Read some of the ethnic
jokes that appeared in this and the May issue
from 1936.
Read a Personal Products booklet for older girls from about this time,
The Periodic Cycle (1938). See similar
booklets on this site.
See a Kotex ad advertising a Marjorie May
booklet.
See many more similar booklets.
See ads for menarche-education booklets:
Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (Kotex, 1932),
Tampax tampons (1970, with Susan Dey), Personal
Products (1955, with Carol Lynley), and German o.b.
tampons (lower ad, 1981)
And read Lynn Peril's series about these
and similar booklets!
Read the full text of the 1935 Canadian edition
of Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday, probably identical to the American edition.
More ads for teens (see also introductory
page for teenage advertising): Are you in the know? (Kotex napkins and Quest napkin powder, 1948, U.S.A.),
Are you in the know? (Kotex
napkins and belts, 1949, U.S.A.)Are you in
the know? (Kotex napkins, 1953, U.S.A.),
Are you in the know? (Kotex
napkins and belts, 1964, U.S.A.), Freedom
(1990, Germany), Kotex (1992, U.S.A.), Pursettes (1974, U.S.A.), Pursettes (1974, U.S.A.), Saba (1975, Denmark)
See early tampons and a list of tampon on this site - at least the ones I've cataloged.
 
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Venus menstrual pads and panties ad, 1936
The Venus Corporation advertised its pads (see another ad
and see a pad and box) and underpants in The
American Girl magazine (published by the Girl Scouts of America), June 1936.
Words from Greek and Roman times, like Venus, used to appear much more
often on products, reflecting a greater familiarity with them. Kids actually
took Latin and Greek in high school, which is rare today. Two of the earliest
ads for menstrual belts in the Sears catalog bore the names Diana, goddess
of the hunt, moon, and virgins; and Venus, goddess of love.
It seems a tad bold for the company to advertise in the official Girl
Scout magazine. But kids are always one step ahead of you, anyway.
I can't resist it: read some of the ethnic jokes that appeared
in this and the May issue from 1936. See the underpants
& panties directory.
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The Belt-N-Pantee appears enlarged below.
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The small words from the ad at left appear enlarged
above.
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Tight-fitting women's underpants
- briefs & panties, above - probably came
into general use about this time (1936), at least by the evidence of the
Sears, Roebuck catalog. Up to then women wore
long, loose-fitting "boxer" type underpants for everyday wear,
although for menstrual purposes "sanitary panties"
go back to at least the early 1920s (apparently originally for over-night
use), and look like babies' diaper underpants from the early decades of
the twentieth century (also sold through the Sears catalog).
Women and babies both involuntarily produce secretions, to
put it politely, and tight-fitting underpants hold absorbent material against
the body. Belts by themselves couldn't do
a good job of keeping a pad in place, especially at night. Commercial
tampons didn't appear until the early 1930s and faced many barriers to acceptance.
The women on the 1912 British Olympic swimming team in Stockholm
wore tight-fitting trunks under a nearly full-body covering, so the concept
was alive at least by then.
I have read that underpants were most recently developed
in the early 19th century, in England, when girls were asked to become more
athletic in schools. The underpants shielded their genitals from view. The
idea then spread to France.
A visitor to this museum reasonably suggested that the available
fabrics determined what kind of underpants, or any clothing, could be developed
at any given time.
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I can't resist it: read some of the ethnic jokes that appeared
in this and the May issue from 1936.
Underpants & panties directory
© 1999 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
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