I see a bit of cookie wanted to co-host part of this video. Shout out to that cookie for its gumption! 😂🤦🏻♀️ I want to give a special shout out to Ash LG for chatting with me & giving me some further insight on gender and inclusivity, I really appreciated it! You can check out their UA-cam channel here: ua-cam.com/channels/lLQ_gsr77ZbxaxzZBo1XkQ.html Where I got my birds-eye linen: www.thehistoricalfabricstore.com/product-page/birds-eye-linen-natural Burnley & Trowbridge also has diaper linen right now too (I also used their linen thread and cotton tape)!: burnleyandtrowbridge.com/collections/linen-white-naturals-neutrals/products/6644-white-light-weight-diaper-linen If you want to make your own apron, my book has instructions: amzn.to/308Fq6o (this is an affiliate link) My stays pattern is self-drafted based off of a pair in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/92145.html?mulR=164827081|5), but a good option would be Redthreaded's: redthreaded.com/collections/make-your-own-corsets/products/17stays-pattern Karolina also did a video on Victorian Periods 🎉🩸 ua-cam.com/video/2d_QP7D77is/v-deo.html
Hey Abby, would something like this be suitable for a eco stable alternative to incontinence diapers/pads? I am a caretaker for a person with stress incontinence.
MidnightQueen Diaper weave did give its name to diapers. However, it’s worth noting that diaper nappies were folded differently depending on the sex of the baby, meaning that just bunching it up wasn’t considered sufficient, even for an infant, so depending on the severity of the incontinence it may need to be quite bulky to be absorbent enough for an adult.
@@midnightqueen3332 You could quilt several layers of linen on top of each other in the shape of such a pad. And maybe put a layer of undyed sheep's wool inside, either as a felt or simply as wadding. Maybe two layers of linen, then wool, then two layers of linen again. That would probably suffice. Then you just try it out with the person. I'm actually considering making period pads for myself in this manner.
I’m 66 and when I was 12 I was handed a brick sized ‘boo-boo pad’ and a garter belt to hold it. It was clearly visible as I was very petite, and horribly embarrassing. My mother, born in 1928, said she used dishcloths (presumably made of linen) torn into strips as pads until commercial items became available. Tampons were never sold to unmarried women for many years. I had to do chores to pay for my own pads and in 1970, I finally started using Tampax tampons without my mother knowing. Anyone who used tampons before marriage was considered a tramp. How women were treated during that time was very disturbing, and it messes with your sexuality even today.
That definitely seemed to rub off on my mom. The first time I tried tampons was when her friend offered them so I could go swimming with my friends, and my mom was really unhappy. She never said anything, but I felt very much like she disapproved, and I'm thinking it was cause of this.
Totally NOT an over share! The world needs more honesty, openness, and education on health, especially in regards to ‘feminine’ or ‘intimate’ issues. Great video!
Thank you for using the word “Feminine”, this is strictly a female topic. Only women with a uterus can have a period… even female animals… not anything or anyone identifying as such.
All I can think of is that time in high school my friend was talking about "period clothing" and I looked at her and was like "you mean like sweatpants and a loose t shirt?" and she was like "...no Emily I mean corsets"
@@lemurlover7975 I have, and it really reduced my pain. Having that pressure there was just fantastic! And it also provides a lot of back support, which is very important for me, as I’m disabled with a degenerative spinal condition, and of course, my period cramping always also attacks my back (because of course it does). So yeah- corsets on periods are a definite win for me! 10/10 would recommend.
Thank you so much. I about got dizzy from eye rolling when people would insist "they just bled into their clothes" as if they didn't wear anything different on their period and just dripped all over the furniture. In the times we're talking about, even intimating one had a menstrual period in mixed company wasn't acceptable. No way would a young lady risk standing up and discovering she'd ruined a seat or was sporting the scarlet flag as she left the room. Insisting "they didn't do anything" because there's not a historic written source is sort of like the attitude when garb snobs would insist the only correct length for skirts was to have them concealing your shoes and dragging on the ground. Our ancestors were no stupider then we are; working people have always needed practical clothing so they can get on with things because no responsible woman can just hide in her room for a week every month. A reusable, sustainable, cheaper method is not only logical, it's far more comfortable than suggesting women of childbearing years all walked around worrying if, um, anything was showing which wasn't any more acceptable back then than it is today. The ghosts of my hard-working female ancestors are all applauding right now!
Yessss! 👏👏👏 I believe the attitude some people have that women in the past were not active, intelligent and innovative because we lack published sources is rooted in sexism. The lack of published sources points not to the fact that women didn't have anything to say worth hearing, but to the silencing of their voices. The assumption that women couldn't fugure out ways to manage their periods for thousands of years is, frankly, insulting.
I belong to the trans Himalayas, and In early trans Himalayan region, women used ash to spread in their bed before sleeping, so that the blood gets soaked into the ash, and they can throw away the bloodsoaked ashes, in the morning. Crazy but true. My grandmother told me.
I know you felt really awkward and you kept saying you were “over shearing” but I think more women should talk about it!!! We need to normalize periods!
@@BlueEyedMomof378 men talk so openly about their puberty experience, so much that even a women not searching for it would know about it, and that just seems wrong; puberty is a normal thing, just like period is normal and it should be something people kept talking about so that no one gets afraid of going for help when something is wrong with it or thinking it's wrong and not talking about it properly.
@@Cactusssutcac Boys don’t really talk about their puberty experience. Barely none even do that. What boys are you hanging around hun? Stop making assumptions
They are normal, but we act like they aren't. They're just a bodily function, like going to the bathroom, but mention of periods is considered disgusting and to be avoided.
I'm from Hungary. I've found a rather interesting article where they asked really elderly people in small, isolated villages, how these things went. The women said, the fabric had a life in the house. If the fabric started as a wearable cloth, when it was in pieces and not able to use elsewhere, it ended up in between the legs. They said they did this because their mothers did the same, so... I don't know, It can reach (?) back to really old times, huh?
Makes complete sense, all it needs to do is be absorbent, and you want to use all the presentable cloth for clothes and bedlinens. Perhaps we've mystified the whole question far too much, it's really likely that as long as fabric clothes were around, a good chunk of women have been using cloths to catch menstrual blood.
Makes complete sense. Why choose nice fabrics for dirty usage. And once these rags would be too ragged to be washed and re-used again: I imagine they could be burried and slowly rot-away in the ground. Leaving literally nothing for archeologists and museums of our times. I can even imagine feeding it to the pigs to get rid of it.
Nah that makes sense - my Mema grew up on a farm and every bit of cloth she had had a life cycle. Clothes, patches, rag rugs, dish rags, quilts, dust cloths etc. So yea period rags makes sense.
Having worked for many immigrant families that are first or second generation to the United States, I can attest that every piece of fabric has a purpose in the house- if it's not usable clothes anymore, it will be torn into rags to be used for cleaning the house! Cheers
I am 68, my grandmother was 95 when she died. She was born in 1879, when we girls would ask her how they did things for their periods in the old country( Russia) she talked about the same kind of apron but then more modified with a tie belt like old belts I grew up with. But they made their "pads" and washed them and wore more quilted flannel petticoats and yes they had their "period" garments for the time. so 100 years later for her from your time, this information was passed along from elder to younger with in the women....It is important to not be embarrassed about talking about the thing all women go through all over the world.... Than-you for this vid!
My grandmother (b. 1889) also described cloth pads tied to a belt. They were deposited in a”slop jar” until wash day, much like a diaper pail. Her family had a laundress- her father was a doctor.- so someone else had the joy of washing them.
@@s.morgan5971 You're not alone. It was something about that generation. I'm 60, and can remember them speaking of breast cancer in lowered voices, because they had to say breast.. My grandparents were not like that! Their kids had moved to the city and become 'refined'. We lost out thanks to that refinement.
I once asked my grandmother, what her grandmother were doing during period (at first she didn't know why I was asking, and even she was old enough to not be embarrassed, she was..) I explained that I like historical costumes and stuff.. so she realised that I didn't ask because of some perverted reasons... :D and she told me, that (my grand-grand-grandmother was born in 1870s in Slovak village) back in 1800s they just wore more skirts, and the bottom one was used for period, they just mounted it between their legs and secured with some string/ribbon... and they just did it for church visit (at Sunday) or at night, but usually they just let it flow during the day.. but they were at the field working outside and while they were indoors they mounted their underskirt... so much for this knowledge :D
Sarah Malcolm: makes a great defense Me: oh heck yeah that's super well-argued Narration: she was convicted of murder and sentenced to death Me: ...what
women didnt have any rights at the time so noted in that she had to argue her own case when a man in the same circumstances would have been assigned a pubic defender or be literally fighting off lawyers more than willing to defend him. she was sentenced anyway because a woman's defense meant nothing...again no rights...
I am a 61 year old, post-menopausal mamma of thirteen full term pregnancies. I’ve lived “off-grid” ( read that to mean no electricity, no running water, outhouse, wood stove, etc!;) and I’m just hooting at the memories of inconveniences that this post brings back... You handle this research & topic with great humor & finesse! Truly- there are some conveniences of modern life that are very welcome! Others.. well???
@Charisma Girl It’s true- you should!🎖 I am one of these rare women who was blessed with incredibly easy and mostly painless periods from the get go; and both pregnancy and nursing were easy for me. Menopause on the other hand!?! I figured the hot flashes would be long gone by now!! I guess it all comes out in the wash-- literally!! 😆 🧺 I always felt bad for my sister or for a few of my daughters who have had periods ranging from average to very painful much more so than I ever did!!
@Charisma Girl definitely! Great perspective! And I do consider myself very blessed; rich in all the right ways! We’re down to one last teen at home; but have grown-kids & grandkids spread across the country; all productive citizens, working hard at life. The grandbuddies are, of course, the icing on the cake! 🥰
How did you handle your period living off grid? (FWIW, I grew up on-grid (mostly) but we had our own (grid-electricity-driven) well & used a woodstove as our primary source of heat in the winter.)
A video idea: how did they deal with rain/bad weather with long dresses etc. Also how did they deal with permanently stained items, especially expensive fabrics?
As someone who had spent years wearing skirts, rain isn't that big a deal. Skirts don't always touch the ground, they are often slightly shorter in the front. We see ball gowns and such that touch the ground but pictures that show working women, the skirts are shorter. Ball gowns and such often had a tougher fabric sewn underneath that was slightly longer than the skirt... Like a dust ruffle of sorts. It protected the skirt bottom. There trim at the skirt bottom could also be removed and be replaced. Now gowns like Worth gowns may not have had all this, but I've seen many a picture and painting where the edges were protected with removable edgings or a subtle dust ruffle.
There is an idea, I haven't verified it, that the most interior petticoats were actually dyed red, which to me is total genius. I mean, what brain trust decided white was the best color, even today? Probably a man -.-
Very interesting... the apron you showed me here is very similar to Tei-ji tai.(丁字帯） It's a Japanese name, meaning "letter 丁(tei) shaped sash". My father, who passed away many years ago, was a gynecologist. In his era, this was used for women after she gave birth or perhaps for regular period too. I wonder when the use of this sort of thing started in Japan. Since Edo period?... I do not know. I don't think any hospital use Tei-ji tai now but, was used in the hospital for heavy discharge of after birth. Particularly heavy flow, this was used with thick cotton wrapped with folded linen to absorb the blood. Funny thing was, when I first started to have my period, I run to my father(rather than my mother) and asked what to do. He gave me Tei-ji tai and a pad which was for that after birth pad that was too thick! The nurse run to the pharmacy to get me a regular pad but mean while I had to wear that thick pad with Tei-ji tai. Ugh! it was so uncomfortable because I couldn't walk right. My legs were apart because of that thick pad! Good funny memory of my father came back. hahaha Thank you for your clip! Isn't it interesting? very similar garment was invented for same purpose in East and West.
“So during your morbid flux-“ “Wait, what?” “Your morbid flux... your cycle. Your flow. Your period? That time of the month?” “Oh! Okay. That’s awesome. I’m keeping that.” 😈 Good. *rubs hands together* pay it forward.... (In other news, I’m sort of loopy on tooth pain and may be sharing my inner play a bit more than usual) I’m also going to refer to it as that also. Because it is hilarious.
@@octaviasofia1984 Love Morbid Flux! That would have been what i would have referred it as back in the day when I still menstruated and was an actual witch for three weeks out of a month. As an older woman, I can sit back and feel rather smug and glad I don't have to deal with this anymore.
Next time my boyfriensd accuses me of being In a bad mood im gonna be like "You'd be pissed too if you were morbid fluxing" can't waitto see the look on his face lol
My mom was born in 1930 & when I would complain about my period, she would regale me with tales about having to use, clean & re-use folded strips of cloth made from old bed sheets that they would safety pin to a cloth belt they'd wear around their waist to hold them in place. At least once each period, movement would cause one of the pins to work its way open & she'd get stabbed by the open pin, have to rush off to the bathroom & fix it. "Accidents" were common so she always tried to wear a dark-colored dress during her period so any bleed-through would be less obvious. Her mother, who was born in 1884, forbade her to use tampons until she married & moved out of their home. In her mother's thinking, tampons being inserted into the vaginal vault was too akin to sexual activity for "proper girls" to use them. To make it all the more humiliating for my Mom, her father was a plumber & gave my Mom "the talk" about never flushing tampons or applicators because it clogs the plumbing & some man would have to come dig them out of the system. As for odd euphemisms regarding having your period, my mother's generation would say their "red-headed aunt has come from a visit". Thank God my generation simply said it was "that time of the month".
I’m 64. Started my period when I was 12. Had the worst periods ever. My mom gave me Paregoric (liquid opium that you could buy at just about any store) with a spoon full of sugar and sent me to bed. This continued until I was 15 and she took me to the doctor who put me on birth control pills to regulate and stop all the other symptoms.
@@rejoyce318 True, but I hate hot flashes. I had a surgery a couple of years ago and my ovaries were removed, so I said goodbye to periods early. I'm so glad.
You sound like me except that I’m only a young 63. At 13, to my mortification, my mother told my father that I needed to see a doctor. I mean, fathers didn’t know about such things-right? The world My dr. put me on a drug called Daprisol which was pure amphetamine.
I'm 66, and also got paregoric. I never did go on the Pill, but resorted to aspirin and alcohol which got me through, though mostly I did have to take to my bed for a couple of days. Somehow I got away with that, but it really did influence my choices in life.
Full admission: I’m a guy. That being said, I’ve been trying to Lean more about this subject because A) I wanted to know how women dealt with it as it’s never mentioned in fiction, And B) I’ve been trying to find material I could use as references for the story I’m writing, because it will come up as a plot point at least once (especially for a female knight character)
@@JulieEGosnell the short version is that the MC is able to switch between genders, with the sole exception that they are locked into a female form during their menstrual cycle (because nature demands their due), and I was trying to find out information to be as accurate to the time period I’m using as a basis as possible.
is your 12 year old ok? maybe there is something you can do to ease the pain. must be a lot of pain if she is calling it that. have you tried dong quai and maca root?
@@lemurlover7975 I am so, so sorry. I didn't consider how my comment may come across...lol. My 12 yr old is a boy. 🤣 And the poor kid has my warped sense of humor.
@@mitsycat2803 God bless you!! Thankfully, I never had to endure endo. I had horrible PCOS and had a hysterectomy at 25. And yes ... Satan's sacrificial waterfall is fitting...lol
@@TxNursePatti I was told when I was around 24 I needed one. I don't have kids yet, so I've been fighting it ever since. Now I'm in medically induced menopause. Less pain, but hot flashes are killer. You trade Satan's waterfall for Satan's oven lol
Im 71 and there were 3 females besides my Mom in our house. I dont even remember ever seeing pads in stores. So we made our own. We used old rags and worn out towels, etc we tore them in strips and lined them with plastic bread sacks, then rolled them into pads.
So, I am in mid-50's but I was brought up by my Grandmother. It was quite normal for Grandmothers to pass this kind of information on ..... Her Grandmother had taught her. The only thing I would say was that by the mid-1860's, they were lining the "aprons" with a pad which was basically a folded up piece of brushed cotton fabric - about six layers. You used a bleach bucket and popped your used padding in and then boiled them all at the end. And yes, at eleven I was introduced to the method. It took a teacher to take me under her wing and explain modern methods lol.
Poor Sarah, I’m sure they concluded that a) she was on her period, and therefore driven to a murderous rage by nature, or b) clearly it was witchcraft, that the blood didn’t appear everywhere else. Or c) how dare you use logic against us woman! Also gird your loins is a phrase that need to come back into daily usage. Ex. My morning routine is typically wake up, drink coffee, gird my loins, and head out ready to take on the day. Pretty much sums up the female experience.
I think it was “c”. She used logic, so “send her to the gallows!!” It’s maddening to think that she would have escaped that whole situation if she hadn’t been on her courses.
I was honestly hoping for a (more) happy ending for her :(. Then i paused the video and went to the comment section to look a comment like "but can we talk about how that woman was sentence to death because she was a woman, this having a period?" (cuz her defense sounds perfectly valid to me). I mean I know being a woman was a crime that could basically cost you the life ("she's too pretty and this married guy did something stupid for her, she must have bewitched him, burn her" kind of logic) but damn sis.
