For Soviet citizens, the opinion of others was of great importance. Sometimes it even got to the point that people felt shame and embarrassment when buying banal things. Novate.ru tells about some items for the purchase of which neighbors could spread unpleasant rumors about a person.
1. Alcohol
In the Soviet Union, they tried several times to introduce dry law, but not a single attempt was successful. As a result, a huge number of vineyards were cut down in the country, alcohol prices were raised, and sugar was in short supply. At the same time, another stereotype appeared among the people regarding people who bought alcohol - the neighbors could safely call them drunkards. Even if a person bought alcohol for a holiday, as soon as one of his acquaintances caught the eye, rumors immediately began to spread around the yard. And if men could be forgiven for “such behavior”, then the situation with women was much worse. It was believed that a girl could only drink wine, but beer and vodka were taboo for her - these drinks were called exclusively male.
2. Personal care products
In Soviet times, women had a hard time. This was especially true of personal hygiene products, which for many years simply did not exist in the country. The girls had to use gauze and cotton wool, sew homemade pads. When modern young ladies hear about this, they are horrified, because now the stores are overflowing with a variety of products intended for the period of menstruation. You can choose what suits you the most.
But Soviet girls did not have such privileges. The first pads that appeared in the USSR were of the Baltic production, and were called "Hygienic packages" or "Women's hygiene products." But the demand for them was only in large cities, where women could easily buy a package without worrying that they would meet their neighbor at the checkout. But the residents of the province were very afraid of publicity, so they preferred to bypass the long-awaited product and use the old proven means.
All sensitive topics, in particular, sex education, were bypassed. Moreover, the girls were specially instructed that the monthly malaise should be hidden and all possible talk about it should be nipped in the bud. He was perceived as something unworthy. Fortunately, now women know that this is an ordinary event that should not be ashamed.
3. Medicines for hemorrhoids and sexually transmitted diseases
It was not customary to get sick in the Soviet Union, especially when it came to venereal diseases. The stereotype immediately worked that if a person was diagnosed with such a diagnosis, it means that he leads a riotous lifestyle. It is not necessary to guess how society reacted to such "facts" - such things were condemned and discussed for a long time. The worst thing was that the patient was registered and a list of people with whom he had contact was made. Accordingly, the disease was immediately made public and various rumors began to circulate. That is why people put off going to the doctor in the most extreme case, preferring to be treated on their own.
In the case of hemorrhoids, folk remedies were used. If, nevertheless, they reached the pharmacy, they ordered only vaseline or heparin ointment from the pharmacist, so that no one would guess the true nature of the disease. However, it’s a shame to take the same candles and ointments for hemorrhoids even now - the upbringing of parents who lived in the USSR affects.
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4. Underwear
Modern men can safely present underwear to their beloved for a holiday if they know her parameters and preferences. In the Soviet Union, such a gift would be at least strange and at most inappropriate. Intimate topics were never taken out of the bedroom, as if the spouses had no sexual life. Men were very shy not only to buy underwear for their wife themselves, but also to help her decide on a combination or bra.
In one of his articles, the historian Maxim Rudonsky gave the example of his friend, who chose underwear as a gift for his wife. But since panties, bras and combinations that were produced abroad were considered the best, the man could get the right thing only through a speculator: “We met late at night behind the garages so that no one saw. I had to quickly choose underwear in a bag with goods that my wife would like, but in the dark, even the sizes could not really be made out. I grabbed the first combination that came to hand, hoping that I guessed it after all.
5. Toilet paper
Now toilet paper is a necessary thing, without which we cannot imagine our hygiene. However, this was not always the case. In the USSR, it was treated with prejudice - at that time people could not understand why spend money on a thing that you would later throw away. That's how toilet paper has become not a necessity, but a luxury. Instead, people preferred to use old newspapers. They were cut into pieces of the required size and stacked.
You could find toilet paper on store shelves as early as the 1960s. And the thing that had been abandoned for so long became incredibly popular, which subsequently led to a shortage. People tried to buy many rolls at once, so that due to a shortage of goods they did not have to use newspapers again. However, there was one nuance - such a purchase could not be hidden in a shopping bag, and there were no plastic bags hiding the purchased goods then. The only possible option was to string the rolls on a rope and hang it on the chest like a necklace.
Fortunately, technological progress does not stand still and today we have much more opportunities than our parents and grandparents. We can feel free to buy pads, make doctor's appointments, and grab a bottle of wine off the supermarket shelf, even when there are a lot of people around. But the most important thing is that we realized that personal opinion is much more important than the neighbor's, and it is worth focusing on the point of view of society in the last turn.
But 6 blunders for which women were shamed in Soviet magazines, and then in society
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/030522/62833/