Rethinking the Flow: Unpacking Menstrual Wear

And (after an eternity)…we’re back! Join us today as we take a closer look at the fascinating (and perhaps a bit messy) history of period garments. Not breeches and corsets à la Bridgerton period dress, but the development of things like menstrual belts, vaginal packs, early tampons, and the rise of reusable options like the mooncup and period pants/panties. We’ll explore where these products came front, the cultural forces and taboos that shaped them, and how they’ve evolved in relation to changing societal attitudes toward menstruation. It’s sure to be a bloody brilliant ride!If you have any requests, questions, or simply feel like saying hello (we're friendly and Mr. B, our Executive Paw-ducer, is a purr-fect angel), drop us a line at [email protected] can also find us on social media:Instagram: @history_unhemmedFacebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/History-Unhemmed/100084597553601/We are also on Patreon at: Patreon.com/historyunhemmedTHANK YOU!RESOURCES:Alliance for Period Supplies. "The History of Period Products." Last modified November 7, 2023. https://allianceforperiodsupplies.org/the-history-of-period-products/.History Colorado. “Period Piece: Menstruation’s Hidden History.” August 16, 2024. https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2024/08/16/period-piece-menstruations-hidden-history.Horwitz, Rainey, "Menstrual Tampon". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2020-05-25 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13151Jaafar H, Ismail SY, Azzeri A. Period Poverty: A Neglected Public Health Issue. Korean J Fam Med. 2023 Jul;44(4):183-188. doi: 10.4082/kjfm.22.0206. Epub 2023 May 16. PMID: 37189262; PMCID: PMC10372806.Kijowska, Wiktoria. “Sanitary Suspenders to Mooncups: A Brief History of Menstrual Products.” Victoria and Albert Museum. Last modified August 16, 2024. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-brief-history-of-menstrual-products.King, Helen. Making History (blog), https://mistakinghistories.uk/.Stein, Elissa, and Susan Kim. Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation. 1st ed. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2009.Thomas C. T. Buckley, Alma Gottlieb. Blood Magic: The Anthropology of Menstruation. University of California Press, 1988