The startling knowledge that the Polish nobleman and military leader, Casimir Pulaski, a hero of the American Revolution, may have been intersex should leave us with two important takeaways. First, people have always been born with intersex traits, or atypical sex development. Even the ancient laws of the Talmud recognized this fact, offering rules for… Read more →
Category: News
Sunday Morning Medicine
A weekly check-up of gender, medicine, and history in the news The history of Women’s History Month. The failed Soviet rival to the flapper dress. The mystery of the 1957 gay wedding photos. The historical significance of black queer films. How fashion forensics are helping solve crimes. Is testing the DNA in museum artifacts worth… Read more →
Sunday Morning Medicine
A weekly check-up of gender, medicine, and history in the news Lady Death. “We all expected to die.” Scope Magazine (1941-1957). Tear gas and the U.S. border. The story of the pile of limbs. The boy left behind in Nazi Vienna. Daisy, Daisy, the Cycling Countess. The forgotten abortion-rights activist. Presumed heterosexuality in the archives. Why… Read more →
The Trump Administration Wants to Define a Person’s Sex at Birth. It’s Just Not That Simple
A memo circulating through the Trump Administration proposes that several government agencies should define sex as “a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth,” according to the New York Times. This definition is a blunt instrument that, along with its cruel dismissal of the transgender population,… Read more →
Sunday Morning Medicine
A weekly check-up of gender, medicine, and history in the news A diet for old age. The sensory history of pine. 9 cold remedies from history. The Texas archives war of 1842. A Viking, a sheep, and climate change. Sugar castles and suckling pig arches. Why I wanted to learn to perform abortions. Donald Duck:… Read more →
The Privilege of Despair
A preternatural calm settled over me on Saturday afternoon as I heard the news of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. I wasn’t reconciled to the outcome; my calm did not come from satisfaction. Instead, it came from the awful confirmation of a different kind — that the United States was still the white… Read more →
Sunday Morning Medicine
A weekly check-up of gender, medicine, and history in the news Diagnosing the past. An epidemic of plagues. The medical imagination. The history of surgical gloves. The fight for Betty Boop’s soul. Demolishing the California dream. Teeth whitening in the Victorian Era. A forgotten soldier on a forgotten front. What we know about art and… Read more →
We Believe Survivors
We at Nursing Clio believe survivors. Please read Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s statement. Call your Senators today at 202-224-3121. Support for survivors is available from the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) or through online chat (http://online.rainn.org/).
Sunday Morning Medicine
A weekly check-up of gender, medicine, and history in the news Um, Nope. A history of ketchup. Maxillofacial portraits of WWI. Homophobia in women’s sports. How racism gave rise to acupuncture. A history of diners that look like train cars. Rare photos of Frida Kahlo as a teenager. Three big ableist myths about Helen Keller…. Read more →
Change We Need? Why the Name of the President’s Fitness Council Matters
At the end of February, President Trump renamed the council that supports American physical fitness as the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (PCSFN). This is not in and of itself a big deal. It is the fifth time the Council has changed names since its 1956 creation, and seemingly one of the least… Read more →