I thought maybe it was because they needed someone to blame for it, and who cares about logic or actual guilt when you can just put someone to death, and the whole community feels safer for it.
I got my 12 year old daughter double lined cloth pads made out of cotton flannel and the regular disposable kind - she would rather wear her clothe pads, she finds them to be more comfortable!
@@blowitoutyourcunt7675 (As a teenager) I absolutely agree with your daughter! My mom started making her own pads to be more environmentally friendly, and so when I started my period she made me some too, and just a couple months ago my sister started hers and she has some too. There are definitely ways disposable pads are nice, but I really like my cloth ones!
I've had to switch away from pads for Reasons(TM), but for decades I used various different types and brands of cloth pads & I loved 'em! (I would also use a menstrual cup and/or tampons sometimes as well.) They all have wings that snap around your underwear so you get the extra side protection and you don't get the weird plastic smell & "drive by waxing" that disposable pads can give you when the wings end up getting stuck to your skin & hair down there. There's extra long ones for sleep. Not to mention some of the ones you could add extra layers for greater flow days; the best ones used rickrack to hold them on top so you could just change out the extra layer. And, of course, the fun prints & colors on the fabric never hurt!
I do too. They are SO comfortable. In my mid forties I started having allergic reaction to disposable pads. I wish I had known about cloth so many years ago. They are 1,000 times better
I have always had varied (mild to severe) reactions to disposable products, from my very first cycle up until I needed to hand sew my first cmp 7 years ago due to some financial issues preventing me from affording the only brand of disposables I could use without full on hives that cycle. What a freeing experience to go from 3 jumbo packs of disposable pads every cycle to a few changes a day! I only wish I’d had the knowledge and option of reusable cloth products the first 24 years of my cycles. I am one of the lucky ones who had a drastic decrease in cramping and flow with cloth. And the plethora of topper/absorbent/backer fabrics and patterns to choose from means I can customize however I wish.
@@queteimportaa.2535 Not much changed since then, most men are still ignorant of the female anatomy. Many guys never heard of vaginal discharge, how ovulation works, and - surprisingly - they can't locate clits.
To all younger ladies (and older maybe too), almost 50% of society is bleeding. Red stains on your clothes are not thing to be embarassed for. This is only blood that comes out without violence.
When my kids were babies, I used cloth diapers. The trick to reducing the bulk between the legs is simply to fold the sides in, making it narrower but retaining the fabric, increasing the thickness.
Yes yes and more yes! I got the cloth diapers second hand from family and they were the diaper pin ones. I just bought my brother and sister-in-law some BA cloth diapers with snaps and inserts, gotta love the genus who made those!
What about washing those cloths? I can see washing blood stains in linen, but what about poop in linen cloth diapers? My mother told me horror stories about it, how do you deal with the smell and all that?
@@RaineInChaos i have thick thighs so i just tuck them in and they stay put. obviously that wont work for a lot of people. but works well with historic clothing because no panties to fuss with.
@@plantylittlewoman ok may get a bit gross and this is late but I have 2 in diapers and we have a poop spatula scraper in 2 bathrooms and my hubs changes the water / bleach out with it often. Some people also have a diaper sprayer or a disposable liner . I scrape the poop with the spatula and put the cloth diaper and inserts in the cloth bag that actual doesn't smell bad due to us leaving it open. The spatula has a little like holder thing with bleach water When we wash them, we do a quick wash and then a regular wash You only have to start scraping ( and though it is gross it takes like 20 seconds) and only have to do it when babe starts eating solids as that's when the poops gets peanut buttery
I love that you did this video! This is a topic I have always been curious about in a historical standpoint. I myself use reusable pads that I made myself. I have used them 3 or 4 years now and love them. I have a tutorial on my channel where I show how to make them if anyone is interested.
I make my own cloth pads, too! I originally used a store- bought one as a template. (I haven't seen any cloth ones in stores in at least a decade, though.) But now I want to see how you do it. Anyway, it's a great way to recycle old clothes! Happy sewing!
Abbey is getting very good a linen clothing dances! And I do wish morbid flux would come back into common language, I am disappointed that I no longer have mine, because otherwise I would so call it that! (and I don't usually say that!)
Bless you, for making this! I am writing a historical fiction novel and couldn't for the life of me find anything on the 18th century periods! I only found that they took opium sometimes for the pain and like, I don't blame them xD
I read several first person accounts from teen girls and women from the 19th century, where they talk about becoming addicted to the laudanum they took for period pains. It doesn't help that there was no way to tell how potent your laudanum or one of those "soothing syrups" was, other than try it. Even if they listed how much of each ingredient, potency can vary greatly.
This was perfect 😆 I have endometriosis/adenomyosis. If I lived back then I would probably just get that phrase made up into some lovely little calling cards to distribute as needed.... which would be a lot.
@@mitsycat2803 it's an extremely fun thing to say. I don't have endo but I do have another condition that essentially means the shredding of the uterine lining literally tears the tissue in my uterus (which functionally does the same thing in as much as clinical symptoms). I have been on meds since I was a young teen to stop my periods entirely but tbh considering whipping this one out next time I cbf going to a family gathering
My French step mother told me that some women from her village said "the English are here" meaning their period had started, this was a reference to Napoleonic times. Birdy
The recurrence of attacking army-related references when talking about periods really speaks to how horrible they are for many women, it does indeed feel like a minor war down there sometimes
I can only speak for myself, but something as well known and understood as the menstrual period doesn't even make it in to the top ten most intimate parts of my biology 🤣
Cousin Myrna told me she asked Granny when she was ancient old - after living through such an exciting time, seeing electricity, air flight, indoor pluming, cars and tractors what is the best invention you have appreciated the most (mind you this was a farm woman) .... . . .. . . her answer was TAMPONS.
@@silencedogood9747 that’s gross.. the pieces can fall inside and infect natural biome pH of uterus-vagina. Wearing it Outside is ok if wet.. but those things if left dried can cut skin 😬 like needles or sharp razors.. HELL no!!
@@kateli1880 I won't argue with that. I know absolutely nothing about sea sponges. I know a girl who does use them though. Or at least she says she does.
I found this very interesting. At 72 I am long past the need, but still thought it was very educational. One thought did come to my mind. I recall my grandmother telling how you would lay rags on the lawn in the sun on wash day to bleach out stains. I was wondering if some women didn't do this with their need-bes to rid them of period stain. When I used to hang my clothes on the line I would put my dish clothes and towels and rags on the ground in the sun. It did work. Grandmother also taught me to sharpen my paring knife by shoving it in and out of the ground. It worked as well. Thanks Abby.
@@lemurlover7975 It's actually better over grass. The grass releases oxygen, which reacts with the sunlight to bleach the fabric. Or, just buy Oxyclean and get the same result without the work.
My mother did this with diapers for my sister. The grass combined with the sunlight helps bleach the fabric. That is why lawns exist, to bleach the linen, also called lawn.
I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere so want to comment that I am so so happy I discovered menstrual cups + washable period underwear (I use Diva Cup and Thinx). Now I don't have any plastic waste and better yet when I wear them together I can go up to 12 hours without worrying about leaks or toxic shock syndrome. I change the cup in the morning and night, and wash all my underwear pairs at the end of the week. Wish I knew about these back when I was playing volleyball in school and had to wear spandex all the time!
Came here to comment the same!!! My favourite combo is ModiBodi undies + Intimina's Ziggy cup. My period has stopped being such a hassle: no more allergic reactions from pad adhesive; no more horrible cramps from my tampon expanding inside me; no worry about being surprised by my period or caught without products as I always have my cup in its pouch in my wallet.
@@applegal3058 I know this is a super old comment but have you ever tried a period disc? It's a similar idea to a period cup but has a larger capacity. The brand I use is called Nixit, it's easy to insert and clean and everything. Just throwing that out!
Thank you so much for sharing about this alternative to modern pads/tampons/period. I am becoming increasingly allergic to modern products (hives in certain..areas are...not so fun), so finding historical/natural alternatives is a HUGE help to me. I know it's super awkward for you to talk about, but I'm extremely grateful for you sharing this! Thank you so much!
I don't know if you'd be interested, but I switched away from pads for the same reason as I was allergic to the adhesive and instead began using menstrual cups. I 100% recommend them as you leave them in for up to 12 hours (take out and clean when you wake up, reinsert, do final emptying and rinse after dinner for example), you never run out of period products as it's reusable and you can always keep it in your purse, and it is super low maintenance as when changing all you do is empty and rinse before re-inserting (bring a small water bottle with you if using public bathrooms}, and at the end of your cycle you just boil it to sterilise and put it in its carry pouch until your next period.
Definitely try reusable cloth pads if you dont like insertion- i got rashes too from the disposable stuff and once i switched i havent been breaking out
Unless they start kneading you and their sharp little claws get past your clothes. (Have had that happen. It's both "oh, you're so cute!" Because of that little look of concentration on their face, and "ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Claws! Cla~aws!😭😂")
@@monicamason3414 we had a kitty come to our house because a stray cat had a litter and they all hanged out around our house (there was like 18 strays in total) and the little guy would always come to my leg, climb up to my shoulders and then stay there, and you couldn't get him off without him clawing you. He was a cute kitty
Having the excess bunch out in back instead of the front might also have been an option because it would add to the bumroll effect., especially for those who don’t want the extra pressure in the front. Anyway, this was an awesome post - and likely one of a kind. thank you!
My grandmother, born in 1900, told me she used rags for the discharge and blackberry brandy for the cramping. My mother had blackberry brandy for my sister and I to use (before Pamprin and the like). I can tell you it worked and I don't think I was drunk because I was constantly given hot toddies (hot water, honey, whiskey) so I could sleep when cough medicine didn't touch my coughing. Now those in the beginning did get me drunk. Surprisingly, I never became an alcoholic.
Thus was absolutely fascinating. Thank you for addressing the laundry issue. Also, I’m so glad I don’t have my period anymore... aging has its benefits my dearies!
Amen to that! I practically threw a party when I finished menopause! No more cramming pads or tampons in my purse and trying to walk inconspicuously to the bathroom! Back then I didnt know you could just continue taking your birth control pills to stop getting your period!
The period apron dance was wonderful! This was outstanding. I switched to reusable cloth “pads” a while ago. They look like a standard pad with wings, but have a snap in lieu of adhesive. The wings snap together underneath the crotch of your undies. I think I’m going to try remaking them with multiple layers of linen & wool! I bought my current set...they weren’t made with natural fibers. I love the concept of sustainable products and not forking out money for plastic diapers for menstruating humans every month. I’m definitely interested in more information on the subject! Thank you for sharing this with us, and much love to you and yours. See you next week! 😁
One time I had enough money for cookies or pads. So I bought the cookies and ate them while I sewed some old micofiber cleaning clothes into pads. No snaps or ties or anything. They always stayed in place just fine. I haven't done that in a while, but maybe I'll make myself some wool core, linen exterior ones now.
Since trying reusable pads years ago, I haven't looked back. They are so much more comfortable than single-use products and there are so many different types to choose from. And they even look nice :-)
Whenever I think of this, my mind goes straight to Mary Douglass’s dirt is matter out of place theory. Blood isn’t dirty or gross when it’s in the right context (in the body, a scrape, lesion, surgery, etc) but since it’s not presented in the context of life-and-death situations when it comes to menses, it’s considered “dirty.” It’s just “matter out of place” there the same as little pieces of earth on the carpet or dust on the bookshelf. It’s really interesting how humans have grown to perceive things. It’s all about our perception of the world.
And that's still weird because it's not actually out of place, since menses happen naturally and mostly regularly. So, it's just considered dirty because of misunderstanding?...
When I was a girl periods were spoken of in whispers and sanitary towels were stored under the shop counter and wrapped in brown paper before being passed to the customer. I became used to this and get very embarrsssed by these constant ads when you are sitting around as a family. To me it is very private. Although I don't have periods any more, Hurray!, I now have to wear pads for urge incontinence. It doesn't happen very often but I feel secure in the pads I make myself. I wouldn't be seen buying pads at the supermarket. This is the most I have ever talked about periods! I think it is an interesting topic though, we were all wondered what they did in 'the olden days'.
You mean you want to talk about the clots and bunches of uterus lining and the bad smell some people get from the blood? Not really sure whats to discuss if we all know what happening so im not sure what you mean. periods suck and i wish you peace with those moments.
@@romanikkoralph1553 Guys dont share this experience with us so its not fair to expect them to understand or to not be grossed out. we're literally bleeding for a week every month. not pretty.
I’m so glad you did this video. I’m a firm believer that it’s healthy to have this subject in an open, healthy conversation, using proper terminology. It removes the “mystery” and keeps uninformed rumours/conjecture from circulating.
This just popped up in recommended videos for me- 2 years since it was originally posted. This was very interesting, Abby. Thanks for doing all the research and the apron dance was the best! All the comments are so interesting. Brings back memories of my first period at age 12, in the mid 70's. Luckily Stayfree mini-pads were new on the market and my mom bought those. My girls have no idea how lucky they are today with pads with wings. When I told them that the wings were a relatively new thing they were shocked and couldn't understand how pads stayed on without them. They really didn't. I remember the sticky back of the pads getting stuck to my leg and therefore not doing a great job catching the flow. Then when I was on the swim team in high school my mom found Tampax juniors, today's "lights". I was scared to use them but my mom was great about it. Sat in the bathroom with me and explained it all.
The comfort and dryness is why I love reusable pads. I used to get terrible rashes from plastic pads because my body runs a little warm and my flow is very heavy so I need large ones for almost the whole week.
Lauren Kaita I always got what I referred to as “diaper rash” only way I could explain it. Horrible red raw areas. I believe it’s cause of plastic to prevent leaks. It holds in the heat. Kinda like putting the old rubber pants on babies. And when you live in Arizona.........
I found your video because Bernadette Banner gave your like in a video she was making. This is such an awesome video. In a way, you are giving women the option to make their own period pads that they can reuse over and over again and not have to rely on disposable pads and tampons. Plus they are made from a safe fabric and have no added chemicals or anything like that. Really hope your video does not get demonitised.
I'm nearly 60, and the two options they told us about when they separated the boys and girls in 5th grade were tampons and something not that different from what you're wearing. It was a little belt that had garter clips on the front and back that held a HUGE diaper-like pad in place. I don't know exactly when smaller pads with glue came about, but it was certainly a while after the late 70's. Tampons only became widely used in the early 70's, so up until then everybody must have used said contraption.
Stayfree was the first sticky pad. It happened in the mid 70s, and other companies quickly followed suit. Modess was the first commercially available pad, in roughly 1910. Kotex was the first to use advertising...I think. They were also the first to emphasize "odor", thus making us use at leas one extra pad...and making more profit.
I'm just a history buff, but I'd say it's because we've seen how history has changed and know that will continue to change, so we find it easier to change
Opium was a much more viable option when we only walked, or rode horses. Horse wants to go home to rest and eat, and knows how to get there. Horse is very much opposed to falling off cliffs, or running into stone or brick structures. And if you’re walking... well, you might get lost and die of exposure... But, you’re not really harming anything or anyone else.
It's a viable option now. You only believe it isn't because you are told to believe that. However, there are some of us whom are alive because we use it daily. Myself being one of them. Because of allergies to modem fillers It neither gets you high or turns you into a criminal it an addict those are just excuses used by pathetic people whom would pick any excuse they think others would believe and get them attention Drugs can not make people do that which they are incapable of doing without them. Truth is armies wouldn't have conquered the world they did without drugs. The allies wouldn't have won WWII without drugs. We wouldn't have survived the dust bowl or the Spanish flu without them. Also, if they were all made legal and taxed we wouldn't have a deficit. I used to think like you. That drugs were horrible. Because that is what we are told. Until I broke my neck and became paralyzed. I was told there was a chance I could use my arms and regain the use of my diaphragm muscle again if I used drugs to block my brains ability to recognize physical pain. It works. A decade later I have yet to steal anything, become completely irresponsible or sell my body to supply my habit. People do it because they are told they are supposed to do those things.
