In the United States, female circumcision (the removal of the clitoral hood) and clitoridectomy (the removal of the external nub […]
Clio Reads: Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy in the United States: A History of a Medical Treatment
By Carrie Adkins
Many Americans think of female circumcision and clitoridectomy as cultural or religious practices that have taken place primarily in other parts of the world — not as medical procedures performed by doctors in the United States for the past 150 years. And though scholars of gender, sex, and medicine have noted the significance of clitoral surgeries, we have been missing a historical monograph on the subject.[1] Sarah B. Rodriguez’s new book, Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy in the United States: A History of a Medical Treatment, fills this gap in the scholarship and, more importantly, explores the relationships between clitoral surgeries, social prescriptions for female behavior, and cultural approaches to sexuality and marriage. It’s an important book, and many Nursing Clio readers will find it fascinating.
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-Love in post-war Italy.
-Frederick Douglass in Ireland.
-1930s predictions for the future.
-A Selma landmark sits in shambles.
-The Census Bureau angers academics.
Agency and Abortion in Brazil
Two women’s deaths resulting from clandestine abortions recently shocked the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In August 2014, 27-year-old […]
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-The Christmas truce of 1914.
-Did Nazis celebrate Christmas?
-The not-so-nice history of nutmeg.
-The healing power of donkey milk?
-The newest hangover cure: IV drips.
-Ayn Rand, Communism, and the FBI.
Clio Talks: with Astrid Henry
Today we have something a bit different: an interview with Professor Astrid Henry by Nursing Clio blogger Carolyn Herbst Lewis. Astrid is the Louise R. Noun Professor of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at Grinnell College. She recently co-authored Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements (W.W. Norton & Company, 2014) with Dorothy Sue Cobble and Linda Gordon, which Carrie Pitzulo reviewed for us earlier this week. Astrid also is the author of Not My Mother’s Sister: Generational Conflict and Third-Wave Feminism (Indiana University Press, 2004), and her work has appeared in various journals and anthologies. She received her Ph.D. from the Interdisciplinary Modern Studies Concentration of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s English Department and has been a member of the Governing Council of the National Women’s Studies Association.
Clio Reads: A Review of Feminism Unfinished
In Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements, historians Dorothy Sue Cobble, Linda Gordon, and Astrid Henry […]
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-The Harrison Act at 100.
-The history behind Monopoly.
-Sitting in radioactive dirt in the 1950s.
-20 disgusting vintage holiday recipes.
-Med students translate Ferguson jargon.
The Nanny State on Your Plate?
In late November, the FDA finalized new rules for calorie counts on menus. In about a year, all food establishments […]
Yes Virginia, Feminism Left Christmas Alone
By Cheryl Lemus
As I write this blog post, I am recovering from an intense Thanksgiving weekend. Over the course of four days, I cooked, attended a Doctor Who convention, put up the rest of our Christmas decorations, and shopped. I am not ashamed to admit that as of 11:59 p.m. on Halloween, I hit the Christmas station on Pandora. Although I usually wait until Thanksgiving to decorate the tree, I actually put it up a week early this year. And this was not the first time I was in a store very early on Thanksgiving because there was a deal that I could not pass up. I am a liberal feminist, and yes, I am one of those people who loves most everything about the holiday. I cook, I shop, I share past traditions, and damn it, my tree looks awesome. This feminist loves Christmas. Kirk Cameron would be proud.
