STS Scholars Award: Toxic Shock Syndrome, Tampon Technology and Testing

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

General Audience Summary This project examines the aftermath of Procter & Gamble's voluntarily recall of Rely tampons, due to the product's deadly association with Toxic Shock Syndrome. It focuses on the ways in which policy developed to warn women about the dangers of tampons in general and super-absorbent tampons in particular. The project has three core research questions. How were standards concerning materials testing for tampon absorbency established; how did various stakeholders, including corporations, federal agencies, and health advocacy groups, work to shape policy about tampon use; and how were warnings about risk conceptualized in light of absorbency standards? To answer these questions, the PI will engage in archival research at the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women, Harvard University; specifically, she will focus on the library's collection of the papers of Esther Rome, a women's health advocate for tampon safety and founder of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective. The results of this research will be of interest STS scholars, particularly those engaged in research on feminist science and women-centered technology, and more broadly. They will also be of interest to health care professionals and experts in health care policy. In addition, they will have wide appeal to women, who are deeply interested in narratives of personal health and the impact of techno-science on their bodies. Technical Summary This project will advance knowledge in a number of overlapping fields including gender and women's studies, science and technology studies, history of medicine, history of science, and history of technology. It contributes the new framework of "biocatalytic technology" defined as technologies that are not primarily dangerous to humans, but have the potential to catalyze microbial activity that may result in harm through their use. The framing of biocatalytic technology helps to interpret, analyze and understand micro-biotechnological interfaces. This research conceptualizes the body as an ecological space and historicizes relationships of emergent technology, gender, and microbial constituents. It exemplifies the need for different voices in the lab, and not only women scientists but also invested publics. It calls upon medical practitioners to understand the effects of material objects, and the unexpected influence they may have not only on bodies but also upon microbial ecosystems as well.