@@Dawn24Michele I agree with you. A lot of awful things are said about people who use drugs, prescribed or not, regardless of dosage, and regardless of situation, or their day to day accomplishments, functionality, intelligence, vibrancy, or compassion and empathy. I wrote an small essay, because apparently I have nothing better to do than justify my opinions on the internet. Particularly when I've said something that sounds kind of like hurtful, ignorant, BS. And I want to be clear that I am NOT saying "Well not you! You sound like a responsible opiate user! I meant those OTHER people." Because that would also be BS. I don't believe using drugs legal or illegal (because that has more to do with racism and classism, than anything else), are bad. Nor are they necessarily good. Nor should I have any right to an opinion on how anyone but me is living their life. EXCEPT when you're risking maiming or killing other people. One's freedom to make their own choices does not extend to endangering other people. Obviously. In the video, opium was discussed as an ingredient in non-prescription cure-alls, which were said to aid menstrual pain, among other things. These "cures" were not regulated. The amount of opium was not listed. One had no way of judging from the label how much a measured amount of that commercially prepared concoction was going to inebriate you. Nor was there any real promise that the last bottle, and this one, would have the same amounts. This is like street drugs or moonshine today - knowing what you've got, and how it will affect you, and the consistency is up to how well you know, and how much you trust, your dealer to have that information, and tell you the truth. I consider knowing what you're getting, to be an important part of informed consent. My metabolism, food intake, hydration, amount of sleep... all have an effect on how I process a painkiller or inebriating substance on any given day. But, at least with legal alcohol, cannabis, over the counter medications, prescription medications, I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting and how it compares to the active ingredient content in what I have taken previously. I can be pretty secure in the assumption that I'm not going to have the amount that I'm used to, suddenly knock me on my ass one day, because it's stronger, or something different. Nor is it likely to kick in way after expected. Measurement and consistency is an important component in predictable reactions. While a less predictable reaction is not going to cause too much strife if I'm at home, or if my horse is taking me home, it could be quite problematic if I'm operating a motor vehicle - particularly if it's not obvious to me that I'm impaired. Now, I'm realizing I actually don't know if opiates tend to make people feel "great, fine, clear headed, invincible" in the way that some people do with cocaine. Cocaine and alcohol - also frequently found, sometimes WITH opiates, in these cure-all concoctions. For those people, if they aren't of the mind-set that "We absolutely never ever drive when using cocaine!" may decide they're a BETTER driver when high. Alcohol tends to do that to some people. They know they're drunk and will tell you they are, but at the same time their judgement is telling them they're in GREAT shape to drive. Some of them even get really defensive if you won't let them drive. Again, depends on one's default mindset. And that's very much what you're saying about pathetic people looking for an excuse to be a degenerate who does not care about the safety and well-being of others. It's easy enough to have a careful mindset in which you know your boundaries - and just never choose to do things that could harm others, regardless of how inebriated you are. In terms of who should be operating motor vehicles and the like, I also think there is a difference between a drug/medication which you take regularly and consistently and know your reaction to V.S. a swig of a cure-all with unregulated quality control, which you take sometimes when you're in pain or feeling ill. TL;DR So no, I absolutely am NOT suggesting that drugs are bad, and I'm sorry that so many people have been taught so, without any room for nuance or discussion. I AM all in favor of informed consent through accurate measuring and labeling. And I recommend always erring on the side of caution, when using any substance with the potential for inebriation - particularly if you need to go somewhere. Unless you have a sober human, or a horse, to get you where you're going.
I like the term "shark week" for my period. So that I can go da-dun, da-dun with my hands on my head like a shark fin when announcing it to my boyfriend. Who never finds it as funny as I do. Probably because it's the last time he sees me smile before the pain starts. And stays for like a month, because my period really likes to stay for a long time.
Humour helps, I find. And I’m with you comrade on painful, way too long periods. I went on the depo shot because of very heavy, extremely painful periods, and it works most of the time, but I do occasionally get breakthrough periods. My last breakthrough period lasted just over 40 days. Not good. So I’m with you. It sucks. Mine also gives me back cramps, which is truly abysmal given I have a degenerative spinal condition that has already disabled me. Means that if I do get my period, I spend the entire thing in bed, as opposed to being able to sit up in my wheelchair at least some of the time on non-period days. And I know that being on depo with no breaks is really bad for your bones, but my bones can crumble into dust before I willingly put myself through periods again!
@@WaterNai I've been on nexplanon, but it doesn't always work and I haven't been able to get it replaced because of the pandemic. I had asthma as a kid, and even though I don't need an inhaler anymore, I figured I'm better off bleeding than taking my chances with COVID
So very interesting! Also, considering there weren't a lot of family planning options - being pregnant means no period. Breastfeeding usually means no period for at least some time. If you have 8 full term pregnancies and count 40 weeks for pregnancy and 3 months for breastfeeding thats 40+(4*3)*8 = 464 weeks without a period. Or 8,9 years. If you have your period from age 12-45, that's 33 years. That's close to a third in reduction of period time.
Only 3 months for breastfeeding? I'm curious why you pulled that number in particular. I've had two babies and am thankful that with my first I was able to nurse her after some feeding issues in the first two weeks of her life up until she was 22 months old, and my second hasn't been weaned yet at 11 months old. With both my period didn't return until 10-13 months post partum. I know that's only my one, personal experience, but wanted to add it to the discourse here in the comments because I can absolutely see how people of child-bearing age might only have one to three periods a year, if any due to a constant cycle of being pregnant and breastfeeding unless they were utilizing some means of contraception.
Where do you get this from? Contraception has been around forever along with abortion and miscarriage. Avg gal in those days didn’t have 8 children nor was pregnant yearly or every 9 months. And it’s not like pregnancy is good replacement for periods😂. Breastfeeding can possibly result in amenorrhea but only if it’s done pretty much all the time. This is why it’s not considered birth control bc of how much one would have to breastfeed and even then many will get their period or ovulate. The thing that might lend to some people experiencing noticeably less periods back then was malnutrition, but even then you have to be really starving to lose your period.
I wrote my thesis about menstruation in the Middle Ages. There is literally no reference to what women used at all (I think free bleeding would be more common but that is just based on what wealthy women did which is stay in bed). But same situation it’s all over medical books in the time. However, they don’t realize it is cycle probably because of nutrition in the time being not as good. Also lots of references to spirits attacking the body. I really enjoyed this video because you can see they made a lot of progress by the 17th Century.
I do not think anybody would have just free bled whilst working in the fields because that would have attracted flies and other animals. Have you ever been near a dog while on your period? Just imagine having the occasional drip down your leg...
@@alejandramoreno6625 There just is not much evidence for support materials in the period though. It’s definitely possible for them to add additional smocks or potentially aprons . But we just don’t know because only men wrote the books. The typical amount of blood loss during menstruation is 2-4 tablespoons or 30-60 ml free bleeding for poorer classes makes a whole lot is sense because fabric was expensive. Also keep in mind they are wearing a lot more layers of clothing than we wear in our time.
@Charisma Girl I think that since I have posted this so many people have tried to counter my argument but are not thinking about this in a historical context. Things getting stained is a part of life. People in this period were much poorer than even the Renaissance. Beds did not exist for lower classes. They thought illness spread through smells. Periods are apart of life they would just lived with them because everyone else had them. Our concept of cleanliness doesn’t exist in this time period, at all. So yes they probably free bled working in fields and often not for money but survival. The last thing on their mind would be being concerned about stains on their clothes and more of when and if they will have enough food. Also just as an aside they would have way worse stains on their clothes, cow poo comes to mind. Maybe, if they had scraps of fabric that were worn beyond the point of salvation, they could have possibly used them as bandages. But again we do not know, because books were written by monks and male scholars.
@@extrae905 Thanks for weighing in on this! I've been trying to find out how medieval societies dealt with periods for something I'm writing, and all I could find was mention of rags wrapped around a stick and placed inside as with tampons, but I don't think this would stay in, and with their hygiene practices would have been incredibly dangerous. I'd love to hear more about your thesis, if you're willing to share.
I asked my nanna what everyone used . she told me that everyone knew when having menstrual cycle because of all the rags drying on the washing line 💖💖💖💖💖
@@amberwarnke6434 because there's no sun and wind inside to dry it faster. You're gonna need it soon, you don't want it to still be damp when you need it.
I love how you're explicitly inclusive! Also, if around 50% of the world's population have periods at some point in their lives, this shouldn't be a controversial topic. As a cis gay man I've had girlfriends being quite open about how that stuff works, and hey... It's not gross. It may be inconvenient, annoying or at times painful, but it's just... How the human body works? And the human body is pretty amazing when you think about it.
It's nice of her, but I feel the most "woke" parts of our society have actually gone overboard with the inclusivity at this point. Trans people are a TINY minority (around, what, 0.3%?), so to explicitly include them in everything is actually kind of silly and impractical, and not how anything normally works. What other 0.3% minority gets talked about this much and this often? And I think it's not the trans people themselves, but their overzealous cis advocates who are driving this push for ubiquitous inclusivity. Just guarantee their rights under the law, speak up against any potential abuse when faced with it, and otherwise just leave trans people alone. Too much forced attention can backfire - and I think this wokester insistence on excessive inclusivity has indeed started to backfire against trans people, as the rest of the population is getting increasingly annoyed about pronouns and womens' sports drama and overrepresentation on tv shows and what not, and blaming their personal inconvenience on trans people. So the overzealous cis advocates should really stop "helping" so much. Take it down a notch. Give wider society a chance to get acclimated.
@@austenhead5303 it’s promoted and sponsored. Trace the money, as Americans used to say 😉 Promoting transgenderism among young generation has a lot of profit for many power folks . these individuals who change the gender have a LOT of health issues. I am biochemist and worked in science for 30 years, so I have my own scientific interest in this phenomenon, so I researched … and I was right, transgenders suffer ☹️ You can say anything in propaganda, force to change the meaning of “woman”, “ men” but you cannot order to change our physiology. F->M transition leads to shrinking of vagina and uterus after few months of using testosterone injections, and it is painful, easy to get inflammation (and it is a pain, usually severe pain), and if they do not remove surgically these organs, they may die from sepsis… How is it profitable and for whom? - pharma - they get weekly “subscribers” for synthetic hormones. Trans cannot stop using them because the body will start reverse process if they stop. - these people are sterile. Despite of narrative that “ men can get pregnant” , the probability of this is near zero, taking in consideration what I mentioned above. This will help to low procreation - overall health problems among trans are more complicated and no MD knows or ever studied how to treat such bodies where the nature suppressed by chemistry So, overall it is a big social experiment. Same as Covid pandemic. The virus is still here, people get it ( I have 2 friensd who are now very sick after they took a flight) but the official restrictions are not implemented now as it was 2 y ago.
@@austenhead5303 I'm a trans person and I fully appreciate the inclusivity. Recorded trans people are as common as red heads and nobody ignores the latter. Besides, 0,3% of a populus is a huge amount of people in practice. To speak in an inclusive manner is to speak accurately. People are only annoyed about pronouns and the like because they're transphobic but it's becoming less acceptable to say you hate trans people so they have to be more subtle about it. Or they're subtle, casual transphobes who are made to face the fact that trans people exist. Playing nice, or, respectability politics has and will always backfire in the long run because it's pandering to oppressors. Being loud and proud, which is required to get rights, will inevitably ruffle some feathers which is partly the point as a lot of people are content just passively ignoring us and our oppression. Stonewall was a riot, etc.
@@miipmiipmiip No one ignores redheads, but no one pays any special attention to them either, and no one is immediately accused of being a redheadophobe if they happen to not specifically mention or include them in everything. That's what the issue is.
@@austenhead5303 Except there is special attention paid to redheads because so it must be. For example, red heads sustain more damage from the sun as they're often fairer skinned. Natural redheads also often have a trait where anesthesia doesn't work as well as with other people. These things have to be taken into consideration even though they are a minority. So it should be with trans people especially as it's a matter of health. Diversifying our language, for example, comes at a minimal cost compared to the oppression 0,3% of population face. Especially as that population is at a hightened risk for suicide due to the oppression they face. Someone being called a transphobe (often accurately) and the majority being sometimes inconvenienced is a small price to pray for people to survive, yes? It really isn't that hard. Besides, inclusive speech benefits cisgender people well as it's, again, more accurate as not all cisgender people match their assumed traits, physical and emotional. Some ciswomen don't have uteruses, some cismen like so called "women's things", etc.
In Greece, my grandma's generation used to say when one would get their period "Here come The Russians" "I'm on my days" "Ι have my clothes". All these are exact and direct translations. :P
Have you heard of Support the Girls? They collect and distribute period products to menstruators in need at no cost. Bras too...they are known for their bra collecting, but every menstruator deserves the dignity to have their periods safely. Having your period while homeless is a morbid flux indeed!
For super heavy flow, they could just fold a piece of absorbent cloth into a pad shape and wear it under the apron. I actually do this for nighttime with a rectangular piece of thick cotton, as it makes like 6 layers of protection.
I used to keep a stack of old thin washcloths for this and would fold one up to use on top of 3 maxi pads (front, back, center). Sometimes it was the only way I could get myself out of the house without making a total mess. Yes, I would have kept all 60 inches of linen fabric gleefully!
Thank you for doing this. You indirectly mention this but every woman was able to use this method to keep the flow from staining her clothes; this was not a technique reserved for those with wealth.
@@evaeinger6476 ditto. After that one time of having to clean up a "murder scene"? I take great care in when I take blood thinners. And then is not it. Acetaminophen over ibuprofen or aspirin even if it takes longer to kill the pain.
Willow bark/aspirine is blood thinning plus the salicic acid from the bark is really aggressive to the stomach. That was one of the two reasons why aspirine became so successful: 1. the dosage was easier and 2. it was less likely to cause a gastritis
Eva Eßinger My monthly blood loss was like Niagara Falls on steroids! Every month of my adult life! For 9 days! Pain was the special little extra.... Cramps, clots you name it. No Meds helped I only ever found that if I took a small amount of brandy/whisky with warm water and sugar sometimes too....the pain would ease to just terrible from suicidal! I eventually worked out that alcohol thins the blood. Which meant that the blood clots were fewer and the lining ‘letting go’ as it were was made easier as the blood flowed more easily. Even in my 50s I bled heavily until I was put on something I cannot remember the name of that cut down the flood. I’ve been known to use two super plus tampons and a pad, walk 20 feet from the bathroom to the kitchen only to have to run back and change again! I was given the pill back in around 1972... but it caused me heart problems so I was informed never to use it ever again! I had a total hysterectomy in 2006, which removed the ovaries, plunging me into the menopause. I was on HRT patches for three years but as my mother had had breast cancer I was advised to come off them. From time to time I still get hot flushes....14 years later! My mum’s menopause lasted well over 20 years so....still a while to go yet!
This was absolutely fascinating! How refreshing to have a part of history discussed that’s so often not mentioned at all, and yet would have been something people obviously had to deal with. Abby, I would love to see a video on the ‘secret messages’ that historic dress/accessories apparently could convey. I have heard that face patches and fans could relay messages - is this strictly true from contemporary sources? And were there any other ways of conveying specific messages with one’s dress? 🧐
Great video! Very interesting. Talking about periods should just be normal and not a reason to think your video might get demonetised. I make my own cloth pads from several layers of cotton, because I was tired of all the plastic waste and they're way more comfortable too. (Also, some modern doctors know about as much about endometriosis or pcos as the doctors back then...)
That’s cool that you make your own pads. I started using fabric pads because am allergic to the disposable ones. Also I wanted a less wasteful option. I’m thinking about making myself a period apron. Just because I love being historically dressed and as close to accurately I can.
That's so right about modern doctors! I've been in a 2-year battle with numerous different doctors so I can hopefully stop being in pain every day, and one of them tried to convince me that ALL of my pain is referred muscle pain from a pelvic floor that's too tight (lol it's not, trust me) and I don't actually have PCOS (despite a long history of cysts showing up on ultrasounds) or endometriosis (I have both, eurgh).
@@bridgetthewench You have my 100% sympathy. I'm appalled that modern doctors have still not been able to really fix painful periods/PCOS?endometriosis. I think it's lack of will, not lack of ability. I had horrendous endometriosis for 22 years until I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 36
@@sarahlowes6213 Thank you! It's very much lack of will. They only bring up hysterectomy at my appointments so they can tell me that I'm "too young" for one at 31 😩
I am 64 years of age. I was born in the Philippines. I have used menstrual diapers until I was 16. I can say that they are comfortable. The diapers made from linen fabrics are easier to wash and don't stain easily compared to polycotton materials.
I actually have used the period apron before, because I’m in musical theatre sometimes we wear period costumes for shows and one time they used the period apron to add extra coverage for our legs.
I have been making my own period pads with linen that snap around my undergarments for years. Also with doing so, less chemicals ets. love this! I am totally going to try the apron too!
I know I've said this before, but your description boxes (no pun intended hehe) are always such a wonderful addition to your videos. If there was an award for best description boxes, you would win every year. From the bottom of my little wannabe historian's heart, THANK YOU for ALL the work you put into them. Long afternoons or evenings have been spent reading/watching/learning about subjects because of your description boxes.
My mother explained to me that they used toweling strips that they would rinse out and then boil to clean them. She was quite happy when she was married and could afford the disposable pads.
Thanks for this! I used to teach "maturation" classes at the elementary schools I worked at; it was actually my favorite class of the year. Girls would inevitably ask this question because it happened to coincide with their American history studies (during the calendar year). I love talking periods! Moms would ask me about things too since the prohibition on open discussions regarding menstruation is strong. *eyeroll* I can't wait to share this with the moms, teachers and nurses that I know. Thanks!!
It’s a 17th Centuey primary source, but I believe Pepys mentions his wife’s periods in his diaries. He calls them courses and notes being sad his wife has them again because they were hoping she’d be pregnant. He was probably sterile due to his kidney stones operation.
