Here are some of the ways women have managed menstruation throughout the ages:
- Ancient Times: Women fashioned pads and tampons out of whatever they had on hand, from paper and wool to vegetable fibers and grass. ...
- Middle-Ages: Torn-up rags were the top choice in period care. ...
- 19th Century: In the 1800s, women began placing pieces of rubber (AKA rubber aprons) in their underwear to collect the blood. ...
What did menstruating women do?
Historians do know that in many parts of the ancient world, menstruating women were strongly associated with mystery, magic, and even sorcery. For example, Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and natural philosopher, wrote that a nude menstruating woman could prevent hailstorms and lightning, and even scare away insects from farm crops.
Why did women have fewer periods in ancient times?
It’s very likely that women in ancient times had fewer periods than they do now, due to the possibility of malnourishment, or even the fact that menopause began sooner in earlier eras — as early as age 40, as Aristotle noted. However, there’s little evidence surrounding how ancient women handled blood flow.
What were ancient tampons made of?
Assumptions of ragged cloths that were re-washed, tampons made of papyrus or wooden sticks wrapped in lint, or “ loincloths ” in Egypt have circulated, but no one really knows what women in fact used during this time.
What did ancient people see as menstruation?
Without much knowledge about biology or the human reproductive system, ancient and medieval humans simply saw menstruation as females bleeding without being injured — a phenomenon that appeared to correspond to changes in the moon.
What did the Ebers Papyrus say about vaginal bleeding?
In ancient Egypt, the Ebers Papyrus (1550 BC) hinted at vaginal bleeding as an ingredient in certain medicines. In biblical times, ancient Hebrews upheld laws of Niddah, in which menstruating women went into seclusion and had to be separated from the rest of society for seven “clean” days.
What did the Mayans believe in?
Interestingly, in some cases, the ancient Mayans believed the blood could turn into medicinal plants too. The Mayan moon goddess, associated with womanhood and fertility, is pictured here with a rabbit. Wikimedia.
Why is blood used in ancient cultures?
Period blood held plenty of different meanings in ancient cultures, and was often used as a “charm” of sorts based on a belief that it had powerful abilities to purify, protect, or cast spells. In ancient Egypt, the Ebers Papyrus (1550 BC) hinted at vaginal bleeding as an ingredient in certain medicines.
Why were women not allowed to work during their periods?
(We’ve all bled through our pants. It’s not fun.) In France, some girls weren’t allowed to work while they were on their periods, especially in food factories because their employers thought they would spoil the products.
What did Cleopatra do to help her period?
Using what they had, they crafted tampons out of soft papyrus around wood or made pads out of wool, paper, moss, animal skins or grass. Generally that time of the month was considered a “cleansing time” for women, and some believed that menstrual blood had healing powers.
What was the trendiest fashion statement of all time?
Eventually, pads became more popular and girls stopped worrying about ruining their clothes. The only catch? The pads were attached to suspenders, aka the trendiest fashion statement of all time. As time went on, the suspenders were replaced by menstrual belts, which were as pleasant as they sound.
What culture was considered impure?
However, not all ancient cultures were as accepting as the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. In the Jewish culture, women were considered “impure” while they were on their periods. They were even physically separated from men and their husbands! During that time, if you were on your period and you touched something, that object was also considered impure and a rabbi had to bless it before anyone else could use it. Talk about harsh.
What was the dawn of modern menstrual intervention?
The Dawn of Modern Menstrual Intervention. Towards the turn of the century, women were able to have the chance to be more comfortable during their monthly periods. More so, several citizens and medical practitioners became concerned with how women handled their menstruations and the potential health risks it brings.
Why is there little evidence of menstruation?
Ancient beliefs about menstruation. It is said that little has been documented from history about menstruation. One possible reason was that most scribes who recorded their ancient daily lives back then were males.
What did the Mayans believe about menstruation?
On the other hand, Mayans believed that menstruation was the end result of a punishment after the Moon Goddess had a forbidden relationship with the Sun God. Apparently, the Moon Goddess’ blood can transform into different animals, plants, and even diseases. Moreover, it was also believed that ancient women had lesser blood flow.
What did medieval women use to cover up the smell of menstrual blood?
To cover up the scent of menstrual blood, medieval women were said to have carried sweet-smelling herbs with them. More so, they also used odd medicines such as powdered toad to lessen menstrual flow.
When was the first menstrual pad invented?
One of the earliest modern forms of menstrual pads was the Hoosier sanitary belt. Invented around the 1880’s, it was composed of a washable pad attached to a belt around the waist.
Why did menopause begin?
Likewise, it is said that menopause began as early as 40 years of age. One possible reason was most probably due to the lack of nutrition. Nonetheless, the main victims of this widespread misinformation were the menstruating women.
When was the tampon invented?
Meanwhile, Dr. Earle Haas invented the first tampon in 1929. It was said to be inspired by a female friend who would tuck a sponge inside her vagina during her menstruation.
What did ancient scholars believe about menstrual blood?
Vesuvius’ famous eruption of 79AD, warned that contact with menstrual blood: “turns new wine sour, crops touched by it become barren, grafts die, seed in gardens dry up, the fruit falls off tress, steel edges blunt and the gleam of ivory is dulled, bees die in their hives, even bronze and iron are at once seized by rust, and a horrible smell fills the air; to taste it drives dogs mad and infects their bites with an incurable poison.” Such superstitious attitudes clung on through the ages, and reinforced the medieval Church’s suspicion towards women.
