Our bodies ourselves boston women’s health book collective 1971

The boston womens health book collective began in 1969 when a small group of women gathered after a workshop on women and their bodies at a bostonarea female liberation conference to talk about some crucial health issues and to confront a medical establishment viewed as paternalistic and condescending. First published in the late 1960s, it contains information related to many aspects of women s health and sexuality, including. The group of founders formally incorporates as the boston womens health book collective in order to. In 1971, they changed the title to our bodies, ourselves to emphasize women taking full. In 1971, they changed the title to our bodies, ourselves to emphasize women taking full ownership of their bodies. We aim to combine womens personal stories with reliable, uptodate health information, while examining the social and political influences on womens health and wellbeing. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Our bodies, ourselvespublished by boston womens health book collective 1971 has long been hailed as the womens health bible.

Their mission is to empower women by providing information about health, sexuality, and reproduction. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The booklet puts womens health in a radically new political and social context. Our bodies, ourselves, the revolutionary feminist health book. In 1972, the group of founding authors formally incorporated as the boston womens health. In 1971, women and their bodies was republished as our bodies.

Advancing health and human rights for women and girls, brings together womens health activists from 12 nations to join directors and founders, past and present, of the boston womens health book collective, also referred to as our bodies ourselves, which produced the original and revised our bodies. Cover of the 1971 edition of our bodies, our selves. Publication date 1998 topics women, women, women publisher new york, n. When the boston womens health book collective published a 75cent pamphlet in 1971, its message was in sync with the feminist zeitgeist. Why the womens sexual health book still matters orgasmic our bodies, ourselves was the first book to teach women about sex and birth control. Feminist activists today should still look to our bodies. Our bodies, ourselves 1973, by the boston womens health book. But the cambridge womens health collective that wrote the groundbreaking book, which has sold more than 4 million copies in the united states since its first publication in 1971, is now at risk. Our bodies, ourselves by the boston womens health book collective, claims to have served as a way for women, across ethnic, racial, religious and geographical boundaries, to start examining their health from a perspective that will bring about change. Our bodies, ourselves celebrates 40 years bu today. Some of the founders of our bodies ourselves, circa 1970. A mongolian version is in the works and, now, html. First edition of our bodies, ourselves coursebook, produced by the boston womens health collective, 1971.

Our bodies, ourselves, the guide that revolutionized women. Ourselves, growing older began as one chapter of that original work. First published in 1971, it contains information related to. The boston womens health book collective is an association of feminist women centered in boston, ma. In the 1970s, the book promoted nonjudgemental discussions about womens sexual.

Republished by new england free press, the book puts womens health in a radically new political and social context and quickly becomes an underground success. Our bodies, ourselves coursebook cover jewish womens. A course from 1970 digitized by the boston womens health book collective. A course from 1970 digitized by the boston women s health book collective. Our bodies, ourselves book by boston womens health book. Our bodies, ourselves 1973, by the boston womens health. The boston womens health book collective, also known as the our bodies, ourselves collective, is a feminist. First published in 1971, it contains information related to many aspects of womens health and sexuality, including menopause, birth control, childbirth, sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity. Our bodies, ourselves by boston womens health book collective. Their mission is to empower women by providing information about. Calling themselves the boston womens health collective, a dozen of them later. Boston womens health book collective primary author only author division.

Our bodies, ourselves, the revolutionary feminist health. By the time i headed off to college in 1976, it was. It is easy to read this story as an allegory of the secondwave womens movement. The boston womens health book collective now known as our bodies ourselves is a nonprofit organization founded in 1969 whose board members include teresa heinz kerry, susan love, and gloria steinem. Kathy davis, whose the making of our bodies, ourselves.

Our bodies, ourselves is a book about womens health and sexuality produced by the nonprofit organization our bodies ourselves originally called the boston womens health book collective. Home boston womens health book collective research. Preface to the 1973 edition of our bodies, ourselves the 1975 harvard conference on women and health the schlesinger library at radcliffe college maintains an extensive collection of records from boston womens health book collective, including minutes from meetings, letters from readers, discussions about health and politics, and. Our bodies, ourselves taught women about sexuality and. Boston womens health book collective our bodies, ourselves. Boston womens health book collective is currently considered a single author. Boston womens health book collective, to find out more about their bodies, their lives.

