all 76 comments

[–]whoaisthatatesla 497 points498 points  (14 children)

TY Mary ❤️

[–]cestrumnocturnum[S] 571 points572 points  (13 children)

She never even got any money from it. The company who was gonna manufacture her invention backed off because of her race, until her patent expired and became public domain, allowing it to be manufactured freely.

So I hope Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner becomes more well known. The least we could do is honor her memory.

[–]whoaisthatatesla 190 points191 points  (9 children)

Ugh that is tragic. Wish the companies selling pads today would recognize her publicly.

[–]GlibTurret 316 points317 points  (1 child)

AND because of that, women had to wait an extra 30 years for the patent to expire before they could have sanitary pads! Thanks capitalism! Thanks racism!

They should put her bio on the side of the maxi pad box. She should be a household name.

[–]Immediate_Landscape 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Tbh, in that case instead of a Maxi it should have been called a Mary or a Kenner (not meaning this in a derogatory way, just that would have made her name a household word).

[–]Pixelen 86 points87 points  (6 children)

Wow! Yeah this would be the perfect time to change some packaging and let everyone know about her history. Thanks Mary!

EDIT: I'm English so I don't know brands but should we write a communal letter to Always or whichever brand we think appropriate to get her name on some packaging?

[–]whoaisthatatesla 33 points34 points  (1 child)

We have Always in the U.S.! It’s a huge brand. I think that’s an awesome idea.

[–]ediblespryskydestroyer of phallus fallacies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fuck, write Procter & Gamble while we're at it! They own Always. If it gets lost in one inbox, maybe it could gain attention in a different one.

[–]EstarriolStormhawk 12 points13 points  (1 child)

Or maybe just contact whichever pad brand you use? More of a broad angle attack (or, y'know, firm request).

[–]Pixelen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it's best to target one brand, as lots of letters from lots of people is better than 1-2 letters to each brand. Also they then might get "bystander" effect (and think one of the other brands will do it so they won't bother)

[–]ion_mighty 7 points8 points  (0 children)

OB ran a big campaign back in the 90s about being designed bY wOmEn (cue white girls in pony tails and lab coats) so maybe they'd be open to promoting the woman who invented their product?

[–]ksck135 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Use the power of twitter!


I still gave you an upvote for info but I genuinly regret coming in to read this comment. Goddamnit why can't we ever bloody win ffs?!?

[–]MeridianHilltop 13 points14 points  (0 children)

We did win this “bloody” round in having our needs addressed, just not with recognition.

I agree with the other comments in this thread. I’m going to ask Always and Carefree to publicize her name, even though they will almost certainly use it and an ugly marketing campaign. Just put her name on the box and give her bio and mention that she didn’t make any money. Maybe they could include this information on all the individual one-time supplies they provide to restaurants, etc. 🤞🏼

[–]cestrumnocturnum[S] 188 points189 points  (5 children)

[–]MeridianHilltop 50 points51 points  (4 children)

Her name should be well-known! Too bad the headline decided not to include it.

(not your headline, the Vice one)

[–]cestrumnocturnum[S] 73 points74 points  (3 children)

This is not a dig in any way, but I thought I might share some insight (from my time as a student journalist) on why titles and headlines don't often mention the name of their subjects. Sort of a general PSA.

It's journalistic convention that editors won't include names unless the name is so famous that casual readers glancing at the paper will instantly know who it is. If that is not the case, then the editor will craft a headline that includes the most pertinent and attention-grabbing details about the subject of the article, rather than the name. A quick look at /r/news will give us examples: We have:

  • Dallas man loses eye to "non-lethal" police round during George Floyd protest, attorneys say

  • Floyd family attorney urges nation to 'not cooperate with evil' but instead continue protesting against it

  • Man with knives strapped to arm threatens to kill George Floyd protestors in Whitestone

  • LA mayor announces end of curfews for 2nd largest US city

There are many more there, but you get the point. This convention began with print newspapers and magazines and how precious every square inch of space was. Editors literally count the "units" of characters in headlines to make it fit in the space allotted to the article. (For example, a capital M is wide and is worth 2 units. Lower case a is 1 unit. Lower case i is 0.5 unit. And so on.) The goal is to catch the reader's interest as quickly as they can without taking too much space, and the name of an unknown person just isn't attention-grabbing enough. So they use descriptors to tell you why you should care enough to read the story.

