A Brief History
On July 11, 1893, Mikimoto Kokochi of Japan invented a way to make cultured pearls, making pearl jewelry available to millions of women. Many inventions over the years have been targeted toward women, sometimes welcomed with a sigh of relief and sometimes scorned. Here we list 10 inventions oriented toward a female clientele.
Digging Deeper
10. Botox, 2002.
Botulinum toxin is one of nature’s most deadly toxins, and yet people have it injected into their face to relax wrinkles. At first a mostly female cosmetic application, many television and movie stars, newscasters, politicians, and people that can afford it (a lot of people indeed) flock to the doctor’s office for their injection. Not only can things go wrong and leave your face paralyzed, the effect wears off and has to be repeated every 3 or 4 months, creating a lot of repeat business for the doctor. As with liposuction, the rest of us look much older than those who undergo the treatment which lowers self esteem, and even makes us less competitive for jobs and such. Also, the relaxing effect on facial muscles creates a largely expressionless face, which is weird.
9. Liposuction, 1982.
There were earlier attempts at sucking out fat to “sculpt” a human body without the tedium of exercise and dieting, but the real modern technique hit the masses in 1982 when the “Illouz Method” was introduced. Generally associated with women patients, vain men are also standing in line to undergo the painful and somewhat risky surgery. The downside is that the movie stars and celebrities that undergo this artificial body sculpting make other people (who may not be able to afford it) feel bad about their self image.
8. Birth Control Pill, 1960.
First approved in the US in 1960, this combination of estrogen and progestogen gave women much greater control over their own sexual and reproductive status. Despite the freedom from relying on men for birth control, the side effects of these hormone based pills give pause to some women. Still, the freedom from the tyranny of pregnancy and being able to be on birth control without other people knowing it empowered women in a way not previously achieved.
7. Sewing Machine, 1829.
Like many of the other devices listed here, there were attempts prior to the date we list, but 1829 was the date of the first practical machine that saw extended production. Back in the day, a tailor or seamstress could make a lot more money with increased production thanks to the machines, and once women at home that had been making clothes by hand got the machines they too could save time and effort. Singer’s foot treadle machine of 1851 was truly the first of the modern machines that we would readily recognize today. Singer also introduced the first electric machines in 1889. Women working in clothing manufacturing also benefited from the advent of these machines, but just because they produced more did not necessarily mean they did not work as hard.
6. Washing Machine, 1691-1904.
The first patent for a clothes washing machine (hand cranked of course) was way back in the 17th Century, and the first advertised electric powered machines appeared in 1904. In between were a myriad of various inventions, mostly for bulk cleaning rather than home use. When you throw the electric or gas dryer into the mix, these machines have certainly saved a lot of time and effort washing and drying clothes, much to the benefit of women. Today, men take an increasing amount of that benefit as bachelors or stay at home dads.
5. Brassiere, 1914.
The word brassiere was first used in 1893, and the modern bra was patented in 1914. Ever since, women have praised and cursed the invention, and oddly enough so have men. This item is one of those inventions made for women that not many men use.
4. Dishwasher, 1950’s.
Although the first hand cranked model appeared in 1850, the first practical device did not appear until 1893 (invented in 1887) and the first model for home use until 1924. The electric drying feature was not added until 1940, and the first modern home dishwashers as we know them did not appear until the 1950’s, initially available only to well off people. As dishwashers became more and more prevalent, they became an enormous help to households where men as well as women were the designated dish washing person.
3. Tampon, 1933.
Obviously, the idea of using different absorbent materials internally instead of externally to cope with menstrual flow occurred to women thousands of years ago, but the modern version of the tampon (with the cardboard tube applicator) was patented by Earle Haas who sold his idea to Gertrude Tendrich of Denver, Colorado who founded the Tampax Company, selling tampons to the public in 1936.
2. Cultured Pearls, 1893.
Mikimoto did not make pearls cheap, but he did make them a lot cheaper so that they became available to a much wider group of people. A simple pearl necklace is considered an elegant essential in any woman’s jewelry box.
1. Disposable Diapers, 1956.
Although the idea of a 2 part diaper where just the inner layer was disposable, with the outer plastic layer reusable had been invented in 1947 (called the Paddi), Proctor & Gamble came out with Pampers in 1956, the first all in one disposable diaper. Obviously, this saved new mom’s from a large part of their laundry burden, but it also made travel and going out and about far easier for men and women. The downside are the environmental concerns about filling up our landfills with the disposable nappies. An upside is the crossover application for adult diapers.
Question for students (and subscribers): What items would you add to the list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Sweet, Melissa and Catherine Thimmesh. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2002.