Professor discusses men's role in menstruation ads

"Prince Charles made me do it." Professor of communication arts at Marymount Manhattan College (N.Y.), Dr. David Linton's quick response describes his research into the world of female menstruation.

The infamous "Camillagate" scandal was started by Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles when an intimate phone call between the two was published in tabloids, Linton said.

The conversation involved light phone sex while Princess Diana was still alive, he said.

After hearing about the scandal, Linton was hooked.

He presented "What's with the men in menstruation? A history of male advertising women's products" in Spotts Auditorium Tuesday to a packed room.

Linton's presentation focused on the presence of men in female menstruation advertisements from the early 1920s to present day.

He explained that shame and embarrassment were the dominant feelings surrounding a woman's menstrual period and that its existence must be kept a secret from the male presence in the 1920s.

But times have changed.

"We've gone from shame to humor," Linton said as he spoke about the progress society has made in accepting a woman's period.

In reference to a recent tampon commercial, he pointed out that the behavior of the girls was a departure from embarrassment.

"We see in a public arena, girls stand together," Linton said. "The tampon will be returned with embarrassing apologies as the girl returns to her desk with the tampon and pride."

In the field Linton is an obvious outsider, but says he's earned respect in eyes of his female counterparts.

"I've earned the appreciation and respect on the board of menstrual cycle research," Linton said. "It was a long, slow process. [The women] felt a little weird because I'm a guy. They were annoyed. 'What do you know about periods?' and 'What are you up to?'"

He teaches a class at Marymount Manhattan College based on his research and fascination on the subject.

"I've taught the class for four years," Linton said. "It's an extremely popular class-it's a big success. Kids call it the 'period class.'"

His visit to SRU was sponsored by the Women's Studies program.

Associate English professor Dr. Cindy LaCom serves as the director for the Women's Studies program and thinks bringing Linton to campus served an important purpose in changing the face of Women's Studies.

"We're trying to change the focus from women's studies to women and gender studies," she said.

Bringing the subject of menstruation to a co-ed campus is beneficial for both genders, LaCom said.

"One of my students asked why he focused on advertisements," she said. "Well, where do we see it discussed? I think sometimes it's important to make people uncomfortable. This is one step towards talking about it. We're making a shift from shame and secrecy to openness.