This is the best book to help young and older women with the ins and outs about our bodies. The revolutionary womens health book, originally published in 1970, has been translated into 32 languages. The work, priced at 40 cents, quickly sold 250,000 copies. This may ring true through most of the chapters in this text. Updated every four to six years, the collective published the ninth and. In 1971, women and their bodies was republished as our bodies, ourselves by new england free press. Boston womens health book collective author of our.

Our bodies, ourselves 1973, by the boston womens health book collective. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel. When the boston womens health book collective first published our bodies, ourselves, it was a rare resource on everything from birth control to abortion, pregnancy to postpartum depression. First called women and their bodies, in 1971, the group changed the books title to our bodies, ourselves. Retitled from the original women and their bodies, our bodies, ourselves was an effort by a group of educated, middle class women to reinforce womens ownership of their bodies. Our bodies, ourselves by the boston womens health book. Our bodies, ourselves, a succession to a pamphlet of resources pulled from coops of women in and around boston, massachusetts, was published in new york in 1973 by simon and schuster.

Boston womens health book collective the gold standard for womens health books, in time for the fortieth anniversary of the books first publication, featuring new material and a completely updated approach to critical womens health. The boston women s health book collective now known as our bodies ourselves is a nonprofit organization founded in 1969 whose board members include teresa heinz kerry, susan love, and gloria steinem. First published in 1971, it contains information related to many aspects of womens health and sexuality, including sexual health, sexual orientation. The boston womens health book collective, which produced this book and all its subsequent editions, now calls itself our bodies, ourselves. The story of our bodies, ourselves begins in may of 1969, when 12 women met during a womens liberation conference at emmanuel college in boston. Our bodies, ourselves boston womens health book collective. Click here to view a pdf version of the original women and their bodies. In 1971 the boston womens health collective published its first book, our bodies, ourselves, and thus the field of feminist health care was born.

Our bodies ourselves obos is a nonprofit, public interest organization that develops and promotes evidencebased information on girls and. On october 1, 2011, the group will celebrate its forty years of activism with a symposium of global partners, allies and friends, and with the release of the ninth edition of the book. Our bodies, ourselves, american book on womens health, first published in 1970 and followed by eight revised and updated editions, with the last appearing in 2011. From this perspective, our bodies, ourselves is a oneoff. Readers respond to our bodies, ourselves since 1971, our bodies, ourselves has influenced the lives of women across the world. In 1970, a group of women in the boston area selfpublished women and their bodies, a 193page booklet that dared to address sexuality and reproductive health, including abortion. They formed what was originally known as the doctors grouplater it would be called the boston womens health collective where they discussed their research into womens health. Our bodies ourselves is a nonprofit education and advocacy organization focused on womens health. Judy norsigian, executive director and a founder of the boston womens health book collective, is a coauthor of our bodies. Our bodies, ourselves is a book about women s health and sexuality produced by the nonprofit organization our bodies ourselves originally called the boston women s health book collective. A course was reprinted in 1971 under the name our bodies, our selves. A and for women boston womens health book collective on.

I had a copy of it way back in the 70s and learned a great deal from reading it. The importance of our bodies, ourselves judy norsigian. It was a groundbreaking publication in its expressed goal of dispelling widespread ignorance about the female body and womens health issues. Our bodies, ourselves is a book about womens health and sexuality produced by the nonprofit organization our bodies ourselves. It was time, the collective declared, for women to take charge of their bodies and their reproduction. Our bodies, ourselves is a book about womens health and sexuality produced by the nonprofit. A year later, they changed the title to our bodies, ourselves and changed the womens. Our bodies, ourselves by boston womens health book. The book quickly became an underground success, selling 230,000 copies, mainly by wordofmouth. Shes beautiful when shes angry, about the founders of the modern womens movement from 1966 to 1971. Our changing sense of self, from our bodies, ourselves, the boston womens health book collective, new england free press, 1971.