BHM ; Hail Mary
VIllage!
I took a lil vacation cause baby… I gotta take care of me! But I got some more shit to say about Black history. Is that cool with you?
BET!
OKAY… to the black shit…
Growing up, I didn’t really know what a period was. I would see Kotex and Always Pads commercials on television all the time talking about “a period” but shit, I didn’t know what it was. Even back then I was like “Why are these grown ass white women happy about wearing diapers all damn day?” I was about 7-years- old when I started asking questions and my Granny would tell me “You are too young for that conversation”. So of course when I had my own experience at 8, I thought I was going to die. Surprisingly, having a period at 8 is not unheard of even though menstruation doesn’t usually start until about 11-13 years old. And yes you read that right. A period and an actual menstruation are two different things.
That brings me to my good judy, Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner. She was born in 1912 and started inventing shit when she was about 6-years-old. Her daddy was the shit too cause he invented the clothing presser. But back to my girl… so she invented the sanitary belt back in the 1920’s first but couldn’t afford a patent so Babygirl spun the block and got her first patent in 1957. Now from 1920something until 1957, she used that time to keep reinventing it and making it better and better. A common issue was leakages of menstrual blood and the sanitary belt aimed to prevent that. In 1957, the sonn-nap-pack company heard about this amazing invention but as soon as they found out she was Black, they declined interest. Beltless sanitary pads came out in the 70’s and then tampons.
Sis invented other things too like the wheelchair and walker attachments for soft trays to carry items. THEN, she invented the toilet paper holder in 1982 along with a mounted back washer and massager in 1987. She died in Washington, DC on January 13, 2006 at the age of 93.
Can you fucking believe that she never received any awards or formal recognition for any of her work?! She walked so many could run because her contributions and inventions helped paved the way for so many other things. Even though she wasn’t appreciated the way she should have been because white people are gonna white, she still holds the record for the greatest patents awarded a Black woman by the United States Government.
Actually, there are so many black-owned menstrual products you can patronize.
And let me add that each of these companies use 100% organic cotton, fragrance free (except Honeypot), sulfate free, and hypoallergenic. Your coochie is gonna hold up a fist after you have loved her enough to use black owned feminine products. Fight the Power coochie. LMAOOOOO!!
Okay.. let me go. I love yall!
Love,
Your Doula
