Bizarre Disney Short Film The Story Of Menstruation That Taught Young Girls About Their Period

Bizarre Disney short film The Story Of Menstruation that taught young girls about their period resurfaces online 70 years later - and it's surprisingly up-to-date

• Disney made a film about female health in 1946 titled The Story Of Menstruation
• The film lasts 10 minutes and briefly explains why women get periods
• It includes diagrams of a female reproductive system and uses the word vagina
• A New York gynecologist said the film, albeit simple, is surprisingly accurate

An eccentric and educational cartoon about a woman's menstrual cycle made by Disney in 1946 has resurfaced online, years after it stopped being shown in middle school sex-ed classes.

The Story Of Menstruation, the first of its kind to offer such explicit detail on a mainstream platform, was made to teach young American girls why women get periods and how to deal with them when they happen.

It was the first film to use the word 'vagina', demonstrating how little emphasis was placed on women's health less than 100 years ago.

Despite its age, experts insist it is surprisingly up-to-date.

The narrator gives an accurate explanation of the female reproductive system and recommends things like exercises to relieve cramps, as do many gynecologists today. It also suggests wearing makeup to 'lift your morale' during that time of the month.

Crucially, it debunked taboos regarding what you can and cannot do when you are on your period, reassuring women that, despite popular belief, they can exercise and bathe while menstruating.

The film is titled The Story Of Menstruation lasts 10 minutes and briefly explains why women get periods and how to deal with them when they happen. It also 'debunks taboos' that were present during the time regarding what you can and cannot do when you are on your period - including things like exercising and bathing

The 10-minute-long video was created during the Second World War, at a time when Disney's growth stalled and needed a production boost.

To make money and avoid a shutdown, the company collaborated with government agencies and corporations, such as Kotex.

In making the video, Disney hired gynecologist Mason Hohn to increase scientific accuracy and increase the likelihood school doctors and nurses would allow the film to be shown.

It worked, and the movie was shown in school sex education classes reaching roughly 93 million American girls through the late 1960's.



In making the video, Disney hired gynecologist Mason Hohn to increase scientific accuracy and increase the likelihood school doctors and nurses would allow the film to be shown



The film features a woman speaking a mid-century accent and diagrams of the female sex organs

The film also came with a pamphlet for girls called Very Personally Yours, which went over the specifics of things like sanitation. It also discouraged tampon use, which was common at the time due to the belief that they only worked for women who were no longer virgins.

In 2015 The Story Of Menstruation was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry for being 'culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.'

The film features a woman speaking a mid-century accent and diagrams of the female sex organs.

New York-based gynecologist Dr Alyssa Dweck told Daily Mail Online she found the video to be 'enlightening.'

'Aside from the hoaky music and stereotypical gender roles, this is actually highly accurate from a medical standpoint, albeit simplified,' Dr Dweck explained.




It also tells young women to stay positive during that 'time of the month,' and gives tips and tricks about how to avoid bad moods and period pain



The video provides a basic description of the menstrual process and emphasizes how important it is for each woman to make sure they are on a regular 28-day cycle


'Amazing to me that the advice for healthy lifestyles hasn't changed much throughout the years.'

It also tells young women to stay positive during that 'time of the month,' and gives tips and tricks about how to avoid bad moods and period pain.

Some of the things the narrator mentions are having good posture, doing stretches to relieve cramps, avoiding constipation and not letting not letting a period 'get you down.'

It also recommends that women should keep wearing makeup, because 'that well groomed feeling will give you new poise and lift your morale.'

The film has been praised because of the overall positive message about body image it portrays, and because it is thought to be the first film to use the word vagina.

Dr Dweck also lauded the use of the word, saying: 'Including that dirty V word "vagina" twice... touche to Walt Disney and Kotex for that. Amazing how many news and media outlets shun the word now and we can all take a lesson from this.'

The movie was the first of its kind to feature a female narrator and, while it was being shown in schools, is thought to have taught millions of American girls that their bodies were normal.

However, the video also shows just how little information there was available about women's health during this time period.

The video provides a basic description of the menstrual process and emphasizes how important it is for each woman to make sure they are on a regular 28-day cycle.

And though it shows a graphic of a woman's reproductive system, everything is pictured in black and white, even menstrual blood.



The video doesn't actually mention the idea of period blood, sexuality, or intercourse, other than one moment in which a boy and a girl are dancing and the narrator tells them not to 'get carried away'



It's also been criticized by some for promoting stereotypical gender rolls, with the women in the video being pictured wearing hair-bows, lipstick and dresses

In the scenes of the video where the uterine lining sheds, a mass of snow white exits the vaginal opening, glossing over the idea of blood.

The video doesn't actually mention the idea of period blood, sexuality, or intercourse, other than one moment in which a boy and a girl are dancing and the narrator tells them not to 'get carried away'.

It's also been criticized by some for promoting stereotypical gender rolls, with the women in the video being pictured wearing hair-bows, lipstick and dresses.

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