NFR Project: “The Story of Menstruation”
Produced by Walt Disney Productions
Premiere: 1946
10 min.
Sex education in America was rudimentary for a long time. Women and girls rarely got the kind of information and advice they would need to have a sense of ownership and mastery over their bodies and functions.
Some smart person at the Kotex company thought it appropriate to change this. They commissioned Disney to create a short animated film that would educate schoolgirls about periods and menstruation. This film was crafted, and then shown to millions of young women, demystifying the process and making it less scary.
The film is staunchly wholesome; only the bare clinical details necessary are indulged in, and the whole cartoon has a euphemistic relationship to its subject. In truth, it faced the challenge of being both straightforward and socially acceptable. It does so admirably.
The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: The Lady from Shanghai.
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