Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers

Another recommendation from Book Riot's Tailored Book Recommendation service. As this one was from Feminist Press, who I love, I went ahead and ordered a copy.

When it came it was such a tiny volume and I already knew it was a bit dated, that I really worried I wouldn't get much of of it, as this is a subject I have already done some reading about. But I LOVED this. I am sure it helped having the second edition, with the introduction that really places this work within its historical context. As usual, context is nearly everything, and I think I wouldn't have liked this book nearly as much without that introduction. This IS a "blaze of anger and indignation," but part of why the world has changed since this book came out is BECAUSE of show more this book -- and scholarship and activism in this vein.

Absolutely glad that I sought this out. show less

Is Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers, first published in 1970, a bit dated? Yes. Does it contain an excellent history of how healing women (who once acted as midwives, yes, but as general healers as well) were first diminished by being deemed witches and then shunted into the supporting role of nurse? Yes, as well. This slim volume still makes for excellent reading, particularly to see how the Church and the emerging physicians’ associations made common cause in keeping women in their place.

If you're going to read this book, do yourself a favor and get the second edition. The introduction to this edition does a wonderful job of putting the book in context, as well as admitting where the authors were proven to be wrong with history... as well as right.

We take the subject of women's health for granted now. Not too long ago, however, it was a completely taboo subject. And women were perceived to be incapable of understanding and actively contributing to their own health. Where now breast cancer options are part and parcel of treatment, at the time of this book it was normal for a woman to go under for a biopsy and wake with a mastectomy. Ehrenreich and English chronicle some of the history of Western health care, both from show more the standpoint of what women received as well as what people received depending on social class. Medicine is not merely a matter of making a person well. It's tied in with power, money, social structures, and encouraging the status quo.

Because of this book, many women took an active interest in their health and actually learning about their bodies. A worthwhile read on a lot of fronts. show less

Engagées dans le Mouvement pour la santé des femmes dans les années 1970, Barbara Ehrenreich et Deirdre English enquêtent sur les racines historiques de la professionnalisation du corps médical. Portant un regard féministe sur les chasses aux sorcières en Europe et la suppression de la profession de sage-femme aux États-Unis, elles s’interrogent : et si, derrière ces événements, se cachait une véritable monopolisation poli-tique et économique de la médecine par les hommes de la classe dominante, reléguant peu à peu les femmes à la fonction subalterne d’infirmière docile et maternelle ?

Depuis sa parution aux États-Unis en 1973, cet essai concis et incisif a ouvert la voie à de nombreux travaux de recherche et show more prises de conscience. Cette traduction s’ouvre sur une préface inédite des deux auteures. show less

The co-writers trace the history of the roles of woman from the distant past to the present. There are times they come across as a little too polemical, but overall it's an interesting and engaging history: as a scholar of the nineteenth century, I found the discussion of the emergence of nursing the most interesting part.

Profoundly informative. Published in the same year as [Our Bodies, Ourselves], this is a pungent critique of the treatment of women in the medical system, resulting from when the experience and training of midwives and other women healers was discredited with the formation of the male medical establishment.

Very short book (it was originally a pamphlet).

Good overview/introduction of women's status in healthcare, from witches to nurses.