When were menstrual rags used?
Such “menstruous rags”, as they are called in the Bible (in 1600s England they were called “clouts”) continued in use for millennia, despite the fact that most Western women wandered about knickerless between the medieval era and the early 1800s, with the only exceptions having been the fashionable ladies of 16 th century Italy.
What to do if your vagina doesn't work?
If that didn’t work, gentler remedies included potions of herbs and wine, or vaginal pessaries made up of mashed fruits and vegetables. The barber’s knife was wisely the last resort.
How often did Queen Lizzie take a bath?
Queen Lizzie also famously took a bath once a month “ whether she needed it or not ”, and this was likely at the end of her flow. Such intimate hygiene may now strike us as purely practical, but there was an ancient spiritual significance to such things. In Judaism’s Halakha laws, as soon as a woman begins bleeding she enters into the profane state of Niddah and is not allowed to touch her husband until she has slept on white sheets for a week, to prove the bloodshed is over. Only when the fibres are verifiably unstained can she then wash herself in the sacred Mikvah bath and return to the marital bed. Similarly, Islamic tradition also dictates that a woman must have conducted her post-menstrual ritual ablutions before she can make love to her husband. What’s more, during her period a Muslim woman is not allowed inside a Mosque, and cannot pray or fast during Ramadan.
What were the problems women faced in the pre-antibiotic age?
In the pre-Antibiotic Age, when nourishing food could be scarce and workplace Health & Safety didn’t exist, many women were likely to suffer from vitamin deficiency, disease, or bodily exhaustion. As is still the case, such stressors could interrupt the body’s hormonal balance and delay or accelerate the arrival of menses.
Can a Muslim woman pray during Ramadan?
What’s more, during her period a Muslim woman is not allowed inside a Mosque, and cannot pray or fast during Ramadan. Such menstrual ‘impurity’ is also visible in ancient medical beliefs, though in Ancient Egypt period blood could be used positively as a medical ingredient.
Did medieval women have supernatural powers?
Given Pliny’s dire warnings of bloody peril, coupled with the Church’s institutional misogyny, it’s unsurprising that medieval European women were therefore believed to temporarily possess supernatural powers of evil during their monthly visits from Mother Nature. These outlandish scare-stories could be truly bizarre.
Considering Muhammad had several wives who were well-educated and scholarly, how did sects of Islam become so hostile to educating women?
Upon reading about the wives of Muhammad, I was taken aback by how active and well educated many of his wives appeared to be. Particularly the scholarly background of Aisha bint Abu Bakr. Given that foundation, how then did certain sects of Islam come to demonize the education of women?
In Jarhead, a marine trainee in the scout sniper program stands up during a crawling exercise and gets shot. How common were such training exercise deaths from live ammunition at the time?
I think I'm in the clear on the 20-year-rule because the movie/book Jarhead covers a period of time more than 20 years ago. Nonetheless, I know it's based on a memoir (and I read it a time ago) but can't remember if this particular incident is in the book, nor how accurate it would be regardless.
How do we know that "Saturn Devouring One of His Sons" by Francisco Goya is in fact depicting Saturn and his Child if the 'Black Paintings' were not named and only found after his death?
It's my understanding that the paintings in the Quinta Del Sordo were never meant to be seen by anyone, were not named, and also were not found until after Goya's death. Could the paintings not have just been the artistic vision coming from a man losing his mind? how do we know it is in fact a painting of Saturn eating his Child?
The Jewish Temple at Elephantine postdates the Babylonian Exile, when the Jews are thought to have transitioned to monotheism. Yet the documents found at that temple attest to polytheistic worship of YHVH and his wife, Anat-Yahu. What does this reveal about the evolution of Judaism?
It is generally thought that the Jews were at first polytheistic, worshipping a large pantheon of Canaanite gods, with YHVH as the chief god.
My great grandfather was in the SAS, serving in Norway in WW2. He brought back a polar bear skin coat, which according to family legend came from a U-boat captain. Is this plausible? Can anyone identify it? (Image in text)
Hi, we’re clearing out my grandmothers house at the moment, and came across this coat in the attic - my uncle mentioned that it was brought back from Norway by my great grandfather who served there in the SAS in WW2, and he said it supposedly came from a U-boat captain..
Ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans
Biblical Times
The 1800s
1870s
- Even Cleopatra had to deal with her mood swings and bloating once a month. During the ancient times when tampons and pads didn’t exist, women got creative in dealing with their periods. Using what they had, they crafted tampons out of soft papyrus around wood or made pads out of wool, paper, moss, animal skins or grass. Generally that time of the m...
Post WWI
- However, not all ancient cultures were as accepting as the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. In the Jewish culture, women were considered “impure” while they were on their periods. They were even physically separated from men and their husbands! During that time, if you were on your period and you touched something, that object was also considered impure and a rabbi …
1930s-1980s
- That time of the month wasn’t much easier for women in 19thcentury Europe. While some women were lucky enough to wear pads, most could not afford them and just bled into their clothing. (We’ve all bled through our pants. It’s not fun.) In France, some girls weren’t allowed to work while they were on their periods, especially in food factories because their employers thought they wo…
Today
- Eventually, pads became more popular and girls stopped worrying about ruining their clothes. The only catch? The pads were attached to suspenders, aka the trendiest fashion statement of all time. As time went on, the suspenders were replaced by menstrual belts, which were as pleasant as they sound.