Between 1854 and the early 20th century, dozens of patents were filed in Europe and the US for menstrual cups (aluminum/rubber), rubber pants, and improved pads or holders. This reflected industrialization, rising middle-class consumerism, and hygiene movements post-germ theory. Many remained niche due to cost and social stigma.

These technological stirrings aligned with realist and naturalist literature's focus on everyday domestic struggles (e.g., in Zola or Wharton), where unspoken female burdens highlighted class and gender inequalities. Women poets of the late 19th century increasingly incorporated themes of physical emancipation and modernity into their work.