On the first day of his presidency, Donald Trump reinstated the global gag rule on abortion. This is no great […]
At the Mercy of the Sea: Women, Reproduction, and Europe’s Migrant Crisis
In 2015 over a million women, children, and men from conflict-ridden parts of Africa and the Middle East made their […]
Sex, Death, and Three Irish Women
In November 1984 the Catholic parish of Tynagh, County Galway, Ireland, gathered to bury a woman who had been dead […]
Venus Revisited
“Creepy.” “Weird.” “Messed. Up.” Such are the visceral responses of my women’s history students to an admittedly bizarre and complex […]
The Brexit and Women’s Rights in the UK
Although women comprise the majority of voters in the UK, they were noticeably absent in the debates and discussions surrounding […]
“The Torture Began”: Symphysiotomy and Obstetric Violence in Modern Ireland
“They just took me into the ward and put me on the bed and told me they were going to […]
“For Poor or Rich”: Handywomen and Traditional Birth in Ireland
On Achill Island, Ireland, an untrained woman was prosecuted for acting as a midwife in 1932. In her defense, she […]
Tea Kettles and Turpitudes: Abortion and Material Culture in Irish History
In 1932, a Donegal woman was brought up on criminal charges after she attempted miscarriage by consuming both pills as […]
Flowers and Lady Charlotte: Talking about Menstruation, Past and Present
In some ways, 2015 was the year of the period in social media. Thinx panties, which claim to absorb menstrual […]
Abortion in Ireland: The More Things Change…
Last month, a handful of Irish women and men left Dublin on a unique bus tour. For two days, they […]
