#kotex

Back in 1971, the marketing strategy for menstrual products was apparently to convince everyone that periods felt exactly like being a tragic Victorian heroine trapped in a sunlit parlor. She is staring into that tiny box with the absolute gravity of someone deciding whether to reveal a scandalous family secret or just look for a misplaced earring. Meanwhile, that poppy wallpaper is screaming 1970s louder than a rock concert.

From 1928, Lee Miller is pictured above in a photo by Edward Steichen. Ms. Miller was a successful model at the time, posed here wearing a hat & dress by designer Marie-Christiane, and jewelry by Black, Starr and Frost. The photo appeared in the June 1, 1928, issue of Vogue mag.

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Unknown to Ms. Miller, Steichen sold other photographs from this same shoot to Kotex for the purpose of advertising "feminine hygiene products". In our times today such usage is quotidian, but in 1928 no woman had ever appeared in a Kotex ad. That changed in the July, 1928 issue of McCall's magazine - as shown below.

As it turned out Ms. Miller's appearance in this ad was quite controversial! In fact, the advertisement created a massive scandal due to social taboos in 1928, and major fashion houses refused to hire Miller afterward - effectively ending her career as a top fashion model.

This professional setback prompted Ms. Miller to leave New York. With the help of a letter from Edward Steichen to Man Ray, she became the apprentice, collaborator, model and muse of the surrealist photographic artist Man Ray. She took full advantage of this opportunity, and became a world-renowned photographer herself. 

Instead of being angry with Steichen, she remained friends with him for decades afterward - even visiting each other at their respective homes. By 1955, Steichen had become a curator at MoMA, and included her work in his landmark "Family of Man" exhibition.

US Vogue June 1952

Kotex