The convention persists in online journalism, because in addition to space concerns, these headlines have to compete for the split-second that a reader's eyes pass over it before scrolling on to something else. And there is always something else more sensational online. So if the title had been something like,

The Story of Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, the Forgotten Black Woman Inventor Who Revolutionized Menstrual Pads

That would've been too long for the internet's very fleeting attention span. They couldn't trust that people would get past an unknown woman's name before something else caught their eye, especially if every editor put all relevant names in their headlines and readers have to scroll through name after name after name that they may or may not know. So they put Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner's name and a quick blurb of the article in the subheader instead, because that's what it's for. It's not intended as disrespect or inconsideration. The title or headline is just a big loud "HEY!!!" to get our attention, nothing more than that. Then we can find out the whole story.

Sorry for the nerdy rambling (which is probably ironic in the light of me discussing short attention spans). I hope someone got something out of that.

[–]MeridianHilltop 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the rant! I’ve dated/am friends with a ton of journalists (it’s DC). Your points are well-taken.

My journalist friends are adamant that they will never point out that they don’t write headlines because at the end of the day, it’s a group effort, and they appreciate their editors.

I get that we need to click on the article to get the name, and that traffic helps. I understand why the name isn’t included. However, despite conventions, don’t you find it a little funny that “forgotten revolutionaries” don’t even get a colon with the name in the headline? It’s literally funny.

Forgotten black hero (unnamed) vs forgotten hero: (name)

I understand the economy of words, I do. I think I’m trying to say that this situation is ironic? Pretty sure I’m using that word right.

SAY HER NAME! Say whose name?

Thank you for providing their technical background and protocol regarding headlines. I understand it, and I’m sure you’ve helped out many others by providing this information. Thank you again.

I am on so much cough syrup and lack of sleep that I may not actually be conscious right now What a weird fucking dream

[–]creativewhinypissbby 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you x100 for this. I'm so tired of explaining it to people

[–]niamhish 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love learning new things! Thanks for this.

[–]MeridianHilltop 61 points62 points  (0 children)


[–]throwawayathrowaway0glitter me bro 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Thank you, Mary. I don't know what I would have done without your wonderful invention for 252 periods' worth of hell that I've had up until this point.

[–]succubusprime 28 points29 points  (21 children)

What did people use before pads? It's something I've never thought of before!

[–]MissingBrie 64 points65 points  (8 children)

Many women all through history and today in some parts of the world use rags. (Hence the euphemisms "on the rag" or "ragging"). It has serious impacts for their ability to get an education and participate society.

Sort of immediately before disposables in the West there was the sanitary belt.


[–]actuallycallie 21 points22 points  (3 children)

When I read "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret," it talked about sanitary belts but I had just gotten my period and we had pads with adhesive strips so I was so, so confused.

[–]MissingBrie 10 points11 points  (0 children)

They've since revised it for that very reason🤣

[–]2FAatemybaby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I read it before I got my first period, so I had more elaborate expectations for what was entailed. I was pleasantly surprised when all of that was not necessary.

[–]Immediate_Landscape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My female relatives over 45 talked about sanitary belts and pads that were like boats. Gives new meaning to the term “riding the cotton pony”. Apparently it was hard to get them to stay in place so you never wore anything that could stain during that time. We live in a very sheltered world now, lol.

[–]nashamagirl99 5 points6 points  (2 children)

My grandmother says she remembers her mother using rags and washing them by hand. They didn’t have a washing machine. Everything was just more inconvenient back then.

[–]MissingBrie 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I can't imagine what a pain it would be without a washing machine.

[–]1agomorph 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I spent a year traveling in SE Asia, I used cloth rags instead of buying products, and I washed them by hand. It's not as bad as it seems actually! A stiff clothes-washing brush makes it go pretty fast, it's like washing a piece of muddy fabric.

[–]1agomorph 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used rags until just a few years ago when I switched to a menstrual cup. They are basically equivalent to cloth pads that you can find online, but without the price tag! I just used old towels cut into strips and hemmed the edges. I feel that filling the landfill with plastic waste from a lifetime of used menstrual products is wrong. Loving the menstrual cup now though, it's a game changer!

[–]Lacuna-Foil 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Rags, usually.

[–]tourmaline82Social Justice Cleric 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think some cultures used sea sponges like tampons. Pretty sure most used rags though.

[–]wiklr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My mom used cloth diapers and which they had to wash each time.

[–]Soupallnatural 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, just adding a little historical fun fact, it’s believed that Mary Tudor had severe endometriosis, some believe that her mother also had it, and that is often cited as a possible reason for their fertility issues.

[–]Immediate_Landscape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Native American women apparently used moss and Egyptian women used grass (sounds painful, personally). In the Medieval period it has been suggested based on what little evidence can be found, that peasant women just let the blood run down their legs into their underskirt and then they would just scrub it out (wonderful), although some likely used rags to keep the flies away, because it sounds stupid not to (but remember there was no such thing as underwear back then either, so we can’t be sure).

[–]ybarling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would like to know too!

