Education and Advertising: A Content Analysis of Commercially Produced Booklets about Menstruation

Educational booklets published by manufacturers of menstrual hygiene products have been used to teach several generations of girls about menstruation. The ubiquity and importance of the booklets make them potentially important contributors to attitudes toward menstruation. The content of 28 booklets that were produced commercially between 1932 and 1997 was analyzed for this study. The quality of the information presented in the booklets was examined to determine whether the later booklets contained more information that was both accurate and positive than did the earlier booklets. The later booklets were less likely than the earlier booklets to portray menstruation as a hygiene crisis but equally likely to promote secrecy. They also were more likely to depict ethnic diversity in their illustrations and less likely to make assumptions about the composition of girls’families. Adolescents’knowledge could be increased through the presentation of educational materials that are accurate, balanced, and developmentally appropriate.