Absorbent cylindrical products inserted into the vagina to absorb menstrual fluid.
From French 'tampon' meaning plug or stopper, derived from Old French 'tapon.' The word originally meant any kind of plug or pad, and was applied to menstrual products in the early 1900s.
Tampons were invented and patented in the 1930s, but they were actually first heavily marketed to women through TV ads in the 1980s—before that, people just didn't talk about periods publicly, which meant millions of women didn't know the products existed.
Medicalized menstruation product; historically discussed under taboo, limiting women's public language about bodily autonomy. Marketing and medical fields long avoided direct naming.
Use clinical term directly without euphemism. Normalize discussion of menstruation in professional/medical contexts without shame.
Women's advocacy for destigmatization and tax-parity for period products (2010s+) reclaimed straightforward language and challenged 'luxury tax' classification.
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