This was fabulous. These are the things you don’t hear about in history books but are necessary to truly understand how women , half of society, functioned. This really helps me understand how they survived and performed their daily functions. So fascinating. As a budding writer, this really helps me to understand how inventive, functional, and comfortable the layers of clothing at the time were given the need to hide certain things, aka women’s “periods”. I always thought all that layering was ridiculous. Now I see, especially with linen and certain weaves, it could actually free up a woman from leakage fears, etc during those times. The discussion on the stays on your stomach feeling ok during that period was also a huge surprise. Thank you for all your research.
I’ve actually wondered about this for YEARS!! All I was told when I asked about how periods were dealt with in the past when I was younger was that “oh they thought they were dying!” ...like, really? Every month? And relatively speaking every woman? Don’t think they were that dumb even though we understand more about it now.
Thank you for tackling this topic, Abby!! They more we discuss it in open forums, the more we can normalize it and break down the taboo. It's fascinating that it worked so well! But when I stop and think, I shouldn't be so surprised. If it didn't work, they would have tried something else until they found something that did. The vast majority of women would have needed something that worked well and allowed them to continue doing chores, cooking, taking care of children, etc. And I would have thought all the extra fabric up top would have added to any of the bum roll support, if not crushed down by the stays. XD Love your pups helping!
Sorry me again. My grandmother who was borne in 1867, when I asked how women “managed” described a garment very like a narrower version of your apron, that was lined or stuffed with very soft or warn linen. This made it much easier to deal with heavy days, by changing this padding, without having to change their ‘apron’. This makes more sense to me bearing in mind how labour intensive laundry was. Not just the washing but getting things dry in the wet winter months. Also the limited wardrobes of the majority of women.
I am old enough that any mention of "menstruation" or "periods" was like swearing in church. But I'll set aside my squeamishness for the sake of knowledge.
I think you’re so brave for facing this whole topic down and overcoming your reservations ingrained since your youth. I also find it refreshing how comfortable young people are talking about periods!! I have had totally frank discussions with early 20-somethings at work like it was no more than talking about which shoes worked best for long shifts on our feet. I’m happy for them that they can be so much more comfortable about this.
@@Attackontrashcan It’s that translation of “ unclean” in the Bible. It probably should be “ untouchable”. In general, the other mentions of periods in the Bible are respectful..like Rebecca not getting searched because she was “ in the way of women”...! Women were respected back then when they had their periods, they got a whole week of peace and quiet!!!😅
This is where living history is such a good source (mainly period correct reenactments). I went to a living history camp in Agusta GA and straight up asked one of the players, they explained it in great detail how the aprons were used.
So it's a period, period apron? I do admit occasionally I read "period jacket" in a video title and wonder what changes one makes to a jacket to make it specific to menstruation :p. I must say I'm a skeptic when it comes to personalised suppliments...
Yeah, Making these promotion decisions cannot be easy. But the questions can't help any more than looking up a local health boards guidelines. Mostly suppliments make expensive pee....
I have a lot of health issues, and supplements are very helpful, but I'd always consult a doctor. My dad was just taking a bunch willy-nilly, he ended up having to get hospitalized because they thought his liver was failing.... nope. Supplements. Stopped them, got a giant lecture from his physician, and is not fine. Some things are relatively harmless, like turmeric, probiotics, or fish oil, but not all. Just because it is natural does not mean it isn't dangerous. A lot of things can have interactions too, either with each other or other meds. Sadly, many physicians are not super knowledgeable about Supplements. They need more research in this area. I've had good luck with an osteopath though.
A male friend once asked me: "Why should you never trust a woman?" I shrugged. "Because they are the only living being that bleed once a month without dying." On that note I'm very thankfull for modern medicin that is capable of stopping that 'little' problem dead cold, because otherwise I'd be out cold for up to three days every time that comes up - ibuprophen 600 and sports on four days a week or no - and I don't think my employer would be that understanding. It is, however, very brave of you to discuss this topic on youtube. It sometimes seems that even in a 'modern' and 'enlightened society' where everyone is educated about this in school, it still is a taboo. Our society puts so many constraints on us, as you said in you other viedeo. It is looked at as a personal failure to be ill or feel under the weather. Missing to many days at work due to 'illness' - aka simly being in to much pain to stand up - can be grounds for being fired.
I mean, cute enough joke with the bleeding and not dying, but.... If cisgender men had periods, it'd be a comic book hero: Period Man: striking terror in the hearts of evildoers. ("It will rain blood today!")
@@shannonmcglumphy5967 yeah I chose to ignore the joke...I’ve heard it so many times...*eye roll*. But yes, there’d be superhero comics and if men got cramps, we’d DEFINITELY have that figured out by now, or at least have moving historical dramas of men doing great things, while dealing with their “secret pain” 😂🙄
@Charisma Girl but that's simply not true. It's got nothing to do with "SJW theory", whatever that is - some people identify as trans men and menstruate. (Since you state explicitly that cis and trans men both never have cycles. If you mean that there are no trans men, then we have a different issue that I won't go into in this space.)
Oh dear... I know it happened hundreds of years ago, but poor Sarah! I have started talking back to videos (I might need therapy after the virus is over) and so I said "yeah!" After Sarah's statement. I was doing my hair and noticed the long pause. I stopped and looked at my phone... "what?" 😳 When you said she found guilty and killed... I gasped. How truly horrible... Also, you're an amazing storyteller because I was captivated.
Rebecca Foust that’s funny because for me it always made cramps worse. Which was unfortunate because that is what I craved (also Hot Cheetos and Sprite).
I loved this video, it was funny, informative and fascinating! It makes so much sense to me to essentially wear an absorbent diaper during your bleed, the whole thing can catch blood from whichever direction it decides to shoot out from! Haha, one of the issues I've always had with pads is that even the longest largest ones rarely can catch allll the blood on my heavy days. Plus I kinda want one now since you talked up feeling dry. I hate modern disposable pads bc of how swampy they are.
Yasss! I was waiting for this! It's so interesting to see the workings of older times and how things have changed (or in this case not really). The fact that many of the publishings were written by men when they wouldn't have any idea of how a period feels or works just 🤦♀️ Sarah's case also shows how even back then we had incorrect rulings over murders because of the lack of proper technology and information. We STILL have this happen today and that shows how little advancement there has been in our justice systems. I hope we have better changes in our future, like bringing MORBID FLUX back. 😂😂 It definitely sounds more threatening and would make people be nicer to us during that time. Lol
Excellent video, love that you referenced primary source material. Please keep doing these types of videos. You have a great way of blending research, sensitivity and light hearted humor in your videos.
My husband and I have been binge watching "The Great" and it got me thinking about how women dealth with their time of the month back in the day which led me to a few articles and this video. I've always been curious. I'm part Native American and I know that the women of the tribe were sent to stay in a seperate hut when they were on their period. The tribe would be worried that their blood would attract wild animals! Even though I'm not very old I've already had too many embarassing period moments so I've always been really shy about talking about this...I've bled through my clothes too many times. The worst time was at a group trip to Universal Studios. I wore these light tan cargo pants and my boyfriend didn't tell me I had started my period and had a big blood mark on my butt. A friend came up and asked me if she could keep some of her tampons in my bag and I said "Sure!" I didn't know she was trying to hint that I was on my period. I walked around most of the day like that until I went to the bathroom and noticed. I was so so embarassed and couldn't believe no one told me and I wished I would have had a shirt to wrap around my waist. I get it is natural but I've always felt like a dork and like I don't fit in so these moments always made me feel extra insecure.
Abby, just to let you know, there is actually a Museum of Menstruation that lists what some women in the theater wore in the 1700s www.mum.org/whatwore.htm and the belt as being worn since the 1850s. www.mum.org/valenpad.html And the first disposable pads came in to being in the 1880s. There is also a book out by Sharra L. Vostral "Under Wraps: A History of Menstrual Hygiene Technology" - And the tampon has been used for millenia www.period.media/factsfigures/tampon-history/
Thanks for linking, I was going to do it myself. I remember finding that site years and years ago. It's a really fascinating collection and I'm glad it's online, since the in-person one was closed. This is also interesting, knitted pads from Norway: www.mum.org/NorwPads.htm
I am almost 67 and i found the little booklet we got in grade school. Most likely the 5th grade. Girls had the special talk and we got to see the exciting movie You're a Young Lady Now! I remember how excited the girl was in the movie and her telling her mom that her daddy would be told! Last thing I ever wanted my father to know. Yes, a great site.
@@denickite LMAO l NEVER wanted my Dad to know either! That said, my youngest daughter and I have her Dad grab the products every month just so he knows she's growing up as he likes to treat her like a little girl still. He cringes and we get a good giggle. TL:DR I don't think most Dad's are thrilled to know anyway😂🤣
@@BlueEyedMomof378 it’s funny how were all so different about stuff like that. I told my parents at the same time. It was my 11th birthday, and I burst into their room with a very dramatic groan and a “worst birthday present ever!!” 😂 And dad bought me whatever I needed, without any issue. Now I’m disabled, and my brother (who is my full time carer and lives with me and my daughter) buys us whatever we need with no problem. It blows his mind that there are men who feel embarrassed about buying menstrual products. But our family was always very open and honest about these things, and my parents made sure we were both taught about puberty, sex, sexuality, gender etc on very medically accurate ways, and that we learnt not just about our own sex, but other sexes as well. It’s something I try to do with my daughter now- she’s 13, has had her period for a few years at this point, but we still have “chats” about different topics pretty often. It’s never been a taboo subject in my family. And I tried to make it so that periods weren’t regarded as awful or embarrassing by making her a menarche hamper- with chocolate, magazines, a super cute unicorn water bottle and stuff like that.
@@katherinemorelle7115 I hear that! The best policy (imho) when it comes to children is age appropriate honesty. My parents were the same with me growing up, and I'm super open with my three. Hubby grew up in a home with 2 brothers and a Mom that didn't really talk about that stuff though. He cringes mostly because it upsets him that we've got one grown (21) and one almost 15. He's crushed Daddy's little girls are growing up, and experiencing all of the changes (and feelings) that come with it. He's a great Dad though. My girls and I get giggles because of his response, but to be fair we torment him (playfully). If any of our 3 went to him though, and needed to talk seriously, he would absolutely talk to them openly and honestly (albeit a bit uncomfortably LOL). I think the girls just prefer talking to Mom about that kind of stuff, and our son will talk to me but kinda prefers talking to Dad about how his body is changing (13 on the 24th of this month). I don't understand parents that leave those "talks" up to the school (or even worse, friends). It's my job, and my pleasure to talk to them about things they can expect as they grow up. Watching them become well informed young adults, that make great choices because of lessonsI taught them is one of things that brings me the greatest sense of joy and pride in my children. I smiled reading your response. I think more parents should take a page from your book and open up to their smallish humans! Kudos to you Mama!
I see a bit of cookie wanted to co-host part of this video. Shout out to that cookie for its gumption! 😂🤦🏻♀️
I want to give a special shout out to Ash LG for chatting with me & giving me some further insight on gender and inclusivity, I really appreciated it! You can check out their UA-cam channel here: ua-cam.com/channels/lLQ_gsr77ZbxaxzZBo1XkQ.html
Where I got my birds-eye linen: www.thehistoricalfabricstore.com/product-page/birds-eye-linen-natural
Burnley & Trowbridge also has diaper linen right now too (I also used their linen thread and cotton tape)!: burnleyandtrowbridge.com/collections/linen-white-naturals-neutrals/products/6644-white-light-weight-diaper-linen
If you want to make your own apron, my book has instructions: amzn.to/308Fq6o (this is an affiliate link)
My stays pattern is self-drafted based off of a pair in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/92145.html?mulR=164827081|5), but a good option would be Redthreaded's: redthreaded.com/collections/make-your-own-corsets/products/17stays-pattern
Karolina also did a video on Victorian Periods 🎉🩸 ua-cam.com/video/2d_QP7D77is/v-deo.html
Hey Abby, would something like this be suitable for a eco stable alternative to incontinence diapers/pads? I am a caretaker for a person with stress incontinence.
MidnightQueen
Diaper weave did give its name to diapers. However, it’s worth noting that diaper nappies were folded differently depending on the sex of the baby, meaning that just bunching it up wasn’t considered sufficient, even for an infant, so depending on the severity of the incontinence it may need to be quite bulky to be absorbent enough for an adult.
Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
@@midnightqueen3332 You could quilt several layers of linen on top of each other in the shape of such a pad.
And maybe put a layer of undyed sheep's wool inside, either as a felt or simply as wadding.
Maybe two layers of linen, then wool, then two layers of linen again. That would probably suffice.
Then you just try it out with the person.
I'm actually considering making period pads for myself in this manner.
I think it’s worth experimenting with for sure!
Now THIS is what I call a period drama!
😂
My favorite comment lol 😂
😂🤣😂
lolz
Ba-dum-tish!
I’m 66 and when I was 12 I was handed a brick sized ‘boo-boo pad’ and a garter belt to hold it. It was clearly visible as I was very petite, and horribly embarrassing. My mother, born in 1928, said she used dishcloths (presumably made of linen) torn into strips as pads until commercial items became available. Tampons were never sold to unmarried women for many years. I had to do chores to pay for my own pads and in 1970, I finally started using Tampax tampons without my mother knowing. Anyone who used tampons before marriage was considered a tramp. How women were treated during that time was very disturbing, and it messes with your sexuality even today.
Wow! Thank you for sharing your experience. That does sound so awful and I hate that there are so many stupid judgments like that.
My mom still considers tampons to be bad because of the whole virginity thing
Wow..... thanks for sharing your experience!
That definitely seemed to rub off on my mom. The first time I tried tampons was when her friend offered them so I could go swimming with my friends, and my mom was really unhappy. She never said anything, but I felt very much like she disapproved, and I'm thinking it was cause of this.
I'm sorry you went through all of that, and I'm so grateful that my mom (who graduated high school in 1962) didn't pass that sort of thinking down.
Totally NOT an over share! The world needs more honesty, openness, and education on health, especially in regards to ‘feminine’ or ‘intimate’ issues. Great video!
Thank you for using the word “Feminine”, this is strictly a female topic. Only women with a uterus can have a period… even female animals… not anything or anyone identifying as such.
All I can think of is that time in high school my friend was talking about "period clothing" and I looked at her and was like "you mean like sweatpants and a loose t shirt?" and she was like "...no Emily I mean corsets"
well maybe she can try wearing a corset on her period :)
Lolol
@@lemurlover7975 I have, and it really reduced my pain. Having that pressure there was just fantastic! And it also provides a lot of back support, which is very important for me, as I’m disabled with a degenerative spinal condition, and of course, my period cramping always also attacks my back (because of course it does).
So yeah- corsets on periods are a definite win for me! 10/10 would recommend.
@@lemurlover7975 she just meant period clothing as in like a historic time period, not a menstrual period. Like a period drama movie.
That took me a hot second, I was like "What do corsets have to do with periods? They're not absorbent" then ohhhh....
Thank you so much. I about got dizzy from eye rolling when people would insist "they just bled into their clothes" as if they didn't wear anything different on their period and just dripped all over the furniture. In the times we're talking about, even intimating one had a menstrual period in mixed company wasn't acceptable. No way would a young lady risk standing up and discovering she'd ruined a seat or was sporting the scarlet flag as she left the room. Insisting "they didn't do anything" because there's not a historic written source is sort of like the attitude when garb snobs would insist the only correct length for skirts was to have them concealing your shoes and dragging on the ground. Our ancestors were no stupider then we are; working people have always needed practical clothing so they can get on with things because no responsible woman can just hide in her room for a week every month. A reusable, sustainable, cheaper method is not only logical, it's far more comfortable than suggesting women of childbearing years all walked around worrying if, um, anything was showing which wasn't any more acceptable back then than it is today. The ghosts of my hard-working female ancestors are all applauding right now!
Yessss! 👏👏👏 I believe the attitude some people have that women in the past were not active, intelligent and innovative because we lack published sources is rooted in sexism. The lack of published sources points not to the fact that women didn't have anything to say worth hearing, but to the silencing of their voices. The assumption that women couldn't fugure out ways to manage their periods for thousands of years is, frankly, insulting.
I belong to the trans Himalayas, and In early trans Himalayan region, women used ash to spread in their bed before sleeping, so that the blood gets soaked into the ash, and they can throw away the bloodsoaked ashes, in the morning.
Crazy but true. My grandmother told me.
That’s actually like… really really smart.
*walks into the room all dusty and grey*
"That time of the month eh?"
"Yup..."
That's clever! You can just sweep it or collect it away! What about activities?
@@wolvie1618 🤣🤣
very clever :)
I know you felt really awkward and you kept saying you were “over shearing” but I think more women should talk about it!!!
We need to normalize periods!
They ARE normal. For some of us though, we prefer to keep it to ourselves.
@@BlueEyedMomof378 men talk so openly about their puberty experience, so much that even a women not searching for it would know about it, and that just seems wrong; puberty is a normal thing, just like period is normal and it should be something people kept talking about so that no one gets afraid of going for help when something is wrong with it or thinking it's wrong and not talking about it properly.
We will never normalize periods for women bc they're taking away everything it means to be a woman. Your uterus is a social construct didnt u know?
