”Vi hadde ikke menstruasjon, vi hadde ’vondt i maven’”: Norske menstruasjonsopplevelser fra 1900-tallet

Translated title of the contribution: We Did Not Have Menstruation, We Had ‘Stomach Aches’: Norwegian Menstrual Experiences from the Twentieth Century

Camilla Mørk Røstvik* (Corresponding Author)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Menstruation has historically been considered a taboo, also in Norway. Recently, a new international wave of menstrual activists, medical professionals, and advertising has argued that it is important to fight this taboo to counteract shame, embarrassment and pain. As part of this shift, menstrual history has been explored in many countries and cultures, including Scandinavia. This article expands upon these histories, by presenting the biography of Norwegian menstruation in the twentieth century. It draws on women’s stories from 1900 to 1980 from the Norwegian Ethnological Survey, and tracks their experiences in the years before, during and after commercially available products changed the menstrual experience for most Norwegian women and girls from 1945. Placing this in an international capitalist context, the article explores what this history can tell us about menstruation as a commercial, personal and important topic.
Translated title of the contributionWe Did Not Have Menstruation, We Had ‘Stomach Aches’: Norwegian Menstrual Experiences from the Twentieth Century
Original languageOther
Pages (from-to)215-232
Number of pages18
JournalTidsskrift for Kjønnsforskning
Volume42
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Nov 2018

Bibliographical note

Denne artikkelen er del av forfatterens Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship: ‘The Painters Are In: A Visual History of Menstruation since 1950’. Det er ingen interessekonflikter.

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Keywords

  • Menstruation
  • Women's history
  • 20th century
  • Norwegian Ethnological Survey (NEG)

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