Warm water for everyone!
Hello to everyone on this forum.
I’m going to share my own, somewhat unpopular, female perspective.
I’m not from America.
In the past—let’s say in the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s—enemas were used primarily by women as a weight-loss method. There were so-called “enema diets”—weight-loss regimens for a slimmer figure. It was super popular, even though the results were pretty questionable. I had mutual female friends, and even a friend of my mom’s, who were into this type of diet. Just like the “Kremlin Diet.” In the early ’90s, audio cassettes were sold with a three-month weight-loss program. Yet another scam from the “how to make easy money without getting off the couch” series.
There’s also a lot in our region that involves enemas and vaginal douching. It’s worth noting that for this “purely feminine” procedure, people in my region—Eastern Europe—had all sorts of devices in their homes. From enema bags called “Esmarch Enemas,” made of thick rubber with a capacity of up to 2 liters, to various enema bulbs of different sizes, ranging from 30 ml to 700 ml. With hard and soft tips. They were kept in the bathroom, hanging right next to the toilet; no one hid them from view. In the 1970s and 1980s, vaginal douching with acidic solutions was common practice, ranging from a weak solution of diluted citric acid to Coca-Cola. These were widely used in home settings following unprotected sexual intercourse to prevent consequences. Of course, this was a major misconception.
Enemas were also frequently used in cases of poisoning. Nowadays, this is handled either by a specialized gel like “Enterosgel” or by specialized tablets, provided it is a mild case of poisoning.
Enemas were always administered in hospitals prior to abdominal surgery, regardless of the patient’s gender.
Perhaps enemas are considered more of a feminine procedure due to the fetishization of the procedure. For example, many years ago I saw and learned from my husband that there was an artist who depicted the enema process. I have reproductions of his work. His name was Julie Delcourt.
Conclusion. Due to the underdevelopment of medicine in the early 20th century (at the household level), naturally, penicillin and the two world wars that followed advanced medicine and especially surgery; however, in some fields such as gynecology, urology, and certain other medical fields, some inaccuracies were allowed to persist, which over time came to be interpreted differently. For example: douching and enemas.
When did the fetishization of the process begin? Everything (if not everything, then much of it) was invented and tested even before our era. It’s all been done before; it’s just that, like everything in the history of civilization, it moves in a spiral. There are ancient depictions of the process. We haven’t invented anything completely new in this regard.
As my grandmother used to say: “...what is natural is not ugly.”
I wish everyone warm water!
Sincerely, Elena