[–]MeridianHilltop 0 points1 point  (5 children)

Bloody rags were considered evidence against Molly hatchet, iirc

(edit, I did not recall correctly, not one bit)

[–]succubusprime 3 points4 points  (4 children)

All I'm getting for Molly Hatchet is a hairband?

[–]MeridianHilltop 0 points1 point  (3 children)

I’m sorry, I’ll correct it tomorrow, I haven’t slept in a couple of days and I’m on a ridiculous amount of cough syrup for bronchitis that just will not quit. I shouldn’t even be on the Internet. I think I might be dreaming

I’ll fix this tomorrow

[–]succubusprime 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Oh my gosh don't even worry about it. Maybe you meant Lizzie Borden? That's what I think of with a woman and a hatchet!! 🤣

[–]MeridianHilltop 0 points1 point  (1 child)

That’s exactly who I meant. 🙃

[–]succubusprime 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem! Did you get any sleep?

[–]bananacrumble 28 points29 points  (1 child)

I wish we could call them Kenner's instead of pads...sounds nicer lol

[–]SuperJo 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Nothing stopping us, really.

[–]LauraIngallsWildest 27 points28 points  (3 children)

Started using honeypot, founded by a black woman, after target started stocking them back in Feb. Awesome product, the pads I used are infused with lavender, rose, aloe vera, and mint to help with cramps it really did work with no irritation (for me)! They have unscented too. They're all sold out on their website, but target has em in stock.

[–]a-lonely-pandanonbinary intersectional feminist (they/them) 16 points17 points  (2 children)

I checked out their website, and they don't do it all the time, but they do purposely use language like 'humans with vaginas' instead of 'women'! Black owned and trans/nonbinary inclusive! <3

[–]crochet_jill 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I have a legitimate question regarding this, I'm not trying to be ignorant. If someone is trans... say male to female, they still don't have ovaries and cervixes and all that, right? So there wouldn' t be a need for that person to use a sanitary pad. If female to male, do they keep all of those internal bits, but then... is there still a vagina? Does he continue to have a period? I truly don't understand and want to be informed.

[–]a-lonely-pandanonbinary intersectional feminist (they/them) 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sadly, trans women can't have periods. Knowing that they can't menstruate or get pregnant gives a lot of trans women dysphoria. As far as anyone who was AFAB (assigned female at birth), it depends. A full dose of testosterone will lead to periods mostly or entirely stopping. I think with a low dose of testosterone (which some nonbinary people decide to take) you still have a period. Some enbies (enby=nonbinary person) don't take hormones at all. I don't know much about bottom surgery for trans men/transmasculine people, but I think they usually keep their internal genitals because surgery is expensive and it'd be a whole lot of extra recovery time and you'd probably have to recover from that before getting phalloplasty or metiodioplasty. Some people just get a partial or full hysterectomy. Like I said, it depends on what each person wants or can afford. You can be trans or nonbinary and not want any hormones or surgeries.

I appreciate you wanting to learn! Being confused and respectfully asking questions is fine. If you have questions like that it's better to ask one person instead of a group because it can come across as kind of like...looking at us like we're lab experiments or something. But no prob, you seem like you just want to understand better. =)

[–]joliedame"That bitch" 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm a teacher and every year for Black history month, I teach my students about unsung heroes of Black history.

Every year, Mary is at the top of the list.

[–]MissingBrie 9 points10 points  (0 children)


[–]SublimeUniverse 72 points73 points  (11 children)

Since I got Toxic Shock within minutes from tampons, I owe Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner years of gratitude.

[–]pineypineypine 36 points37 points  (7 children)

Within minutes?? What brand were you using? I didn’t know that was even possible.

[–]BraveMoose 57 points58 points  (1 child)

When I was too afraid of tampons, the humble pad was there for me. Don't know what I would've done without them.

Thanks, Mary.

[–]SublimeUniverse 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I agree!

[–]tourmaline82Social Justice Cleric 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Given that I have either vaginismus or vulvodynia and can’t get a tampon or cup up there, I also wish to pay tribute to Ms. Kenner!

[–]alefiyajane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thankyou Mary 😍❤️🙏🏻

[–]gabz09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I never knew this woman was the inventor of the pad. It's always awesome to learn new bits of information about women who have given us so much in modern time. Even if it's considered small by others, I believe this is a very big and impactful thing that she did. I feel happy to have learnt her name!

[–]Wisdom_Of_A_Man -5 points-4 points  (1 child)

If we want her name to be known - then idk, maybe put her name in the post title ?

Reminds me of

‘Democrat challenger has shot at unseating <insert actual name of republican incumbent here>’

Not that op is to blame for Democrats shooting themselves in the foot with inept narrative framing , This post merely reminds me of it. Drives me fucking bonkers.