@@Cactusssutcac Boys don’t really talk about their puberty experience. Barely none even do that. What boys are you hanging around hun? Stop making assumptions
They are normal, but we act like they aren't. They're just a bodily function, like going to the bathroom, but mention of periods is considered disgusting and to be avoided.
Officially one of the worst periods ever.
*Gets period*
*Accused of murder*
* Explains period to room of angry men*
*1733 killed for having a period*
HORRIBLE what people really endured bk then ..especially women..we r so blessed now
Or a full stop.
She wouldn't have been found guilty if the police and judge were women. But of course women weren't permitted to do those jobs back then.
@@butterflydiva72 when I found out that louis 14 had a "secret woman doctor" I was elated!
That's why it was called the dark age. The level of fanaticism and ignorance just kills me. No where else in the world had it that bad.
I'm from Hungary. I've found a rather interesting article where they asked really elderly people in small, isolated villages, how these things went. The women said, the fabric had a life in the house. If the fabric started as a wearable cloth, when it was in pieces and not able to use elsewhere, it ended up in between the legs. They said they did this because their mothers did the same, so... I don't know, It can reach (?) back to really old times, huh?
So that's where we get the expression "being on the rag" from.
Makes complete sense, all it needs to do is be absorbent, and you want to use all the presentable cloth for clothes and bedlinens. Perhaps we've mystified the whole question far too much, it's really likely that as long as fabric clothes were around, a good chunk of women have been using cloths to catch menstrual blood.
Makes complete sense. Why choose nice fabrics for dirty usage. And once these rags would be too ragged to be washed and re-used again: I imagine they could be burried and slowly rot-away in the ground. Leaving literally nothing for archeologists and museums of our times. I can even imagine feeding it to the pigs to get rid of it.
Nah that makes sense - my Mema grew up on a farm and every bit of cloth she had had a life cycle. Clothes, patches, rag rugs, dish rags, quilts, dust cloths etc. So yea period rags makes sense.
Having worked for many immigrant families that are first or second generation to the United States, I can attest that every piece of fabric has a purpose in the house- if it's not usable clothes anymore, it will be torn into rags to be used for cleaning the house! Cheers
I am 68, my grandmother was 95 when she died. She was born in 1879, when we girls would ask her how they did things for their periods in the old country( Russia) she talked about the same kind of apron but then more modified with a tie belt like old belts I grew up with. But they made their "pads" and washed them and wore more quilted flannel petticoats and yes they had their "period" garments for the time. so 100 years later for her from your time, this information was passed along from elder to younger with in the women....It is important to not be embarrassed about talking about the thing all women go through all over the world.... Than-you for this vid!
My grandmother (b. 1889) also described cloth pads tied to a belt. They were deposited in a”slop jar” until wash day, much like a diaper pail. Her family had a laundress- her father was a doctor.- so someone else had the joy of washing them.
My mom who was born in the 70s told me a story about when her dad came to school cus she forgot her pad belt 😂
I am 55 now. I don’t think my mother has ever talked to me about my period to this day. That was a very scary part of my life and I felt very alone. 😞
@@s.morgan5971 sad.
@@s.morgan5971 You're not alone. It was something about that generation. I'm 60, and can remember them speaking of breast cancer in lowered voices, because they had to say breast.. My grandparents were not like that! Their kids had moved to the city and become 'refined'. We lost out thanks to that refinement.
Morbid Flux would be an excellent band name.
OMG YEEESSSSS
I want to be a part of that band 😂
My husband said the same. A goth band singing about cramps. 😂😂
Screamo death metal, with the band logo in an unreadable spiky font... possibly band members in face paint... yes. I can see it
DUDE
I once asked my grandmother, what her grandmother were doing during period (at first she didn't know why I was asking, and even she was old enough to not be embarrassed, she was..) I explained that I like historical costumes and stuff.. so she realised that I didn't ask because of some perverted reasons... :D and she told me, that (my grand-grand-grandmother was born in 1870s in Slovak village) back in 1800s they just wore more skirts, and the bottom one was used for period, they just mounted it between their legs and secured with some string/ribbon... and they just did it for church visit (at Sunday) or at night, but usually they just let it flow during the day.. but they were at the field working outside and while they were indoors they mounted their underskirt... so much for this knowledge :D
What about chaffing?
Moving , working, walking would produce sore legs.
@@opaltaberna6817exactly. I've always wondered about that.
You could have entitled this video “Period Clothes” and the double meaning would have been amazing!
OH. MY. GOD.
🙌🏽😜🤣
😫 Missed opportunity!
Kaylee, you are a genius!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sarah Malcolm: makes a great defense
Me: oh heck yeah that's super well-argued
Narration: she was convicted of murder and sentenced to death
Me: ...what
That was *exactly* how I responded too.
women didnt have any rights at the time so noted in that she had to argue her own case when a man in the same circumstances would have been assigned a pubic defender or be literally fighting off lawyers more than willing to defend him. she was sentenced anyway because a woman's defense meant nothing...again no rights...
Literally. That shit hurt my heart
On her period, was called a liar, and then put to death. Shitty day
I had the same thought.
I am a 61 year old, post-menopausal mamma of thirteen full term pregnancies. I’ve lived “off-grid” ( read that to mean no electricity, no running water, outhouse, wood stove, etc!;) and I’m just hooting at the memories of inconveniences that this post brings back...
You handle this research & topic with great humor & finesse! Truly- there are some conveniences of modern life that are very welcome! Others.. well???
@Charisma Girl It’s true- you should!🎖
I am one of these rare women who was blessed with incredibly easy and mostly painless periods from the get go; and both pregnancy and nursing were easy for me. Menopause on the other hand!?! I figured the hot flashes would be long gone by now!!
I guess it all comes out in the wash-- literally!! 😆 🧺
I always felt bad for my sister or for a few of my daughters who have had periods ranging from average to very painful much more so than I ever did!!
@Charisma Girl definitely! Great perspective! And I do consider myself very blessed; rich in all the right ways! We’re down to one last teen at home; but have grown-kids & grandkids spread across the country; all productive citizens, working hard at life. The grandbuddies are, of course, the icing on the cake! 🥰
How did you handle your period living off grid? (FWIW, I grew up on-grid (mostly) but we had our own (grid-electricity-driven) well & used a woodstove as our primary source of heat in the winter.)
A video idea: how did they deal with rain/bad weather with long dresses etc. Also how did they deal with permanently stained items, especially expensive fabrics?
I second this!
As someone who had spent years wearing skirts, rain isn't that big a deal. Skirts don't always touch the ground, they are often slightly shorter in the front.
We see ball gowns and such that touch the ground but pictures that show working women, the skirts are shorter.
Ball gowns and such often had a tougher fabric sewn underneath that was slightly longer than the skirt... Like a dust ruffle of sorts. It protected the skirt bottom. There trim at the skirt bottom could also be removed and be replaced.
Now gowns like Worth gowns may not have had all this, but I've seen many a picture and painting where the edges were protected with removable edgings or a subtle dust ruffle.
I would also add snow to the question, since it stays on the ground and can definitely be 10 to 20cm deep
+++
There is an idea, I haven't verified it, that the most interior petticoats were actually dyed red, which to me is total genius. I mean, what brain trust decided white was the best color, even today? Probably a man -.-
The puppies joining in the period apron dance party was adorable.
This comment is so cute! Haha ❤😊😋
Very interesting... the apron you showed me here is very similar to Tei-ji tai.(丁字帯） It's a Japanese name, meaning "letter 丁(tei) shaped sash". My father, who passed away many years ago, was a gynecologist. In his era, this was used for women after she gave birth or perhaps for regular period too. I wonder when the use of this sort of thing started in Japan. Since Edo period?... I do not know. I don't think any hospital use Tei-ji tai now but, was used in the hospital for heavy discharge of after birth. Particularly heavy flow, this was used with thick cotton wrapped with folded linen to absorb the blood. Funny thing was, when I first started to have my period, I run to my father(rather than my mother) and asked what to do. He gave me Tei-ji tai and a pad which was for that after birth pad that was too thick! The nurse run to the pharmacy to get me a regular pad but mean while I had to wear that thick pad with Tei-ji tai. Ugh! it was so uncomfortable because I couldn't walk right. My legs were apart because of that thick pad! Good funny memory of my father came back. hahaha Thank you for your clip! Isn't it interesting? very similar garment was invented for same purpose in East and West.
I am ONLY ever going to refer to the monthly shedding of my uterine lining as Morbid Flux from now on. And I say this as a healthcare professional 😁
“Shedding one’s uterine lining” for technical contexts, “morbid flux” for non-technical ones.
“So during your morbid flux-“
“Wait, what?”
“Your morbid flux... your cycle. Your flow. Your period? That time of the month?”
“Oh! Okay. That’s awesome. I’m keeping that.”
😈 Good. *rubs hands together* pay it forward....
(In other news, I’m sort of loopy on tooth pain and may be sharing my inner play a bit more than usual)
I’m also going to refer to it as that also. Because it is hilarious.
Me too, I love it 🤣
@@octaviasofia1984 Love Morbid Flux! That would have been what i would have referred it as back in the day when I still menstruated and was an actual witch for three weeks out of a month. As an older woman, I can sit back and feel rather smug and glad I don't have to deal with this anymore.
Next time my boyfriensd accuses me of being In a bad mood im gonna be like "You'd be pissed too if you were morbid fluxing" can't waitto see the look on his face lol
Loving "morbid flux"
the bad week is a good way of describing it !
Morbid flux would be a good name for a metal band
@@operarose2616Straight up just “PERIOD BLOOD” as a band name would probably go hard too, to be honest hahah
Morbid Flux sounds like a liquid bass house producer
My mom was born in 1930 & when I would complain about my period, she would regale me with tales about having to use, clean & re-use folded strips of cloth made from old bed sheets that they would safety pin to a cloth belt they'd wear around their waist to hold them in place. At least once each period, movement would cause one of the pins to work its way open & she'd get stabbed by the open pin, have to rush off to the bathroom & fix it. "Accidents" were common so she always tried to wear a dark-colored dress during her period so any bleed-through would be less obvious. Her mother, who was born in 1884, forbade her to use tampons until she married & moved out of their home. In her mother's thinking, tampons being inserted into the vaginal vault was too akin to sexual activity for "proper girls" to use them. To make it all the more humiliating for my Mom, her father was a plumber & gave my Mom "the talk" about never flushing tampons or applicators because it clogs the plumbing & some man would have to come dig them out of the system.
As for odd euphemisms regarding having your period, my mother's generation would say their "red-headed aunt has come from a visit". Thank God my generation simply said it was "that time of the month".
A visit from Aunt Flo 😉
Not all heroes wear capes.... some wear aprons ;)
Have you noticed how the signs on public restrooms always show the woman wearing a cape? Some people think it's a skirt but I know better.
@@meacadwell or maybe they're wearing a skirt *underenath* the cape... No need to get rid of the skirt to be a superhero 😉
An apron is just a cape worn on the front
BUTT CAAAAAPES to the rescue!!!
I’m 64. Started my period when I was 12. Had the worst periods ever. My mom gave me Paregoric (liquid opium that you could buy at just about any store) with a spoon full of sugar and sent me to bed. This continued until I was 15 and she took me to the doctor who put me on birth control pills to regulate and stop all the other symptoms.
This is one life event I am GLAD is over. Closed up shop. Out of business.
@@rejoyce318 True, but I hate hot flashes.
I had a surgery a couple of years ago and my ovaries were removed, so I said goodbye to periods early. I'm so glad.
You could buy liquid opium over the counter back then? Oh, dear!
You sound like me except that I’m only a young 63. At 13, to my mortification, my mother told my father that I needed to see a doctor. I mean, fathers didn’t know about such things-right? The world My dr. put me on a drug called Daprisol which was pure amphetamine.
I'm 66, and also got paregoric. I never did go on the Pill, but resorted to aspirin and alcohol which got me through, though mostly I did have to take to my bed for a couple of days. Somehow I got away with that, but it really did influence my choices in life.
Full admission: I’m a guy.
That being said, I’ve been trying to Lean more about this subject because
A) I wanted to know how women dealt with it as it’s never mentioned in fiction,
And
B) I’ve been trying to find material I could use as references for the story I’m writing, because it will come up as a plot point at least once (especially for a female knight character)
Jack curious about the book. Wondering how it will be a plot point. Lol.
@@JulieEGosnell the short version is that the MC is able to switch between genders, with the sole exception that they are locked into a female form during their menstrual cycle (because nature demands their due), and I was trying to find out information to be as accurate to the time period I’m using as a basis as possible.
@@JackWolf1 that's a great one! keep updating us!
@@JackWolf1love it!
Ew
My 12 yr old refers to it as "Satan's sacrificial waterfall".
I have stage 4 endo... that's fitting 😆
is your 12 year old ok? maybe there is something you can do to ease the pain. must be a lot of pain if she is calling it that. have you tried dong quai and maca root?
@@lemurlover7975 I am so, so sorry. I didn't consider how my comment may come across...lol.
My 12 yr old is a boy. 🤣 And the poor kid has my warped sense of humor.
@@mitsycat2803 God bless you!! Thankfully, I never had to endure endo. I had horrible PCOS and had a hysterectomy at 25. And yes ... Satan's sacrificial waterfall is fitting...lol
@@TxNursePatti I was told when I was around 24 I needed one. I don't have kids yet, so I've been fighting it ever since. Now I'm in medically induced menopause. Less pain, but hot flashes are killer. You trade Satan's waterfall for Satan's oven lol
For stronger periods one could easily put additional rags into the diaper.
That's how I did keep my kids dry at night in cloth diapers
That is exactly what I was thinking.
I had the same thought. A rolled up clout positioned in the apron.
Yes, I would have been one of those and had to have changed it frequently.
And if you had access to it - shove a sheepskin in there. Extra insurance against bleeding from the skin side!
Im 71 and there were 3 females besides my Mom in our house. I dont even remember ever seeing pads in stores. So we made our own. We used old rags and worn out towels, etc we tore them in strips and lined them with plastic bread sacks, then rolled them into pads.
Where there's a will!
Thats really inventive!!!
@@sandrapowell4166 there’s a way
@@somethinggood9267 I love the addition of a plastic liner, like for heavy days😊
So, I am in mid-50's but I was brought up by my Grandmother. It was quite normal for Grandmothers to pass this kind of information on ..... Her Grandmother had taught her. The only thing I would say was that by the mid-1860's, they were lining the "aprons" with a pad which was basically a folded up piece of brushed cotton fabric - about six layers. You used a bleach bucket and popped your used padding in and then boiled them all at the end. And yes, at eleven I was introduced to the method. It took a teacher to take me under her wing and explain modern methods lol.
Poor Sarah, I’m sure they concluded that a) she was on her period, and therefore driven to a murderous rage by nature, or b) clearly it was witchcraft, that the blood didn’t appear everywhere else. Or c) how dare you use logic against us woman!
Also gird your loins is a phrase that need to come back into daily usage. Ex. My morning routine is typically wake up, drink coffee, gird my loins, and head out ready to take on the day. Pretty much sums up the female experience.
#girdyourloins is the theme for 2020 😂
I was looking for a that escalated quickly comment, but I guess yours works better!
I think it was “c”. She used logic, so “send her to the gallows!!” It’s maddening to think that she would have escaped that whole situation if she hadn’t been on her courses.
I was honestly hoping for a (more) happy ending for her :(.
Then i paused the video and went to the comment section to look a comment like "but can we talk about how that woman was sentence to death because she was a woman, this having a period?" (cuz her defense sounds perfectly valid to me). I mean I know being a woman was a crime that could basically cost you the life ("she's too pretty and this married guy did something stupid for her, she must have bewitched him, burn her" kind of logic) but damn sis.
I thought maybe it was because they needed someone to blame for it, and who cares about logic or actual guilt when you can just put someone to death, and the whole community feels safer for it.
I use washable pads and I love it. I guess it's the equivalent of the old cloth diapers they used. It feels comfy and it's easy to change.
I got my 12 year old daughter double lined cloth pads made out of cotton flannel and the regular disposable kind - she would rather wear her clothe pads, she finds them to be more comfortable!
@@blowitoutyourcunt7675 (As a teenager) I absolutely agree with your daughter! My mom started making her own pads to be more environmentally friendly, and so when I started my period she made me some too, and just a couple months ago my sister started hers and she has some too. There are definitely ways disposable pads are nice, but I really like my cloth ones!
I've had to switch away from pads for Reasons(TM), but for decades I used various different types and brands of cloth pads & I loved 'em! (I would also use a menstrual cup and/or tampons sometimes as well.) They all have wings that snap around your underwear so you get the extra side protection and you don't get the weird plastic smell & "drive by waxing" that disposable pads can give you when the wings end up getting stuck to your skin & hair down there. There's extra long ones for sleep. Not to mention some of the ones you could add extra layers for greater flow days; the best ones used rickrack to hold them on top so you could just change out the extra layer. And, of course, the fun prints & colors on the fabric never hurt!
I do too. They are SO comfortable. In my mid forties I started having allergic reaction to disposable pads. I wish I had known about cloth so many years ago. They are 1,000 times better
I have always had varied (mild to severe) reactions to disposable products, from my very first cycle up until I needed to hand sew my first cmp 7 years ago due to some financial issues preventing me from affording the only brand of disposables I could use without full on hives that cycle.
