When sixteen-year-old Jane wrote into Ms. Magazine in the mid-1970s, she did so in a desperate search for hope. As […]
Fetal Remains, Knowledge, and the Making of Early Modern Monsters
In 1734, scholars at France’s Royal Academy of Medicine encountered something unique: a tiny, nearly perfect replica of a fetus […]
Precarity and Pregnancy
When I wrote a dissertation about literary pregnancy, I had never been pregnant. By the time I submitted a manuscript […]
The Arrival of Patti: An Opera Singer in Mexico City during the 1890 Influenza Epidemic
Introduction In early January 1890, Mexico City awaited two anticipated events: the spread of a global influenza epidemic and a […]
Life Before Conception: Gamete Personhood in the Wake of Dobbs
In a shocking 2023 Oklahoma District Court ruling, lesbian mother Kris Williams lost custody of her son, Warren, to sperm […]
The Miscarriage of Frida Kahlo
To say that Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is one of the world’s most recognizable artists is an understatement. In recent decades, […]
Simple Goiter: A Woman’s Disease and a Woman’s Problem to Solve
Most people have a small, butterfly-shaped gland in their neck sitting in front of their trachea. I am no longer […]
In 19th-Century Philadelphia, Female Medical Students Lobbied Hard for Mutual Aid
In the waning years of the nineteenth century, future doctors kept falling sick. Students at the Woman’s Medical College of […]
Every Second Counts: Obsessive Achievement in The Bear, Sports, and Academia
This summer my research collided with one of my favorite TV shows, The Bear, in which talented, sexy, and emotionally […]
How Safe Haven Laws Fail to Protect Children and Parents
The Alabama Senate recently passed a bill that expands Safe Haven Laws, which permit the surrender of newborns at designated […]
