Since 2014, May 28 has been World Menstrual Hygiene Day. This date is not random. Average menstrual cycles last 28 days, and periods last approximately 5 days per month (May is the fifth month).
There are many ways to maintain regular periods. You can let the blood out or use a cloth to collect the blood. Women used different methods to manage their periods throughout history, long before the invention of menstrual products. We will now discuss the practical aspects and menstrual leave.
Medicine has been fascinated by menstruation since ancient times. However, it still doesn’t fully understand them. Nahema Hanafi is a lecturer in modern historical at the University of Angers.
Over the centuries, this view has dominated medical circles as well as society. The historian explains that in modern times (15th-18th century), women use remedies to encourage regular blood evacuation. She also performs physical exercises and takes emmenagogue herbs (which regulate the menstrual cycle) such as enemas.
Antiquity also saw a derogatory view of menstruation, which considered this blood to be impure.
Women who were part of the same family or community shared their knowledge mainly with one another. They also shared the rules with men. “Menstruation is discussed in medieval and modern times because it is a vital health topic that affects the entire family,” Ms. Hanafi says. For example, women of the nobility may mention their periods in correspondence with their uncles or fathers.
The 19th century saw the rise of the bourgeoisie who created new social models. Rules were made taboo. Modesty is a feminine virtue. Nahema Hanafi explains, “In this movement we take away women’s gaze anything related to the body or sexuality, which will stop them from being informed and from discussing these subjects.”
Women have worn dresses or skirts throughout history.
Peasant women allowed blood to flow against their bodies. In the absence of panties, the women of the bourgeoisie and nobility used cloths to collect the blood, which were held in place by hooks or knots.
Note that women used to have fewer menstrual cycles due to having more pregnancies. According to the National Institute for Demographic Studies, the average age at which first menstruation began was 16 in 1750. This is compared to 12.6 today.
In the United States and Britain, the first menstrual products were developed towards the end 19th century. Sharra Vostral (a professor of history at Purdue University in the United States) describes how these towels’ ancestors were rough, loose, and difficult to wear. They fastened with elastic waistbands and ties.
In a time of increasing consumption, towels were popularized in the 1920s thanks to advertisements. The same thing happened with Tampons in the 1930s.
Vostral points to the fact that women were often considered fragile during periods. “These products allowed them pretend they weren’t having them, overcome any associated prejudices, and continue their professional and leisure activities.”
Although the menstrual cup was first introduced in the 1930s, it became more popular in the 2000s.
For the past few decades, women have had new options when it comes to their period days. Elise Thiebaut (La Decouverte 2017) says that it took many years to develop periodical products that would meet the comfort and needs of women.
On the occasion of May 28, International Day of Menstrual Hygiene and International Day of Action for Women’s Health, we reveal our latest survey with @opinionway pic.twitter.com/FJVRHFtZ0x
Nevertheless, rules are a hot topic in public discussion. Accounts such as “Coup de sang”, which is a social network, inform young people. Associations, such as Elementary Rules fight against menstrual poverty. Ads now show period blood in red instead of blue.
Is this the sign of the end to the taboo? “Speech has been made in an extraordinary way in the last five years but only in certain circles, certain generations and certain countries,” nuance Elise Thiebaut.
