Maintain Your Feminine Daintiness with Lysol!

A few weeks ago, BoingBoing featured this mid-20th-century ad.

Yes, it really does advocate douching with Lysol. After a headline and illustration that warn a woman that she can be locked out of her husband's affections because of doubt, inhibitions and ignorance, the text goes on to explain:

A man marries a woman because he loves her. So instead of blaming him if married love begins to cool, she should question herself. Is she truly trying to keep her husband and herself eager, happy married lovers? One most effective way to safeguard her dainty feminine allure is by practicing complete feminine hygiene as provided by vaginal douches with a scientifically correct preparation like "Lysol." So easy to banish the misgivings that often keep married lovers apart.

Germs destroyed swiftly

"Lysol" has proved power to kill germ-life on contact...truly cleanses the vaginal canal even in the presence of mucous matter. Thus "Lysol" acts in a way that makeshifts like soap, salt or soda never can.

Appealing daintiness is assured because the very source of objectionable odors is eliminated.

Use whenever needed!

Yet gentle, non-caustic "Lysol" will not harm delicate tissue. Simple directions give correct douching solution. Many doctors advise their patients to douche regularly with "Lysol" brand disinfectant, just to insure feminine daintiness alone, and to use it as often as necessary. No greasy aftereffect.

For feminine hygiene, three times more women use "Lysol" than any other liquid preparation. No other is more reliable. You , too, can rely on "Lysol" to help protect your married happiness...keep you desirable.

Glad to know there's no greasy aftereffect when you maintain your feminine daintiness. Makes you wonder what the other products left as residue, other than a completely unbalanced vaginal environment.

The comments on BoingBoing zeroed in on the part of the copy that mentions inferior douches made by using "soap, salt or soda." First, someone thought it meant soda as in soda pop, then a second commenter said no, it meant baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

A third chimed in, "Soda is referring to sodium hydroxide solutions... diluted LYE!" which is also called caustic soda. This seems unlikely to me, since it would have caused obvious burns and discomfort (this is the active ingredient in drain cleaners and hair relaxers).

A fourth said it was probably "washing soda" (sodium carbonate), widely used as a water softener when doing laundry (and popular with taxidermists).

After getting over a bit of nausea from reading all this, I hit upon a comment quoting an 89-year-old woman who said it was common to use Lysol douches as a [clearly inadequate] contraceptive. More comments followed, affirming that use and pointing out the coded language in the text, such as "cleanses the vaginal canal even in the presence of mucous matter." Huh, okay.

And then the clincher: Someone pointed out that the locks are on the woman's side of the door. How could Dave have cinched all those padlocks from the other side? Maybe it's Dave who's locked away for a reason.

Sociological Images has a collection of more ads urging feminine daintiness through douching.