Periods of History — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Periods of History

Name: Jennifer Stumme
Major: History, Communication
Hometown: Tripoli, IA
Faculty Sponsor: Stephanie Mitchell
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

This paper analyzes the evolution of menstrual products and menstrual management, focusing on how the societal changes of the twentieth century commercialized the taboo biological phenomenon of menstruation. Following the Industrial Revolution, long-held cultural taboos combined with the invention of mass-produced disposable menstrual products, the medicalization of menstruation, and the shift in authority on menstrual education, from female family members to companies and doctors, made American menstruators think about and manage their menstruation in ways they never had before. The invention of new products made it easier for menstruators to hide their menstruation, contributing to the strength of the taboo, and raising the standard for modern menstrual management. To search for the impact of these changes, historical menstrual products and advertisements, interviews with women who began menstruating mid-century, and secondary literature on the evolution of menstrual management were analyzed. These sources demonstrated that the commercialization of menstruation helped to reconstruct the concept of femininity for Americans, directly tying products to identity and communicating that the ideal feminine menstruator is a beautiful, wealthy white woman who never appears to menstruate.