What a freeing experience to go from 3 jumbo packs of disposable pads every cycle to a few changes a day! I only wish I’d had the knowledge and option of reusable cloth products the first 24 years of my cycles. I am one of the lucky ones who had a drastic decrease in cramping and flow with cloth. And the plethora of topper/absorbent/backer fabrics and patterns to choose from means I can customize however I wish.
Men: we don't understand periods
Woman: explains periods
Men: you murdered a man! You witch!
Haha
Dark, primitive, ignorant fanatics. That's the only way I see this part of history.
@@disturbed1013 well its all in the past now
@@queteimportaa.2535 Not much changed since then, most men are still ignorant of the female anatomy. Many guys never heard of vaginal discharge, how ovulation works, and - surprisingly - they can't locate clits.
@@BenefitCounterbench their mentality hasn't evolved yet sadly.
To all younger ladies (and older maybe too), almost 50% of society is bleeding. Red stains on your clothes are not thing to be embarassed for. This is only blood that comes out without violence.
My mother and I were discussing how menstruation is the only "trauma-free" blood just the other day!
@@AbbyCox Yes! Like, it's only blood that is connected to giving life, not taking it (not mentioning donating blood ofc, bc it's artificial).
@@kostusia What a beautiful reflection of something most of American society considers "icky."
I wouldn't say "trauma free" lol. Just joking, I know what you mean. But when it comes to cramps, the struggle is real.
"...comes out without violence..."
Phew..... you don't know my ex.....
When my kids were babies, I used cloth diapers. The trick to reducing the bulk between the legs is simply to fold the sides in, making it narrower but retaining the fabric, increasing the thickness.
Yes yes and more yes! I got the cloth diapers second hand from family and they were the diaper pin ones. I just bought my brother and sister-in-law some BA cloth diapers with snaps and inserts, gotta love the genus who made those!
when i stopped buying commercial pads, i just went and bought baby diapers and cheap cotton wash clothes.. works like a charm.
What about washing those cloths? I can see washing blood stains in linen, but what about poop in linen cloth diapers? My mother told me horror stories about it, how do you deal with the smell and all that?
@@RaineInChaos i have thick thighs so i just tuck them in and they stay put. obviously that wont work for a lot of people. but works well with historic clothing because no panties to fuss with.
@@plantylittlewoman ok may get a bit gross and this is late but I have 2 in diapers and we have a poop spatula scraper in 2 bathrooms and my hubs changes the water / bleach out with it often. Some people also have a diaper sprayer or a disposable liner .
I scrape the poop with the spatula and put the cloth diaper and inserts in the cloth bag that actual doesn't smell bad due to us leaving it open. The spatula has a little like holder thing with bleach water
When we wash them, we do a quick wash and then a regular wash
You only have to start scraping ( and though it is gross it takes like 20 seconds) and only have to do it when babe starts eating solids as that's when the poops gets peanut buttery
I love that you did this video! This is a topic I have always been curious about in a historical standpoint. I myself use reusable pads that I made myself. I have used them 3 or 4 years now and love them. I have a tutorial on my channel where I show how to make them if anyone is interested.
I make my own cloth pads, too! I originally used a store- bought one as a template. (I haven't seen any cloth ones in stores in at least a decade, though.) But now I want to see how you do it.
Anyway, it's a great way to recycle old clothes!
Happy sewing!
I simply take a white mens crew sock and fold it in half. No leakage whatsoever and they wash up nice and white again. Extremely comfortable too
Oh yuk. I'm sorry, but just....🤮🤢🤮
My Mom would tell stories about how she and her sisters had to use rags.....AKA: ON the rag!
@Marie Marie safety pins
Yep, morbid flux needs to come back into common language. Also that was a very fine period apron dance! Lol. Thanks Abby
My college friends called it the Moon-Time. I was dramatic and called it the Crimson Tide.
@@indigohalf Gets called "Shark Week" around here :)
Abbey is getting very good a linen clothing dances! And I do wish morbid flux would come back into common language, I am disappointed that I no longer have mine, because otherwise I would so call it that! (and I don't usually say that!)
Mine was referred to as Evil Aunt Flo, or just the Evil One, but henceforth it shall be the Morbid Flux.
Bash Clopton - a visit from Auntie Flo from here...
Bless you, for making this! I am writing a historical fiction novel and couldn't for the life of me find anything on the 18th century periods! I only found that they took opium sometimes for the pain and like, I don't blame them xD
I read several first person accounts from teen girls and women from the 19th century, where they talk about becoming addicted to the laudanum they took for period pains. It doesn't help that there was no way to tell how potent your laudanum or one of those "soothing syrups" was, other than try it. Even if they listed how much of each ingredient, potency can vary greatly.
"dearest Madam, kindly excuse my most Ill-Timed absence from this evening's Banquet; for I am in the throws of a most foul Morbid Flux."
😂
This was perfect 😆 I have endometriosis/adenomyosis. If I lived back then I would probably just get that phrase made up into some lovely little calling cards to distribute as needed.... which would be a lot.
@@mitsycat2803 it's an extremely fun thing to say. I don't have endo but I do have another condition that essentially means the shredding of the uterine lining literally tears the tissue in my uterus (which functionally does the same thing in as much as clinical symptoms). I have been on meds since I was a young teen to stop my periods entirely but tbh considering whipping this one out next time I cbf going to a family gathering
I think you'd say "throes"
@@kitty-pm2md oh my God, that would be awesome 🤣 just picturing people googling morbid Flux. That would certainly be a conversation starter
My French step mother told me that some women from her village said "the English are here" meaning their period had started, this was a reference to Napoleonic times.
Birdy
I come from Belgium and I can confirm that "the English have landed" it is still used nowadays 😅
The recurrence of attacking army-related references when talking about periods really speaks to how horrible they are for many women, it does indeed feel like a minor war down there sometimes
It's because the British Army wore red coats.
You're sharing your most intimate biology with 215,091 of your closest UA-cam friends. What could go wrong?
BTW: Bernadette Banner sent me!
I can only speak for myself, but something as well known and understood as the menstrual period doesn't even make it in to the top ten most intimate parts of my biology 🤣
Cousin Myrna told me she asked Granny when she was ancient old - after living through such an exciting time, seeing electricity, air flight, indoor pluming, cars and tractors what is the best invention you have appreciated the most (mind you this was a farm woman) ....
.
.
..
.
.
her answer was TAMPONS.
Total agreement!
I've been told that the Greeks used sea sponges as tampons.
@@silencedogood9747 that’s gross.. the pieces can fall inside and infect natural biome pH of uterus-vagina. Wearing it Outside is ok if wet.. but those things if left dried can cut skin 😬 like needles or sharp razors.. HELL no!!
@@kateli1880 I won't argue with that. I know absolutely nothing about sea sponges. I know a girl who does use them though. Or at least she says she does.
And to think they were originally invented to plug up gunshot wounds lol!
I found this very interesting. At 72 I am long past the need, but still thought it was very educational.
One thought did come to my mind. I recall my grandmother telling how you would lay rags on the lawn
in the sun on wash day to bleach out stains. I was wondering if some women didn't do this with their need-bes to rid them of period stain. When I used to hang my clothes on the line I would put my dish clothes and towels and rags on the ground in the sun. It did work.
Grandmother also taught me to sharpen my paring knife by shoving it in and out of the ground. It worked as well. Thanks Abby.
does the ground have to be hard and rocky?
@@lemurlover7975 well I believe that certainly helps, but grandma did it in the back yard near the garden.
@@lemurlover7975 It's actually better over grass. The grass releases oxygen, which reacts with the sunlight to bleach the fabric.
Or, just buy Oxyclean and get the same result without the work.
My mother did this with diapers for my sister. The grass combined with the sunlight helps bleach the fabric. That is why lawns exist, to bleach the linen, also called lawn.
@@lenabreijer1311 you must do crosswords. I just came across sheer fabric with the answer being lawn.
I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere so want to comment that I am so so happy I discovered menstrual cups + washable period underwear (I use Diva Cup and Thinx). Now I don't have any plastic waste and better yet when I wear them together I can go up to 12 hours without worrying about leaks or toxic shock syndrome. I change the cup in the morning and night, and wash all my underwear pairs at the end of the week. Wish I knew about these back when I was playing volleyball in school and had to wear spandex all the time!
Came here to comment the same!!! My favourite combo is ModiBodi undies + Intimina's Ziggy cup. My period has stopped being such a hassle: no more allergic reactions from pad adhesive; no more horrible cramps from my tampon expanding inside me; no worry about being surprised by my period or caught without products as I always have my cup in its pouch in my wallet.
Lucky you! I completely fill and overflow Diva cup in a couple hours max. My periods are extremely heavy and severely painful.
@@applegal3058 I know this is a super old comment but have you ever tried a period disc? It's a similar idea to a period cup but has a larger capacity. The brand I use is called Nixit, it's easy to insert and clean and everything. Just throwing that out!
A whole new meaning to “period costume”.
🤣🤣🤣
Thank you so much for sharing about this alternative to modern pads/tampons/period. I am becoming increasingly allergic to modern products (hives in certain..areas are...not so fun), so finding historical/natural alternatives is a HUGE help to me. I know it's super awkward for you to talk about, but I'm extremely grateful for you sharing this! Thank you so much!
I don't know if you'd be interested, but I switched away from pads for the same reason as I was allergic to the adhesive and instead began using menstrual cups. I 100% recommend them as you leave them in for up to 12 hours (take out and clean when you wake up, reinsert, do final emptying and rinse after dinner for example), you never run out of period products as it's reusable and you can always keep it in your purse, and it is super low maintenance as when changing all you do is empty and rinse before re-inserting (bring a small water bottle with you if using public bathrooms}, and at the end of your cycle you just boil it to sterilise and put it in its carry pouch until your next period.
@@miaa7968 I shall have to look into that!
Definitely try reusable cloth pads if you dont like insertion- i got rashes too from the disposable stuff and once i switched i havent been breaking out
I would also recommend cuddling a cat for cramps. It's like a vibrating heat pack - instant pain relief. ;)
Unless they start kneading you and their sharp little claws get past your clothes. (Have had that happen. It's both "oh, you're so cute!" Because of that little look of concentration on their face, and "ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Claws! Cla~aws!😭😂")
I’m allergic to cats 😭
never thought of doing that when I had a cat. Mind you, she preferred draping herself over my shoulder.
@@monicamason3414 purring heat pack for the neck?🤔
@@monicamason3414 we had a kitty come to our house because a stray cat had a litter and they all hanged out around our house (there was like 18 strays in total) and the little guy would always come to my leg, climb up to my shoulders and then stay there, and you couldn't get him off without him clawing you. He was a cute kitty
Having the excess bunch out in back instead of the front might also have been an option because it would add to the bumroll effect., especially for those who don’t want the extra pressure in the front. Anyway, this was an awesome post - and likely one of a kind. thank you!
Aha! That would also presumably make it much easier to go to the toilet
My grandmother, born in 1900, told me she used rags for the discharge and blackberry brandy for the cramping. My mother had blackberry brandy for my sister and I to use (before Pamprin and the like). I can tell you it worked and I don't think I was drunk because I was constantly given hot toddies (hot water, honey, whiskey) so I could sleep when cough medicine didn't touch my coughing. Now those in the beginning did get me drunk. Surprisingly, I never became an alcoholic.
Thus was absolutely fascinating. Thank you for addressing the laundry issue. Also, I’m so glad I don’t have my period anymore... aging has its benefits my dearies!
Amen to that! I practically threw a party when I finished menopause! No more cramming pads or tampons in my purse and trying to walk inconspicuously to the bathroom! Back then I didnt know you could just continue taking your birth control pills to stop getting your period!
And I don't have to shave my legs nearly as much!!!
Although now I do have to pluck hairs off my face. 😏
The period apron dance was wonderful! This was outstanding. I switched to reusable cloth “pads” a while ago. They look like a standard pad with wings, but have a snap in lieu of adhesive. The wings snap together underneath the crotch of your undies. I think I’m going to try remaking them with multiple layers of linen & wool! I bought my current set...they weren’t made with natural fibers. I love the concept of sustainable products and not forking out money for plastic diapers for menstruating humans every month. I’m definitely interested in more information on the subject!
Thank you for sharing this with us, and much love to you and yours. See you next week! 😁
The MetatronGirl absolutely adore my own reusable pads I’ve purchased. Glad to see another user here!
I'm also completely reusable and have been for years. I got many of my friends to switch simply because everything is so much more comfortable!
One time I had enough money for cookies or pads. So I bought the cookies and ate them while I sewed some old micofiber cleaning clothes into pads. No snaps or ties or anything. They always stayed in place just fine. I haven't done that in a while, but maybe I'll make myself some wool core, linen exterior ones now.
I CANNOT deal with the squishy trickle feeling of pads, so I tried a menstrual cup about a decade ago, and have never gone back.
Since trying reusable pads years ago, I haven't looked back. They are so much more comfortable than single-use products and there are so many different types to choose from. And they even look nice :-)
Whenever I think of this, my mind goes straight to Mary Douglass’s dirt is matter out of place theory. Blood isn’t dirty or gross when it’s in the right context (in the body, a scrape, lesion, surgery, etc) but since it’s not presented in the context of life-and-death situations when it comes to menses, it’s considered “dirty.” It’s just “matter out of place” there the same as little pieces of earth on the carpet or dust on the bookshelf. It’s really interesting how humans have grown to perceive things. It’s all about our perception of the world.
And that's still weird because it's not actually out of place, since menses happen naturally and mostly regularly. So, it's just considered dirty because of misunderstanding?...
I think we should be more open about talking about periods in general, and then doing that with history thrown in is great.
True I don't get it why some guys are grossed out by it.
When I was a girl periods were spoken of in whispers and sanitary towels were stored under the shop counter and wrapped in brown paper before being passed to the customer. I became used to this and get very embarrsssed by these constant ads when you are sitting around as a family. To me it is very private. Although I don't have periods any more, Hurray!, I now have to wear pads for urge incontinence. It doesn't happen very often but I feel secure in the pads I make myself. I wouldn't be seen buying pads at the supermarket. This is the most I have ever talked about periods! I think it is an interesting topic though, we were all wondered what they did in 'the olden days'.
You mean you want to talk about the clots and bunches of uterus lining and the bad smell some people get from the blood? Not really sure whats to discuss if we all know what happening so im not sure what you mean. periods suck and i wish you peace with those moments.
@@romanikkoralph1553 Guys dont share this experience with us so its not fair to expect them to understand or to not be grossed out. we're literally bleeding for a week every month. not pretty.
@@omgitsnoell it's nothing to be ashamed of since it's biological function.
I’m so glad you did this video. I’m a firm believer that it’s healthy to have this subject in an open, healthy conversation, using proper terminology. It removes the “mystery” and keeps uninformed rumours/conjecture from circulating.
This just popped up in recommended videos for me- 2 years since it was originally posted. This was very interesting, Abby. Thanks for doing all the research and the apron dance was the best! All the comments are so interesting. Brings back memories of my first period at age 12, in the mid 70's. Luckily Stayfree mini-pads were new on the market and my mom bought those. My girls have no idea how lucky they are today with pads with wings. When I told them that the wings were a relatively new thing they were shocked and couldn't understand how pads stayed on without them. They really didn't. I remember the sticky back of the pads getting stuck to my leg and therefore not doing a great job catching the flow. Then when I was on the swim team in high school my mom found Tampax juniors, today's "lights". I was scared to use them but my mom was great about it. Sat in the bathroom with me and explained it all.
“Don’t mind her, she’s just on her Morbid Flux” 😂
The comfort and dryness is why I love reusable pads. I used to get terrible rashes from plastic pads because my body runs a little warm and my flow is very heavy so I need large ones for almost the whole week.
Lauren Kaita I always got what I referred to as “diaper rash” only way I could explain it. Horrible red raw areas. I believe it’s cause of plastic to prevent leaks. It holds in the heat. Kinda like putting the old rubber pants on babies. And when you live in Arizona.........
I made my own panty liners and cloth pads with wings. I learned how to make them from UA-cam 🤑
I found your video because Bernadette Banner gave your like in a video she was making. This is such an awesome video. In a way, you are giving women the option to make their own period pads that they can reuse over and over again and not have to rely on disposable pads and tampons. Plus they are made from a safe fabric and have no added chemicals or anything like that. Really hope your video does not get demonitised.
"For those of you sitting at home wondering....."
You know..... i have wondered about such things.... and now i know. Thank you.... :)
I'm nearly 60, and the two options they told us about when they separated the boys and girls in 5th grade were tampons and something not that different from what you're wearing. It was a little belt that had garter clips on the front and back that held a HUGE diaper-like pad in place. I don't know exactly when smaller pads with glue came about, but it was certainly a while after the late 70's. Tampons only became widely used in the early 70's, so up until then everybody must have used said contraption.
