A Ladydrawers History of Women’s Rights, Part IV: Feminine Hygiene and Intellectual Property

The last few Ladydrawers strips have tried to look a little more closely into the contemporary relationship between gender and cultural production, covering historic and continuing economic disparity between men and women; recent – but very small – gains made by women entering Congress (and how those gains stack up – or fail to – globally); and a deeply embedded gender bias in copyright law. In these next two strips, Anne Elizabeth Moore and Laura Szumowski look at another part of intellectual property rights law – patents – and some surprising but potentially disturbing news about gains made by women in the field of feminine hygiene.