Periods

Was trying to think of a discreet title for this post but I think there are enough euphemisms out there already.

I saw a question on Yahoo today which read:

I am reading this book in social studies called “Red Scarf Girl” and in it the girls house is searched and when she is cleaning up she finds her “sanitary belt”. she feels like she has been “stripped naked” and she says she never lets her father or brother see it. i dont understand exactly what a “sanitary belt” is. This book takes place in the 60′s.

The reply was:

sanitary belt is an old fashioned way of keeping a sanitary pad in place. Kinda of like a garter belt only for pads…

They had been used for eons until the invention of “belt-less” pads came into play. They could be literally be a “pain”. They were elastic with a hook for the front and back. The pads used to have “tails” on them to hook onto the belt. belt is an old fashioned way of keeping a sanitary pad in place. Kinda of like a garter belt only for pads…They had been used for eons until the invention of “belt-less” pads came into play. They could be literally be a “pain”. They were elastic with a hook for the front and back. The pads used to have “tails” on them to hook onto the belt.

This is what the belt and pads looked like:

These belts I am featuring things were the bane of womens’ existence in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s. This was before the days of stick-on pads and wings and all kinds of things they have nowadays. I did an internet search and came up with a few different pictures. The ones above are like the one like my mother gave me in anticipation of my first period.