I'm in Canada in my early 50's and experienced the same thing.
my period is so heavy, i basically use the modern version. yay
Stayfree was the first sticky pad. It happened in the mid 70s, and other companies quickly followed suit. Modess was the first commercially available pad, in roughly 1910. Kotex was the first to use advertising...I think. They were also the first to emphasize "odor", thus making us use at leas one extra pad...and making more profit.
The belt and horseblanket were in the sixties, I graduated H S in 1970. But in the mid eighties the Always pad with self stick were available.
@@DodiTov Early 70s (thank goodness! Those belts were dreadful)
I really, really love how open and inclusive the historic costuming community is. Not really the topic but I just really appreciate it.
Me too! As a nonbinary person who loves learning about the 18th century this video made my day
I found the intro to be quite a relief.
I'm just a history buff, but I'd say it's because we've seen how history has changed and know that will continue to change, so we find it easier to change
@@BuenasNoticiasdeIL putting some things aside, what about some infertile women, and women that are going through menstrual pause?
@@lyralee5798 Infertile women and menstrual pause are medical conditions, not mental illness.
Opium was a much more viable option when we only walked, or rode horses.
Horse wants to go home to rest and eat, and knows how to get there. Horse is very much opposed to falling off cliffs, or running into stone or brick structures.
And if you’re walking... well, you might get lost and die of exposure... But, you’re not really harming anything or anyone else.
It's a viable option now. You only believe it isn't because you are told to believe that. However, there are some of us whom are alive because we use it daily. Myself being one of them. Because of allergies to modem fillers It neither gets you high or turns you into a criminal it an addict those are just excuses used by pathetic people whom would pick any excuse they think others would believe and get them attention Drugs can not make people do that which they are incapable of doing without them. Truth is armies wouldn't have conquered the world they did without drugs. The allies wouldn't have won WWII without drugs. We wouldn't have survived the dust bowl or the Spanish flu without them. Also, if they were all made legal and taxed we wouldn't have a deficit. I used to think like you. That drugs were horrible. Because that is what we are told. Until I broke my neck and became paralyzed. I was told there was a chance I could use my arms and regain the use of my diaphragm muscle again if I used drugs to block my brains ability to recognize physical pain. It works. A decade later I have yet to steal anything, become completely irresponsible or sell my body to supply my habit. People do it because they are told they are supposed to do those things.
@@Dawn24Michele I agree with you. A lot of awful things are said about people who use drugs, prescribed or not, regardless of dosage, and regardless of situation, or their day to day accomplishments, functionality, intelligence, vibrancy, or compassion and empathy.
I wrote an small essay, because apparently I have nothing better to do than justify my opinions on the internet. Particularly when I've said something that sounds kind of like hurtful, ignorant, BS. And I want to be clear that I am NOT saying "Well not you! You sound like a responsible opiate user! I meant those OTHER people." Because that would also be BS.
I don't believe using drugs legal or illegal (because that has more to do with racism and classism, than anything else), are bad. Nor are they necessarily good. Nor should I have any right to an opinion on how anyone but me is living their life.
EXCEPT when you're risking maiming or killing other people. One's freedom to make their own choices does not extend to endangering other people. Obviously.
In the video, opium was discussed as an ingredient in non-prescription cure-alls, which were said to aid menstrual pain, among other things. These "cures" were not regulated. The amount of opium was not listed. One had no way of judging from the label how much a measured amount of that commercially prepared concoction was going to inebriate you. Nor was there any real promise that the last bottle, and this one, would have the same amounts.
This is like street drugs or moonshine today - knowing what you've got, and how it will affect you, and the consistency is up to how well you know, and how much you trust, your dealer to have that information, and tell you the truth.
I consider knowing what you're getting, to be an important part of informed consent. My metabolism, food intake, hydration, amount of sleep... all have an effect on how I process a painkiller or inebriating substance on any given day. But, at least with legal alcohol, cannabis, over the counter medications, prescription medications, I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting and how it compares to the active ingredient content in what I have taken previously. I can be pretty secure in the assumption that I'm not going to have the amount that I'm used to, suddenly knock me on my ass one day, because it's stronger, or something different. Nor is it likely to kick in way after expected.
Measurement and consistency is an important component in predictable reactions. While a less predictable reaction is not going to cause too much strife if I'm at home, or if my horse is taking me home, it could be quite problematic if I'm operating a motor vehicle - particularly if it's not obvious to me that I'm impaired.
Now, I'm realizing I actually don't know if opiates tend to make people feel "great, fine, clear headed, invincible" in the way that some people do with cocaine. Cocaine and alcohol - also frequently found, sometimes WITH opiates, in these cure-all concoctions. For those people, if they aren't of the mind-set that "We absolutely never ever drive when using cocaine!" may decide they're a BETTER driver when high. Alcohol tends to do that to some people. They know they're drunk and will tell you they are, but at the same time their judgement is telling them they're in GREAT shape to drive. Some of them even get really defensive if you won't let them drive.
Again, depends on one's default mindset. And that's very much what you're saying about pathetic people looking for an excuse to be a degenerate who does not care about the safety and well-being of others. It's easy enough to have a careful mindset in which you know your boundaries - and just never choose to do things that could harm others, regardless of how inebriated you are.
In terms of who should be operating motor vehicles and the like, I also think there is a difference between a drug/medication which you take regularly and consistently and know your reaction to V.S. a swig of a cure-all with unregulated quality control, which you take sometimes when you're in pain or feeling ill.
TL;DR
So no, I absolutely am NOT suggesting that drugs are bad, and I'm sorry that so many people have been taught so, without any room for nuance or discussion.
I AM all in favor of informed consent through accurate measuring and labeling. And I recommend always erring on the side of caution, when using any substance with the potential for inebriation - particularly if you need to go somewhere. Unless you have a sober human, or a horse, to get you where you're going.
@@lynn858 completely agree. People believe there is a problem with them because they are told to believe there is a problem with them
I like the term "shark week" for my period. So that I can go da-dun, da-dun with my hands on my head like a shark fin when announcing it to my boyfriend. Who never finds it as funny as I do. Probably because it's the last time he sees me smile before the pain starts. And stays for like a month, because my period really likes to stay for a long time.
I’m so sorry you have so much pain, but I’ve got to admit when I read the first part I literally cackled like crazy!
i feel your humor deeply 😂
Humour helps, I find. And I’m with you comrade on painful, way too long periods. I went on the depo shot because of very heavy, extremely painful periods, and it works most of the time, but I do occasionally get breakthrough periods. My last breakthrough period lasted just over 40 days. Not good.
So I’m with you. It sucks. Mine also gives me back cramps, which is truly abysmal given I have a degenerative spinal condition that has already disabled me. Means that if I do get my period, I spend the entire thing in bed, as opposed to being able to sit up in my wheelchair at least some of the time on non-period days. And I know that being on depo with no breaks is really bad for your bones, but my bones can crumble into dust before I willingly put myself through periods again!
Oh, no! That sounds awful. 🙁 What does the doctor say about your hormones?
@@WaterNai I've been on nexplanon, but it doesn't always work and I haven't been able to get it replaced because of the pandemic. I had asthma as a kid, and even though I don't need an inhaler anymore, I figured I'm better off bleeding than taking my chances with COVID
So very interesting! Also, considering there weren't a lot of family planning options - being pregnant means no period. Breastfeeding usually means no period for at least some time. If you have 8 full term pregnancies and count 40 weeks for pregnancy and 3 months for breastfeeding thats 40+(4*3)*8 = 464 weeks without a period. Or 8,9 years. If you have your period from age 12-45, that's 33 years. That's close to a third in reduction of period time.
Only 3 months for breastfeeding? I'm curious why you pulled that number in particular. I've had two babies and am thankful that with my first I was able to nurse her after some feeding issues in the first two weeks of her life up until she was 22 months old, and my second hasn't been weaned yet at 11 months old. With both my period didn't return until 10-13 months post partum. I know that's only my one, personal experience, but wanted to add it to the discourse here in the comments because I can absolutely see how people of child-bearing age might only have one to three periods a year, if any due to a constant cycle of being pregnant and breastfeeding unless they were utilizing some means of contraception.
@@adriannavanoyennot 3 months of breastfeeding, but 3 months of feeding on demand and delaying ovulation. She was just giving an estimate.
Where do you get this from? Contraception has been around forever along with abortion and miscarriage. Avg gal in those days didn’t have 8 children nor was pregnant yearly or every 9 months. And it’s not like pregnancy is good replacement for periods😂. Breastfeeding can possibly result in amenorrhea but only if it’s done pretty much all the time. This is why it’s not considered birth control bc of how much one would have to breastfeed and even then many will get their period or ovulate. The thing that might lend to some people experiencing noticeably less periods back then was malnutrition, but even then you have to be really starving to lose your period.
I wrote my thesis about menstruation in the Middle Ages. There is literally no reference to what women used at all (I think free bleeding would be more common but that is just based on what wealthy women did which is stay in bed). But same situation it’s all over medical books in the time. However, they don’t realize it is cycle probably because of nutrition in the time being not as good. Also lots of references to spirits attacking the body. I really enjoyed this video because you can see they made a lot of progress by the 17th Century.
"Spirits attacking the body" certainly is what it feels like sometimes...
I do not think anybody would have just free bled whilst working in the fields because that would have attracted flies and other animals. Have you ever been near a dog while on your period? Just imagine having the occasional drip down your leg...
@@alejandramoreno6625 There just is not much evidence for support materials in the period though. It’s definitely possible for them to add additional smocks or potentially aprons . But we just don’t know because only men wrote the books. The typical amount of blood loss during menstruation is 2-4 tablespoons or 30-60 ml free bleeding for poorer classes makes a whole lot is sense because fabric was expensive. Also keep in mind they are wearing a lot more layers of clothing than we wear in our time.
@Charisma Girl I think that since I have posted this so many people have tried to counter my argument but are not thinking about this in a historical context. Things getting stained is a part of life. People in this period were much poorer than even the Renaissance. Beds did not exist for lower classes. They thought illness spread through smells. Periods are apart of life they would just lived with them because everyone else had them. Our concept of cleanliness doesn’t exist in this time period, at all. So yes they probably free bled working in fields and often not for money but survival. The last thing on their mind would be being concerned about stains on their clothes and more of when and if they will have enough food. Also just as an aside they would have way worse stains on their clothes, cow poo comes to mind. Maybe, if they had scraps of fabric that were worn beyond the point of salvation, they could have possibly used them as bandages. But again we do not know, because books were written by monks and male scholars.
@@extrae905 Thanks for weighing in on this! I've been trying to find out how medieval societies dealt with periods for something I'm writing, and all I could find was mention of rags wrapped around a stick and placed inside as with tampons, but I don't think this would stay in, and with their hygiene practices would have been incredibly dangerous. I'd love to hear more about your thesis, if you're willing to share.
I asked my nanna what everyone used . she told me that everyone knew when having menstrual cycle because of all the rags drying on the washing line 💖💖💖💖💖
Yep....thus the term, "on the rag."
@@nancydann6338 oooooooh lol. I can't believe i never thought of that!!!
Why not just dry them inside?
@@amberwarnke6434 because there's no sun and wind inside to dry it faster. You're gonna need it soon, you don't want it to still be damp when you need it.
I guess you'd also know pretty quickly when someone is pregnant, too 😅
I love how you're explicitly inclusive!
Also, if around 50% of the world's population have periods at some point in their lives, this shouldn't be a controversial topic. As a cis gay man I've had girlfriends being quite open about how that stuff works, and hey... It's not gross. It may be inconvenient, annoying or at times painful, but it's just... How the human body works? And the human body is pretty amazing when you think about it.
It's nice of her, but I feel the most "woke" parts of our society have actually gone overboard with the inclusivity at this point. Trans people are a TINY minority (around, what, 0.3%?), so to explicitly include them in everything is actually kind of silly and impractical, and not how anything normally works. What other 0.3% minority gets talked about this much and this often? And I think it's not the trans people themselves, but their overzealous cis advocates who are driving this push for ubiquitous inclusivity. Just guarantee their rights under the law, speak up against any potential abuse when faced with it, and otherwise just leave trans people alone. Too much forced attention can backfire - and I think this wokester insistence on excessive inclusivity has indeed started to backfire against trans people, as the rest of the population is getting increasingly annoyed about pronouns and womens' sports drama and overrepresentation on tv shows and what not, and blaming their personal inconvenience on trans people. So the overzealous cis advocates should really stop "helping" so much. Take it down a notch. Give wider society a chance to get acclimated.
@@austenhead5303 it’s promoted and sponsored. Trace the money, as Americans used to say 😉
Promoting transgenderism among young generation has a lot of profit for many power folks . these individuals who change the gender have a LOT of health issues. I am biochemist and worked in science for 30 years, so I have my own scientific interest in this phenomenon, so I researched … and I was right, transgenders suffer ☹️ You can say anything in propaganda, force to change the meaning of “woman”, “ men” but you cannot order to change our physiology. F->M transition leads to shrinking of vagina and uterus after few months of using testosterone injections, and it is painful, easy to get inflammation (and it is a pain, usually severe pain), and if they do not remove surgically these organs, they may die from sepsis…
How is it profitable and for whom?
- pharma - they get weekly “subscribers” for synthetic hormones. Trans cannot stop using them because the body will start reverse process if they stop.
- these people are sterile. Despite of narrative that “ men can get pregnant” , the probability of this is near zero, taking in consideration what I mentioned above.
This will help to low procreation
- overall health problems among trans are more complicated and no MD knows or ever studied how to treat such bodies where the nature suppressed by chemistry
So, overall it is a big social experiment. Same as Covid pandemic. The virus is still here, people get it ( I have 2 friensd who are now very sick after they took a flight) but the official restrictions are not implemented now as it was 2 y ago.
@@austenhead5303 I'm a trans person and I fully appreciate the inclusivity. Recorded trans people are as common as red heads and nobody ignores the latter. Besides, 0,3% of a populus is a huge amount of people in practice. To speak in an inclusive manner is to speak accurately.
People are only annoyed about pronouns and the like because they're transphobic but it's becoming less acceptable to say you hate trans people so they have to be more subtle about it. Or they're subtle, casual transphobes who are made to face the fact that trans people exist. Playing nice, or, respectability politics has and will always backfire in the long run because it's pandering to oppressors. Being loud and proud, which is required to get rights, will inevitably ruffle some feathers which is partly the point as a lot of people are content just passively ignoring us and our oppression. Stonewall was a riot, etc.
@@miipmiipmiip No one ignores redheads, but no one pays any special attention to them either, and no one is immediately accused of being a redheadophobe if they happen to not specifically mention or include them in everything. That's what the issue is.
@@austenhead5303 Except there is special attention paid to redheads because so it must be. For example, red heads sustain more damage from the sun as they're often fairer skinned. Natural redheads also often have a trait where anesthesia doesn't work as well as with other people. These things have to be taken into consideration even though they are a minority. So it should be with trans people especially as it's a matter of health.
Diversifying our language, for example, comes at a minimal cost compared to the oppression 0,3% of population face. Especially as that population is at a hightened risk for suicide due to the oppression they face. Someone being called a transphobe (often accurately) and the majority being sometimes inconvenienced is a small price to pray for people to survive, yes? It really isn't that hard.
Besides, inclusive speech benefits cisgender people well as it's, again, more accurate as not all cisgender people match their assumed traits, physical and emotional. Some ciswomen don't have uteruses, some cismen like so called "women's things", etc.
In Greece, my grandma's generation used to say when one would get their period "Here come The Russians" "I'm on my days" "Ι have my clothes". All these are exact and direct translations. :P
My favorite is "Here come the Russians."
becouse of the Red army😅
Polish used the same expression
In romania they used to say “I’m on my rag”
is it maybe spanish? we use "im on my days" a lot
Have you heard of Support the Girls? They collect and distribute period products to menstruators in need at no cost. Bras too...they are known for their bra collecting, but every menstruator deserves the dignity to have their periods safely. Having your period while homeless is a morbid flux indeed!
Huru International is another great organization.
Imagine using "dignity" and "menstruators" in the same sentence unironcally. So dehumanizing.
19th-20th centuries: Women working their asses off to earn rights and respect.
21st century: "mENsTrUaTOrs"
For super heavy flow, they could just fold a piece of absorbent cloth into a pad shape and wear it under the apron. I actually do this for nighttime with a rectangular piece of thick cotton, as it makes like 6 layers of protection.
I used to keep a stack of old thin washcloths for this and would fold one up to use on top of 3 maxi pads (front, back, center). Sometimes it was the only way I could get myself out of the house without making a total mess. Yes, I would have kept all 60 inches of linen fabric gleefully!
Thank you for doing this. You indirectly mention this but every woman was able to use this method to keep the flow from staining her clothes; this was not a technique reserved for those with wealth.
Yes! This option was universally available for every social class, which is *fantastic*!
Willow bark was also used for pain management! It's basically aspirin.
But it makes your blood thinner (is that the right term to use), and I avoid this as much as I can when my monthly disaster strucks o.O
You can use ginger as well for periods. It's a diuretic, blood thinner and helps with nausea.
@@evaeinger6476 ditto. After that one time of having to clean up a "murder scene"? I take great care in when I take blood thinners. And then is not it. Acetaminophen over ibuprofen or aspirin even if it takes longer to kill the pain.
