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).
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The Museum of Menstruation and Women's
Health
Original museum
and reaction to it.
o.b. tampon ad,
probably about 2000
Flair magazine, Belgium
In a bind?
Well, o.b. is for you!
o.b. means "ohne Binde" in German, ohne meaning
without.
A confession: Binde
kinda, sorta means bind but in
this case in German - the 'pon
originated in Germany - it means menstrual pad.
You can maybe see a connection.
So
o.b. means without
a pad. Here,
meaning a tampon.
Pretty neat, huh?
In an ad
in 1984, the company claimed
that a German woman, Judith Esser,
"designed" o.b., maybe the first
commercial tampon originating in
Europe and now of course it's
everywhere. (Tampax probably was
the first
commercial tampon in Europe. See
its Dutch
ad from 1938.)
Read
also
- the roughly
contemporary Dutch
o.b. Volwassen
worden ("Growing
up," excerpts),
menstruation and puberty booklet
for teenage girls, 2004
- the American
o.b. booklet "
Your Personal
Guide to Menstruation and
Tampon Usage," complete booklet, 1988
- an artsy German
o.b.
booklet for girls about
menstruation and puberty, excerpts,
1977, with photos by David
Hamilton
Margot van Mulken kindly sent me
this ad, one of scores, along with
many photocopies of Dutch ads, as part
of her research for her article "De
verpakking
van maandverband: De ontwikkeling van
retoriek in tijdschriftadvertenties"
(The Packaging of of Menstrual Pads:
The Development of Rhetoric in
Magazine Advertising) in Tidschift
voor Genderstudies (Journal of
Gender Studies),
2005-1.
See another
one she sent me, from
1998.
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Below:
The ad measures about 8 1/4 x 11
1/4" (21 x 28.6 cm).
See a failed tampon from an
earlier America (around 1937)
(Fibs,
a great name), like this o.b.
designed for
"Invisible
Sanitary Protection
for the last days."
Sort of the End Times.
But would you need
tampons then? Or
anything else?
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My translation:
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In the last days of your
period the loss of fluid decreases.
[See remarks
above left.] As a result
the insertion and removal of a
tampon is less comfortable.
o.b. Comfort is for these days. Due
to its more slender shape, silky
covering and smaller end it's easier
to insert and remove. So
that you can also use tampons during the
lighter days as well as on the other
days of the month, and feel clean and at
ease.
"Have you tried it already for the
lighter days?"
o.b. Comfort
Have any questions?
Write:
o.b. Advice Center
[Almere is a city in the Netherlands]
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Copyright 2007 Harry Finley
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