In 1917, when Dr. Katharine Bement Davis accepted philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s invitation to lead the Bureau of Social Hygiene (BSH), an organization dedicated to combating sex work and sexually transmitted infections, he expressed “very great satisfaction” at the prospect of working with her. Rockefeller had “the highest opinion of your ability,” and was… Read more →
Tag: Women Doctors
Truly Ambitious Women: Women Chiropractors and World War I
In the turn-of-the-century United States, women were among the first chiropractors. In a period when established medical schools barred women from entering because of their gender, chiropractic and other “irregular” medical practices provided a more welcoming home for women interested in health care and a professional career. Immediately before and during World War I, chiropractic… Read more →
Lady Mellanby’s Dental Utopia
Nearly all of us have dealt with dental caries — better known as cavities — at some point in our lives. According to the World Health Organization, “the disease affects nearly 100% of the population in the majority of countries.”1 Although cavities are common, dentists agree that fluoride dosing, a comprehensive oral hygiene regimen, and… Read more →
Exploding Myths About Medicine’s Wage Gap: Lessons From the Past and Present
It’s not news that women are paid less than men for comparable work, subject to variation across race, field of labor, and other factors. In medicine, the gap is particularly pronounced. At first glance, we wouldn’t necessarily expect medicine to be particularly inequitable. Being a physician is a high-status occupation that requires a great deal… Read more →
Adventures in the Archives: Living in a Material World
By Jacqueline Antonovich
A wise woman once remarked, “We are living in a material world and I am a material girl.” And while this ode to consumption may have been referring to the procurement and enjoyment of luxury items, I think Madonna may have been on to something – though perhaps not in the way she intended. You see, over this past summer I had an unintentional, but deeply meaningful, love affair with . . . material culture.