Differences Between Menstruation Between 1917 And 1950

Public information about menstruation contrasts in the years 1917 and 1950. There are clear changes in the use of language, the use of additional terms for abnormalities, and a worrisome emphasis about diseases and infections associated with menstruation. Yet, what is the cause of these changes? Cultural changes between these years influenced the public’s perception about sex and the female body. In 1917, there is a direct correlation between sex and the Great War; it is a time of sexual liberation, in which sex serves as a relief from the stresses of War. Meanwhile, information in 1950 defined sexuality merely in the context of marital relationships and discretion. Therefore, the portrayal of public information about menstruation in 1917 and 1950 shifted to sexual modesty.
Language Use …show more content…
The language used in the 1917 book Sex Knowledge for Women and Girls: What Every Woman and Girl Should Know by William Josephus Robinson, M.D. is obscene. Robinson uses words such as: blood, discharge, rupture, oozing, trickling, and sexual intercourse to describe menstruation. Such descriptive words would be deemed inappropriate to American society in 1950. Robinson depicts the onset of a women’s menses and discloses “they feel the blood oozing or trickling out” (Robinson 48) of their vaginas. Also, the book states that a woman is a “creature of sex” (Robinson 44) whereas 1950’s information does not correlate sex and women. As an example, in the 1950 book, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sex, by Doctors Willy, Vander, and Fisher there is an absence of obscene language because of changing societal norms. So, as a result, there is a clear shift in language use from 1917 and 1950 to discreet descriptors about