Mary Kenner: A Story of The Erasure of Black Menstrual Creation
Have you considered who came up with the original idea to create the pads you currently use to maintain your menstrual flow? How is it that we have the pads that we have today?
You can thank Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner for her contributions.
Mary Kenner was an African-American female inventor born in North Carolina in 1912, and is known for holding the most patents as a Black woman. In 1931, she enrolled at Howard University to begin her educational career (Lemelson-MIT). However, after forcefully taking on numerous forms of employment to provide for herself financially, she withdrew from the university. Despite her circumstances, her passion and love for inventing did not stop her pursuit (Blackpost).
In relation to menstruation, she created one of the first sanitary belts in 1920 that would later be used as models for sanitary pads. At that time, the purpose of the sanitary belt was to stop menstrual blood leaks on clothes. The mechanism that Kenner used to improve previous models involved implementing an adhesive to hold the pad properly. This feature is seen in most pads today (Girls Co 2021).
Now one might ask, “Why isn’t she highly regarded for her invention of the sanitary belts today?”
Kenner finalized her invention in 1920, yet, due to financial difficulties, she could not afford to apply for a patent. In 1957, Kenner acquired the financial resources to gain the patent and was presented with an opportunity from a company to manufacture the belt. However, the company removed their offer when they found out that she was an African-American woman. After several proposal rejections, Kenner’s patent expired, which allowed other competitors to copy and profit off of her idea. While she was one of the early inventors of the prototype for pads, her contributions were and continue to be overlooked by the works of other major menstrual product manufacturers (Stamper 2022).
I challenge you to search for articles that discuss the history of menstrual products and discover how many include the contributions and accomplishments of Mary Kenner. SPOILER ALERT — you will find that very few do.
Mary Kenner’s story is just one example of why it remains vital to acknowledge the contributions of marginalized groups to the menstrual space from the past and present. Even now, African-American contributors are making history in this space without their stories being told, yet. We also must identify and bring light to the unique challenges that Black innovators and advocates face in the menstrual space. In addition to withstanding varied forms of discrimination, Black innovators and advocates must reckon with the historical erasure of their voices. Trailblazers such as Mary Kenner, who provided immense contributions to the menstrual space, are not well-known or acknowledged. Journalism is imperative to bring attention to these untold stories and experiences.
The ending of Black History Month does not signify the end of recognizing and praising the accomplishments that Black people have provided to the menstrual space and beyond. Use the end of Black History Month– and the beginning of Women’s History Month– to learn more about how historically marginalized groups have contributed to the space and how they are disproportionately affected by the various menstrual inequities present today. Use the end of Black History Month as motivation to begin supporting Black-run menstrual product businesses such as The Honey Pot Co and Moozii if you have the financial resources to do so or support Black-run menstrual equity organizations such as @601forperiodequity — founded by PERIOD. Youth Advisory Board member and Board of Directors member Asia Brown — and The Black Periodt Project.
Taking action steps like these are necessary to ensure that we do not exclude other POC menstrual trailblazers in the future.
Sources:
- https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mary-kenner-1912-2006/
- https://thegirlsco.com/blogs/news/the-evolution-of-menstrual-products-from-the-1800s-to-present#:~:text=1800s%2D1900s&text=This%20was%20the%20start%20of,of%20aluminum%20or%20hard%20rubber.
- https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/mary-beatrice-davidson-kenner
- https://www.historyhit.com/mary-beatrice-kenner-the-inventor-who-changed-womens-lives/