Willow bark/aspirine is blood thinning plus the salicic acid from the bark is really aggressive to the stomach. That was one of the two reasons why aspirine became so successful: 1. the dosage was easier and 2. it was less likely to cause a gastritis
Eva Eßinger My monthly blood loss was like Niagara Falls on steroids! Every month of my adult life! For 9 days! Pain was the special little extra.... Cramps, clots you name it. No Meds helped I only ever found that if I took a small amount of brandy/whisky with warm water and sugar sometimes too....the pain would ease to just terrible from suicidal! I eventually worked out that alcohol thins the blood. Which meant that the blood clots were fewer and the lining ‘letting go’ as it were was made easier as the blood flowed more easily. Even in my 50s I bled heavily until I was put on something I cannot remember the name of that cut down the flood. I’ve been known to use two super plus tampons and a pad, walk 20 feet from the bathroom to the kitchen only to have to run back and change again! I was given the pill back in around 1972... but it caused me heart problems so I was informed never to use it ever again! I had a total hysterectomy in 2006, which removed the ovaries, plunging me into the menopause. I was on HRT patches for three years but as my mother had had breast cancer I was advised to come off them. From time to time I still get hot flushes....14 years later! My mum’s menopause lasted well over 20 years so....still a while to go yet!
I really appreciate the pause you took before giving the verdict for Sarah Malcom.
This was absolutely fascinating! How refreshing to have a part of history discussed that’s so often not mentioned at all, and yet would have been something people obviously had to deal with.
Abby, I would love to see a video on the ‘secret messages’ that historic dress/accessories apparently could convey. I have heard that face patches and fans could relay messages - is this strictly true from contemporary sources? And were there any other ways of conveying specific messages with one’s dress? 🧐
In the novel "Lady of the Camellias" she wears red camellias to indicate when she is on her period (not available) to potential clients.
Great video! Very interesting. Talking about periods should just be normal and not a reason to think your video might get demonetised.
I make my own cloth pads from several layers of cotton, because I was tired of all the plastic waste and they're way more comfortable too.
(Also, some modern doctors know about as much about endometriosis or pcos as the doctors back then...)
Re: Modern docs & endo/PCOS - I was *thisclose* to saying that in the video but I held back... 😂
That’s cool that you make your own pads. I started using fabric pads because am allergic to the disposable ones. Also I wanted a less wasteful option. I’m thinking about making myself a period apron. Just because I love being historically dressed and as close to accurately I can.
That's so right about modern doctors! I've been in a 2-year battle with numerous different doctors so I can hopefully stop being in pain every day, and one of them tried to convince me that ALL of my pain is referred muscle pain from a pelvic floor that's too tight (lol it's not, trust me) and I don't actually have PCOS (despite a long history of cysts showing up on ultrasounds) or endometriosis (I have both, eurgh).
@@bridgetthewench You have my 100% sympathy. I'm appalled that modern doctors have still not been able to really fix painful periods/PCOS?endometriosis. I think it's lack of will, not lack of ability. I had horrendous endometriosis for 22 years until I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 36
@@sarahlowes6213 Thank you! It's very much lack of will. They only bring up hysterectomy at my appointments so they can tell me that I'm "too young" for one at 31 😩
I am 64 years of age. I was born in the Philippines. I have used menstrual diapers until I was 16. I can say that they are comfortable. The diapers made from linen fabrics are easier to wash and don't stain easily compared to polycotton materials.
I actually have used the period apron before, because I’m in musical theatre sometimes we wear period costumes for shows and one time they used the period apron to add extra coverage for our legs.
Period costumes 😂
Ruth Whittemore haha I meant historical costumes
I have been making my own period pads with linen that snap around my undergarments for years. Also with doing so, less chemicals ets. love this! I am totally going to try the apron too!
I'm a 50 year old woman, and while I don't have a period anymore, I do wear a pad for leaks, which made me wonder if women used to do the same thing.
“I have chores to do” = get used as dog pillow. Medical anthropology + puppers = teh best
My supervisors are *very* demanding. 😂
I know I've said this before, but your description boxes (no pun intended hehe) are always such a wonderful addition to your videos. If there was an award for best description boxes, you would win every year. From the bottom of my little wannabe historian's heart, THANK YOU for ALL the work you put into them. Long afternoons or evenings have been spent reading/watching/learning about subjects because of your description boxes.
My mother explained to me that they used toweling strips that they would rinse out and then boil to clean them. She was quite happy when she was married and could afford the disposable pads.
Thanks for this! I used to teach "maturation" classes at the elementary schools I worked at; it was actually my favorite class of the year. Girls would inevitably ask this question because it happened to coincide with their American history studies (during the calendar year). I love talking periods! Moms would ask me about things too since the prohibition on open discussions regarding menstruation is strong. *eyeroll* I can't wait to share this with the moms, teachers and nurses that I know. Thanks!!
It’s a 17th Centuey primary source, but I believe Pepys mentions his wife’s periods in his diaries. He calls them courses and notes being sad his wife has them again because they were hoping she’d be pregnant.
He was probably sterile due to his kidney stones operation.
aw :(
This was fabulous. These are the things you don’t hear about in history books but are necessary to truly understand how women , half of society, functioned. This really helps me understand how they survived and performed their daily functions. So fascinating. As a budding writer, this really helps me to understand how inventive, functional, and comfortable the layers of clothing at the time were given the need to hide certain things, aka women’s “periods”. I always thought all that layering was ridiculous. Now I see, especially with linen and certain weaves, it could actually free up a woman from leakage fears, etc during those times. The discussion on the stays on your stomach feeling ok during that period was also a huge surprise. Thank you for all your research.
I’ve actually wondered about this for YEARS!! All I was told when I asked about how periods were dealt with in the past when I was younger was that “oh they thought they were dying!” ...like, really? Every month? And relatively speaking every woman? Don’t think they were that dumb even though we understand more about it now.
Thank you for tackling this topic, Abby!! They more we discuss it in open forums, the more we can normalize it and break down the taboo.
It's fascinating that it worked so well! But when I stop and think, I shouldn't be so surprised. If it didn't work, they would have tried something else until they found something that did. The vast majority of women would have needed something that worked well and allowed them to continue doing chores, cooking, taking care of children, etc. And I would have thought all the extra fabric up top would have added to any of the bum roll support, if not crushed down by the stays. XD
Love your pups helping!
Sorry me again. My grandmother who was borne in 1867, when I asked how women “managed” described a garment very like a narrower version of your apron, that was lined or stuffed with very soft or warn linen. This made it much easier to deal with heavy days, by changing this padding, without having to change their ‘apron’. This makes more sense to me bearing in mind how labour intensive laundry was. Not just the washing but getting things dry in the wet winter months. Also the limited wardrobes of the majority of women.
I am old enough that any mention of "menstruation" or "periods" was like swearing in church. But I'll set aside my squeamishness for the sake of knowledge.
My mother was of that generation. She bought me a book to read. It just wasn’t discussed
I think you’re so brave for facing this whole topic down and overcoming your reservations ingrained since your youth. I also find it refreshing how comfortable young people are talking about periods!! I have had totally frank discussions with early 20-somethings at work like it was no more than talking about which shoes worked best for long shifts on our feet. I’m happy for them that they can be so much more comfortable about this.
My mother is very religious so that is what I was taught as well
@@Attackontrashcan It’s that translation of “ unclean” in the Bible. It probably should be “ untouchable”. In general, the other mentions of periods in the Bible are respectful..like Rebecca not getting searched because she was “ in the way of women”...!
Women were respected back then when they had their periods, they got a whole week of peace and quiet!!!😅
@@granmabern5283 by religious I mean she was in a cult
This is where living history is such a good source (mainly period correct reenactments). I went to a living history camp in Agusta GA and straight up asked one of the players, they explained it in great detail how the aprons were used.
From now on I'm calling it the ✨ Free Gift of Nature ✨
I'm going to call it Morbid Flux
So it's a period, period apron?
I do admit occasionally I read "period jacket" in a video title and wonder what changes one makes to a jacket to make it specific to menstruation :p.
I must say I'm a skeptic when it comes to personalised suppliments...
She’s gotta pay the bills somehow. That’s a pretty sketchy promo to do.
Yeah, Making these promotion decisions cannot be easy.
But the questions can't help any more than looking up a local health boards guidelines. Mostly suppliments make expensive pee....
cheerful_something_something you hit the nail on the head with the “expensive pee” 😂
I have a lot of health issues, and supplements are very helpful, but I'd always consult a doctor. My dad was just taking a bunch willy-nilly, he ended up having to get hospitalized because they thought his liver was failing.... nope. Supplements. Stopped them, got a giant lecture from his physician, and is not fine. Some things are relatively harmless, like turmeric, probiotics, or fish oil, but not all. Just because it is natural does not mean it isn't dangerous. A lot of things can have interactions too, either with each other or other meds. Sadly, many physicians are not super knowledgeable about Supplements. They need more research in this area. I've had good luck with an osteopath though.
Morbid Flux! I am so thankful to learn this term just in time for Halloween.
A male friend once asked me: "Why should you never trust a woman?" I shrugged. "Because they are the only living being that bleed once a month without dying."
On that note I'm very thankfull for modern medicin that is capable of stopping that 'little' problem dead cold, because otherwise I'd be out cold for up to three days every time that comes up - ibuprophen 600 and sports on four days a week or no - and I don't think my employer would be that understanding. It is, however, very brave of you to discuss this topic on youtube. It sometimes seems that even in a 'modern' and 'enlightened society' where everyone is educated about this in school, it still is a taboo. Our society puts so many constraints on us, as you said in you other viedeo. It is looked at as a personal failure to be ill or feel under the weather. Missing to many days at work due to 'illness' - aka simly being in to much pain to stand up - can be grounds for being fired.
Ugh Cheers - I nearly got fired from several jobs for the same reason. Add in vomiting to that and going to work was impossible
I mean, cute enough joke with the bleeding and not dying, but.... If cisgender men had periods, it'd be a comic book hero: Period Man: striking terror in the hearts of evildoers. ("It will rain blood today!")
@@shannonmcglumphy5967 yeah I chose to ignore the joke...I’ve heard it so many times...*eye roll*. But yes, there’d be superhero comics and if men got cramps, we’d DEFINITELY have that figured out by now, or at least have moving historical dramas of men doing great things, while dealing with their “secret pain” 😂🙄
@Charisma Girl but that's simply not true. It's got nothing to do with "SJW theory", whatever that is - some people identify as trans men and menstruate. (Since you state explicitly that cis and trans men both never have cycles. If you mean that there are no trans men, then we have a different issue that I won't go into in this space.)
Most mammals have periods
Oh dear... I know it happened hundreds of years ago, but poor Sarah! I have started talking back to videos (I might need therapy after the virus is over) and so I said "yeah!" After Sarah's statement. I was doing my hair and noticed the long pause. I stopped and looked at my phone... "what?" 😳 When you said she found guilty and killed... I gasped.
How truly horrible...
Also, you're an amazing storyteller because I was captivated.
I did the same thing! I thought, "sounds legit Sarah really saved herself with some pretty definitive evidence" and then she was convicted anyway?!
Sarah is probably happy in heaven to finally have her death mourned by some of us here hundreds of years later. We love you Sarah
🍷 "to Sarah" 🍷🍷
Abby *talking about menstruation and keeping you’re body healthy*
Me: *in pre-menstrual state eating chocolate*
That is healthy! I crave chocolate and cheeseburgers when I begin my period 😂
I discovered, for me anyway, a certain popular brand of chocolates actually relieved the cramping.
Rebecca Foust Do share! For science of corse 😏
Rebecca Foust that’s funny because for me it always made cramps worse. Which was unfortunate because that is what I craved (also Hot Cheetos and Sprite).
Jennifer Claudio might have been the sugar that made it worse? Not sure. Always best to test. For science!
I loved this video, it was funny, informative and fascinating! It makes so much sense to me to essentially wear an absorbent diaper during your bleed, the whole thing can catch blood from whichever direction it decides to shoot out from! Haha, one of the issues I've always had with pads is that even the longest largest ones rarely can catch allll the blood on my heavy days. Plus I kinda want one now since you talked up feeling dry. I hate modern disposable pads bc of how swampy they are.
Yasss! I was waiting for this! It's so interesting to see the workings of older times and how things have changed (or in this case not really). The fact that many of the publishings were written by men when they wouldn't have any idea of how a period feels or works just 🤦♀️ Sarah's case also shows how even back then we had incorrect rulings over murders because of the lack of proper technology and information. We STILL have this happen today and that shows how little advancement there has been in our justice systems. I hope we have better changes in our future, like bringing MORBID FLUX back. 😂😂 It definitely sounds more threatening and would make people be nicer to us during that time. Lol
Excellent video, love that you referenced primary source material. Please keep doing these types of videos. You have a great way of blending research, sensitivity and light hearted humor in your videos.
My husband and I have been binge watching "The Great" and it got me thinking about how women dealth with their time of the month back in the day which led me to a few articles and this video. I've always been curious. I'm part Native American and I know that the women of the tribe were sent to stay in a seperate hut when they were on their period. The tribe would be worried that their blood would attract wild animals!
Even though I'm not very old I've already had too many embarassing period moments so I've always been really shy about talking about this...I've bled through my clothes too many times. The worst time was at a group trip to Universal Studios. I wore these light tan cargo pants and my boyfriend didn't tell me I had started my period and had a big blood mark on my butt. A friend came up and asked me if she could keep some of her tampons in my bag and I said "Sure!" I didn't know she was trying to hint that I was on my period. I walked around most of the day like that until I went to the bathroom and noticed. I was so so embarassed and couldn't believe no one told me and I wished I would have had a shirt to wrap around my waist. I get it is natural but I've always felt like a dork and like I don't fit in so these moments always made me feel extra insecure.
Abby, just to let you know, there is actually a Museum of Menstruation that lists what some women in the theater wore in the 1700s www.mum.org/whatwore.htm and the belt as being worn since the 1850s. www.mum.org/valenpad.html And the first disposable pads came in to being in the 1880s. There is also a book out by Sharra L. Vostral "Under Wraps: A History of Menstrual Hygiene Technology" - And the tampon has been used for millenia www.period.media/factsfigures/tampon-history/
Thanks for linking, I was going to do it myself. I remember finding that site years and years ago. It's a really fascinating collection and I'm glad it's online, since the in-person one was closed. This is also interesting, knitted pads from Norway: www.mum.org/NorwPads.htm
I am almost 67 and i found the little booklet we got in grade school. Most likely the 5th grade. Girls had the special talk and we got to see the exciting movie You're a Young Lady Now! I remember how excited the girl was in the movie and her telling her mom that her daddy would be told! Last thing I ever wanted my father to know. Yes, a great site.
@@denickite LMAO l NEVER wanted my Dad to know either! That said, my youngest daughter and I have her Dad grab the products every month just so he knows she's growing up as he likes to treat her like a little girl still. He cringes and we get a good giggle. TL:DR I don't think most Dad's are thrilled to know anyway😂🤣
@@BlueEyedMomof378 it’s funny how were all so different about stuff like that. I told my parents at the same time. It was my 11th birthday, and I burst into their room with a very dramatic groan and a “worst birthday present ever!!” 😂
And dad bought me whatever I needed, without any issue. Now I’m disabled, and my brother (who is my full time carer and lives with me and my daughter) buys us whatever we need with no problem. It blows his mind that there are men who feel embarrassed about buying menstrual products.
But our family was always very open and honest about these things, and my parents made sure we were both taught about puberty, sex, sexuality, gender etc on very medically accurate ways, and that we learnt not just about our own sex, but other sexes as well.
It’s something I try to do with my daughter now- she’s 13, has had her period for a few years at this point, but we still have “chats” about different topics pretty often. It’s never been a taboo subject in my family. And I tried to make it so that periods weren’t regarded as awful or embarrassing by making her a menarche hamper- with chocolate, magazines, a super cute unicorn water bottle and stuff like that.
@@katherinemorelle7115 I hear that! The best policy (imho) when it comes to children is age appropriate honesty. My parents were the same with me growing up, and I'm super open with my three. Hubby grew up in a home with 2 brothers and a Mom that didn't really talk about that stuff though. He cringes mostly because it upsets him that we've got one grown (21) and one almost 15. He's crushed Daddy's little girls are growing up, and experiencing all of the changes (and feelings) that come with it. He's a great Dad though. My girls and I get giggles because of his response, but to be fair we torment him (playfully). If any of our 3 went to him though, and needed to talk seriously, he would absolutely talk to them openly and honestly (albeit a bit uncomfortably LOL). I think the girls just prefer talking to Mom about that kind of stuff, and our son will talk to me but kinda prefers talking to Dad about how his body is changing (13 on the 24th of this month). I don't understand parents that leave those "talks" up to the school (or even worse, friends). It's my job, and my pleasure to talk to them about things they can expect as they grow up. Watching them become well informed young adults, that make great choices because of lessonsI taught them is one of things that brings me the greatest sense of joy and pride in my children. I smiled reading your response. I think more parents should take a page from your book and open up to their smallish humans! Kudos to you Mama!