Submitted October 5, 2007, 5:48 PM
What year did you first read Our Bodies, Ourselves?
Which edition did you read? [Women and Their Bodies, newsprint edition published by New England Free Press (1970); Our Bodies, Ourselves (1973, 1976); The New Our Bodies, Ourselves (1984, 1992); Our Bodies Ourselves for the New Century (1998); or a foreign translation or adaptation?]
How old were you at the time?
Who brought the book to your attention?
I found it in a bookstore.
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What, if anything, surprised you about the book? (such as graphic photos, or particular themes such as masturbation or lesbianism)
What surprised me about the book, was the fact of it.
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What had the biggest impact?
Again, the fact of it. The validation of everything I believed in.
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Did it influence your choice of doctor or your relationship with your doctor?
Absolutely. I became an even more vigorous advocate for women's health, and worked at a women's health clinic, where women were not treated like hysterical babies.
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Did you use the book as a resource to learn about particular issues of healthcare or sexuality? If so, in what areas?
The book did introduce me to issues of sexuality of which I had not been previously aware.
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Were you completely satisfied with the book, or did you disagree with any of the content? If so, in what area(s)?
I recall being annoyed by the home birth section, which seemed to glorify that choice, instead of presenting it as one.
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Did you find that there were any important topics left unaddressed?
Single parenting. It wasn't 'popular'. Relationships, validation...all of it.
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Did it affect the way that you understood your own body or your health?
Absolutely. And the book was worn thin as a reference. We, the clinic, obtained many copies which we gave to women, and men.
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How did the book\'s information contribute to or contrast with what you had learned in school about women\'s health and sexuality?
The book didn't really explore sexuality as deeply as it might, but there surely was more information than I'd learned.
I was raised in a women's health-conscious household, so wasn't surprised by that information.
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Did you give or recommend the book to anyone else? If so, who and why?
We distributed many copies of the book as an educational tool. But we didn't leave it at that. We established an on-going diaglogue with clients, based, in large part, on the book.
The first non-client person I gave it to was my daughter.
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Did you ever contact the authors with additional comments or questions?
Have you read any other BWHBC publication? (including Ourselves and Our Children (1978), Changing Bodies, Changing Lives (1998), Ourselves, Growing Older (1987), Sacrificing Ourselves for Love (1996). Do you have any comments about these books?
I was overly-loyal, perhaps, to the original OBO -- the style and presentation -- everything. It as the BIBLE, after all. And when I looked at Ourselves and Our Children, for example, it didn't seem to relate to me. Same was true with CBCL, and OGO.
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Did you ever seek medical treatment or advice from a feminist health clinic? If so, did your decision to do so have anything to do with reading Our Bodies, Ourselves?
Were you ever actively involved in the womenís health movement? If so, in what capacity?
Women's Health Services Coordinator. But every day, and in every way, an advocate on all need levels.
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How did you get to this webpage? How did you find out about this study?
A happy accident. I had forgotten about the Boston Women's Collective, and was doing a Yahoo! search under for guerilla breast cancer. Found ya!
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