Do you easily pronounce the word “menstruation” in a conversation with a man: “easy”, “a little embarrassed” or “never say”?
According to psychologists, five or six women out of 10 choose the answer “a little embarrassed” and only one out of 10 respondents answers “easily.” Let’s take a short excursion into history and find out why everything turned out this way.
Who is to blame and what to do?
Women began to experience shame before menstruation even in prehistoric times – with the onset of patriarchy. The harsh hunters found menstruation dirty and disgusting. In order to hide their condition and maintain attractiveness in the eyes of men, women retired in a special hut.
The first hygiene products for women appeared in Ancient Egypt. Wealthy Egyptians made tampons from papyrus; the poor used cloth, which was then washed. Wool cloth and tampons were also used by the women of Ancient Greece and Rome. The death of the Roman Empire led, among other things, to the complete disappearance of feminine hygiene products.
However, in the Middle Ages, women did not feel much need for them. The period between the onset of menstruation and menopause was filled with childbirth and breastfeeding. A woman has faced the problem of discharge 10–20 times in her entire life. And since it was not customary to wear underwear then, the problem was solved with the help of a lower skirt or shirt tucked between the legs.
Suffragettes fighting for hygiene
Everything changed in the XNUMXth century. With the growth of independence and the decrease in the number of children, new needs arose for women. After the First World War, the first disposable pads were released in America. But in spite of their relevance, manufacturers are faced with the problem of distribution. It was considered indecent to mention menstruation even in purely women’s publications.
Desperate manufacturers of pads have launched an advertising campaign for children. Information about hygiene products has appeared in books and cartoons for girls. And only later, when the ground was prepared, the advertisement got on the pages of women’s magazines.
By World War II, most women were already using tampons and pads. And the sexual revolution of the 1960s brought new strength to the solution of the problem of menstruation.
Achievements of our time
At the end of the 1990th century, women received a new ally. The IUD, an intrauterine hormonal system, was developed in Finland in 15 as a contraceptive. Due to the minimum dose of hormones, conception becomes impossible, and monthly menstruation passes quickly and painlessly or (in XNUMX% of women) is completely absent.
The IMS is very popular in European countries: in Sweden, for example, every fourth woman installs the hormonal system.
The twentieth century finally equated women with men. Politics, business, sports and sex – all these activities are now ours. Ours when we want it!