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The Tampons Are Not Alright: Deconstructing Epistemologies of Menstruation in “Modern” America
Lawler, Rachael
Lawler, Rachael
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Abstract
Although tampons were in use for centuries, it was not until the twentieth century that big businesses focused on mass manufacturing, marketing, and design of tampons. Despite these efforts, tampons fluctuated in consumer usage in the United States. This project will explore how misogyny, cultural taboos, and government oversight created a paradigm in which menstrual products were not properly tested and vetted for consumer safety, helping to create the Toxic Shock Syndrome crisis of the 1980s. Moreover, due to the racism and classism pervasive within the corporate and advertising structures of the tampon industry, tampons were primarily marketed to young, white women, partially leading to the result that they made up the typical victim profile, compared to other demographic groups. This research will re-affirm previous work on and provide new insights into the varying marketing strategies of tampon companies, especially after the scandal of TSS, the ways women responded to the unsafety of tampons at various points in time, and public reactions to the tampon-related health scandals.
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Submitted to the Department of History of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for departmental honors
Date
2024-04-26
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Department of History, University of Kansas