sold sanitary napkins made by Kotex were actually made from surplus high-absorption war bandages, and these helped menstruating people manage their periods outside of the home more conveniently.
Still, there was plenty of embarrassment and stigma surrounding the act of shopping for menstrual hygiene products. In an effort to boost sales, Kotex went as far as to ask shop owners to leave sanitary napkins on counters with boxes where people could drop money as payment.
By 1927, Modess stepped up as a competitor and helped move the industry forward. It was revolutionary to have period products manufactured and easily disposable at the time, even if sanitary napkins werenโt an entirely new idea.
1930s and 1940s: The Modern Tampon
During these decades, some new period product inventions were introduced to the market. While tampons werenโt a new invention, as the ancient Egyptians and Greeks demonstrated, the idea was patented in 1933 under the brand name โTampax.โ
Healthcare professionals showed support for these period products, especially following concerns regarding the hygiene issues of pads. It was found that many women also preferred tampons to pads once they had learned how to use them.
Co-produced by Disney and Tampax, the 1946 educational video The Story of Menstruation was sent out for mass distribution in schools. The short film is certainly a product of its time in terms of its charming production and the in-your-face heteronormativity, but itโs still more informative than what many young people might be exposed to all these years later.
It even debunks several myths, like the supposed rule against bathing and exercise, and ends with a clear message: โThereโs nothing strange or mysterious about menstruation.โ
1950s: The Moral Dilemma on Virginity
While tampons were commercially successful, deemed hygienic, and very popular among menstruating people, some societies did not want to accept them. Questions about the morality of using such period products were a hot topic, especially where virginity was concerned.
(Concepts like virginity, morality, and sexuality have always had something of a winding, zig-zag understanding throughout history, as many ancient civilizations didn’t seem to have any problems with tampons.)
Because of these issues and how new commercial tampons were to the market still, pads continued to thrive with even more technological advances.
In 1956, Mary Kenner invented the sanitary belt, which was built with an adhesive to secure pads in place. It was adjustable and had a moisture-proof napkin pocket. However, the patent for her invention was denied for nearly three decades due to racial discrimination (she also had the double-whammy of experiencing gender discrimination during her time at Howard University).
Though she was never formally recognized for her inventions, her contributions paved the way for the development of todayโs menstrual pads.
1960s and 1970s: Tampon Revolution and Adhesives
The โ60s and โ70s said goodbye to belts and hello to maxi pads with adhesive strips that could be used by themselves. It also saw a resurgence in tampon use. By the end of the disco era, tampons became the preferred way to manage menstrual blood.
1980s: Innovation
Creativity was in the air during the 1980s. Companies started innovating period products in all sorts of ways, such as creating deodorant tampons (though this isnโt actually good for you!). They also tried to make super-absorbent tampons made of polyester. Unfortunately, these synthetics were attributed to toxic shock syndrome and recalled.
Crucially, it was also during this time that the culture of period shame began to be challenged. In 1985, Courtney Cox said the word โperiodโ on TV for a Tampax commercial โ she was one of the first people to ever do that.
While euphemisms are still used in traditional advertising today, other brands are starting to become more open with how they promote their products and explain the concept of menstruation and the reality of living with it.
2000s – Present: Better Products and Evolving Conversations
Some of the standard pads and tampon designs that were created decades ago are still used today, just with safer and better materials.
However, thereโs still an ongoing struggle to actually talk more about periods, the people who have them, and how they can be managed. In 2010, Kotex ran the Just Get Real campaign, which poked fun at the ridiculous ways popular commercials (including, well, Kotex) talked and still talk about periods.
In this one, a young girl asks her mom if she can talk to her about her period. To which the mother replies, โOf course, but since this is a TV commercial, Iโll have to use confusing metaphors. If I want to explain where a tampon goes, I canโt say the word that rhymes with the serious medical condition, angina.โ
Moreover, in 2019, Libraโs Blood Normal campaign drew in over 600 complaints with YouTubeโs Ad Standards for the audacity of showing period blood that isnโt blue.
Ads for period products have also started to become more reflective of reality in a different way: Theyโve started to become more inclusive.
After all, periods affect more than just ciswomen โ theyโre experienced by trans men and non-binary people, too.
In 2018, transgender model Kenny Jones led a campaign for Pink Parcel, a period subscription service.
Meanwhile, organic period product Callaly has run several campaigns aimed at changing the narrative about periods and menstruation, such as #StopCensoringVulvas and #TheWholeBloodyTruth.
Brands today are also working to create more sustainable options for people who menstruate. After all, weโre expected to use anywhere between 5,000 and 15,000 pads or tampons in our lifetimes, and this comes with some 400 pounds of packaging.
A lot of these are made with plastic and non-compostable materials, which can take up to 800 years โ or several lifetimes โ to decompose.
We canโt exactly go back to the papyrus of Ancient Egyptians, but brands have created reusable pads and underwear, as well as sustainable period cups to help alleviate the issue.
Moreover, organizations like the Local Womenโs Project have contributed to such efforts with reusable menstrual kits.
(Of course, thereโs something to be said about brands that greenwash their products, and the general attitude of guilt tripping ordinary individuals about a climate crisis caused largely by corporate greed โย but that is a conversation for another time.)
Period Equity Today
Period products are easy to take for granted. After all, many of us were born in places where theyโre available for purchase, and into families that could afford them for us until we got jobs of our own.
The same canโt be said for so many other people who menstruate. Around the world, an estimated 500 million people lack access to adequate menstrual products, education, and even hand-washing facilities and waste management systems. This keeps them from participating in basic activities like going to school or the office while menstruating.
Documentaries like Period. End of Sentence. explore this issue in great detail in far-off countries, but itโs an issue thatโs present in the U.S., too. For example, menstrual products were only made free in federal prisons as recently as 2017 โ and implementation has been spotty for inmates who are vulnerable to inhumane treatment, as well as humiliation from officers.
Moreover, the cost of tampons can very quickly add up. โThese products are not defined as essential, which means they are not covered by federal food stamps programs and other relief programs,โ explains Reilly Bealer, a medical student and period equity advocate. โThey are not included as essential items that would potentially be tax-exempt during a public health crisis such as COVID-19.โ
As a result, she points out, many people have to make the difficult choice between buying something as basic as tampons and other necessities like food for their families.
Itโs also worth noting the subtler ways the world shames people who menstruate. A 2018 survey found that around half of Americans who menstruate experience period shaming, or being made to feel bad for being on their periods.
Fortunately, there are solutions to period poverty. One of the most actionable ways to provide equity is to eliminate the tax on menstrual products. Another, which a handful of states have already undertaken, is to deem menstrual products as essential as toilet paper, and requiring schools to provide period products to their students. Options for subsidizing reusable products such as underwear or menstrual cups should also be explored.
At the end of the day, people shouldnโt have to struggle regularly just because they are on their periods. Something as natural to our bodies as our menstrual cycles shouldnโt have to be taboo.
The sooner we break away from the stigma, the sooner we can ensure that nobody struggles from a lack of access to tools weโve developed across centuries to help manage a very natural part of our lives โ and, more crucially, that nobody is ever robbed of opportunities like school and work because of it.