See a Norwegian exhibit about menstruation.
Washable pads
See nineteenth-century Norwegian washable pads - See contemporary washable pads - Women sometimes wore washable pads with a sanitary apron
Belt topics
See how women wore a belt (and in a Swedish ad). See a modern belt for a washable pad and a page from the 1946-47 Sears catalog showing a great variety - ad for Hickory belts, 1920s? - Modess belts in Personal Digest (1966)
What did European women use in the past for menstruation?
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: homepage | MUM 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

A museum visitor from the Philippines, a chemist now living in Los Angeles, scolded your MUM director for having incorrectly fastened the Kotex menstrual napkin to the belt, at right - hey, I'm just a guy!

She thoughtfully took a minute to retie it on the mannequin (not shown; this is an older photo), saying, with an edge to her voice, we can't let it fall off. She was old enough to have worn belts and pads for years.

Younger visitors often see what a menstrual belt looks like for the first time; many have just vaguely heard of them.

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© 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.or

Women have worn variations of menstrual pads and belts probably for centuries. In America the Kotex sanitary napkin belt with pad (near left) was common from 1921 (when the brand was started; see its first ad) to the 1970s (see a Swedish ad from this time), when self-adhesive pads for menstruation came on the market. (See many old menstrual belts.)

But women can still buy menstrual pads and belts from smaller manufacturers, as the far left mannequin shows. This is a washable menstrual pad from a Canadian manufacturer; inserts add thickness for added protection to the sanitary napkin.