So, Did 1900′s Dudes Actually Like Vaginas That Smelled Like Disenfectant?
After perusing these turn-of-the-century Lysol douching ads, I was left with so many questions—and so few pre-World War One vagina-odor-controlling husbands to consult. Gchat speculation yielded only one certainty: "if you're a guy like this, you enjoy the smell of pine cleaner."
VAGINA 1: these ads are so insane. what i wonder is: was there a time when women believed this, or was there a time when men would lock their wives out because their vaginas smelled?
VAGINA 2: what i want to know is: did they prefer the smell after using lysol?
VAGINA 1: yeah who would want to lick something that had been sprayed with lysol? was douche lysol different?
VAGINA 2: i dont think so. i thought the same thing, and then i thought, there's no way guys like these are actually going down on their wives.
VAGINA 1: so its just the scent in the air. i guess if youre a guy like this, you enjoy the smell of pine cleaner.
VAGINA 2: can i post this conversation on my blog?
VAGINA 1: sure.
VAGINA 2: how should i id u?
VAGINA 1: hmmm. i dont know. ive never been in a published IM conversation before
VAGINA 2: maybe i'll just put them as VAGINA 1 and VAGINA 2
VAGINA 1: that works
Photo by mrbill
1:28 am
Creepy and cringe-inducing as this is, it's not QUITE as bad as it looks. Remember that at the time of the ads, most contraceptives hadn't been invented, and the ones that had been were often illegal, until Griswold v. Connecticut came around in the 1960s.
Douching was a popular, if ineffective, attempt at contraception, and it could escape the laws by marketing itself as hygiene. The Lysol was meant to be a spermicide.
A lot of those phrases are code for "don't get knocked up" -- ever heard of "keeping your youthful figure?" When the ads talk about "confidence," they mean "have sex while being confident you won't get pregnant."
I still wouldn't want it anywhere near my delicate lady parts, but you have to give Lysol some credit for trying!