A4: Unpacking the Advert: Exploring Implicit Messaging in 20^th-Century Menstrual Advertising

Presenter(s)

Niyati Naveen

Abstract or Description

Menstruation has long been a taboo subject in American society. In this project, I examine how this negative attitude towards menstruation has manifested over time in advertising. Specifically, this project examines the implicit messaging in menstrual product advertising from American companies in the 20th century.  I explore the historical progression of sanitary products, advertising for said products, and societal perceptions of menstruation. I conduct a visual analysis of three advertisements for menstrual care products from different decades— Kotex (1923), Tampax (1939), and Proctor & Gamble's Rely (1980). Through careful dissection of the included illustrations, textual hierarchy, and textual content of each advertisement, two themes emerge: erasure of the menstrual experience and menstruation as a threat to normal existence. I analyze the advertisements’ use of narrative imagery (images depicting women engaging in fun situations, supposedly while menstruating), “savior language” (diction that implies women needed saving from menstruation), selective omission of menstruation-related vocabulary, and emphasis on discreetness. Such qualities of menstrual advertising perpetuate the cyclical stigma surrounding the topic. Historically, attitudes towards menstruation have paralleled notions of the current “feminine ideal” and impacts how women make lifestyle decisions. Advertising about these products also appears to shape and be shaped by the male perception of menstruation—secrecy leaves men to rely on media representations of menstruation that often exhibit stigmatic views. In the future, positive representations of menstruation in the media could begin to undo the societal conditioning of previous negative representations, and make way for a more holistic, supportive environment for women.