I had the pleasure of meeting one of these women at the conclusion of a conference a few years ago. Yes, she was still at it, still interested in people’s well-being, even though she’s retired. Don’t have her name, just remember that lucky, accidental meeting.
When she said she was one of the authors of OBO, I was thrilled. All I could really say was, “thank you”.
This history fleshes out the story, the time before major publication. So thank you to you, also.
I will never forget the first time I read Our Bodies, Ourselves. I was in college and my friends and I finally learned what we needed to know about our bodies. There was no other source of accurate information at the time.
I started college in 1976 and bought the book, subscribed to Ms. and eventually edited the Women’s Studies newsletter. Second Wave feminism poster child.
Our Bodies, Ourselves is a masterpiece. The ‘70s and early ‘80s were pre-AIDS and we were having a lot of sex and loving that we could be like men and do it just for fun and not commitment. Erica Jong blessed the whole enterprise.
“Safe sex” wasn’t a concept yet and avoiding pregnancy was the only goal. The Pill was available at the college health center or at Planned Parenthood in town.
I bought the book for each of my daughters as teenagers. I don’t know if they memorized it but I’m sure they consulted it. They had the Internet so the need was likely less.
It is, as you said, a masterpiece that changed everything. That it was created by 12 regular women makes it even more impressive in my mind. Thank you for sharing! 💙
As a Concordian who gave his daughter a copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves," in 1973 our so, I am delighted to read this history. It was so seminal at the time.
I read it in high school and learned so much that was crucial for a young woman to know. No one else was ever gonna tell me these things. At the time, I didn't appreciate what a big deal this was.
Yep. Today we can call up information from around the world in seconds, so I think it's hard for people who didn't grow up pre-internet to really appreciate what it means to truly not have a way to learn something. If MDs wouldn't tell you, other women were discouraged from telling you, and you had no one to ask or text to consult ...
It was revolutionary to have the information at their fingertips.
What I particularly admire is that these women, instead of merely pointing out shortcomings and expecting someone else to fix it, took the bull by the horns and took it upon themselves to take steps toward fixing it.
Yes, yes, yes! I am part of the changes in those years. Taught one of the first feminist Psychology of Women courses using Gornick and Moran for the text! We can now fight for MEDICAL PRIVACY. Instead of pro-choice or abortion, this would appeal to all genders, socioeconomic classes, and political parties. Medical professionals, NOT clergy and politicians are trained/educated to practice medicine. Let's go for it. The time is now.
Michele, you’re just the best friend of democracy I know! Sticking with the agenda against the many odds isn’t easy, but you continue fighting! Very admirably done!
I was put on birth control pills at age 11, well before the date suggested in this article. I had major hormonal issues and had to take them most of my life. Many women today still know very little about their own body. We need to shout these things from the rooftops!
Thanks Michele. To see these simple factual statements about the state of freedom as recently as 1970, when I was a kid and my single mother was struggling to navigate the world with four young children, is disturbing and powerful motivation at the same time. It’s clear to me now that much of my mother’s struggles, in St. Louis County, were not visible to me at all, and much of the rest was obscured by my own desperation to break out. We were well taken care of, make no mistake, by Mom and her constant hard work, and federal programs, lower middle income but not in any kind of poverty. Longer story.
Women’s freedom is half the freedom we have, and it is so recent. 1919 and the 19th Amendment, yes, but that was just the minimum, 130 years delayed. Now only 1% of voters have effectively crushed that progress. It was so damn close. It’s maddening. The full damage is still to come, amid horrific ongoing tragedies, but the rest will only be what we allow.
If 1% had voted the other way, for Harris, we wouldn’t be in this despair. It should have been a landslide for freedom, but at this point we would have taken an Electoral College victory.
We can’t capitulate. For me it’s the 14th Amendment, and common sense. He will never be legitimate, and no one who gives him aid and comfort will ever be legitimate. We must never let them forget, but most are already talking and acting like this is just the way it goes, it’s just normal.
This is not normal.
Thanks for this example. We have to fight with resolve and organize to mobilize the deep good sense that the majority of US citizens have, which 36-40% of our electorate did not exercise. Thanks for your work to find the good citizens and impel them to vote for freedom.
Thank you for this comment - and in particular for articulating that “women’s freedom is half the freedom we have.” You’re so right, but the clarity of that had escaped me until you plunked it down in front of me this morning. Women’s rights are human rights, of course, and we say that often. But too often we default to fighting for categories rather than explaining that we are fighting for everyone, regardless of category. Thank you for giving me something to ponder over my morning coffee! ☕️
Ah, yes! I love Rebecca's work. There are so many amazing stories about regular people doing extraordinary things. We each have so much potential to do so much good, if we only step out of our comfort zones and allow ourselves the opportunity. 💙
Great story and important history! As we have all come to know, just showing up is the critical first step to societal change. Brava to these 12 women, and to you Michele for reminding us. ❤️
It was a revelation for many young men like myself, too. A very healthy introduction to women’s lived reality.
Although I was just 10 at the time, the book was on the coffee table in our house and I found it fascinating, frank and respectful of women’s health in a way which not only stood out at the time, but was crucial to how I would see women for the rest of my life.
I had the pleasure of meeting one of these women at the conclusion of a conference a few years ago. Yes, she was still at it, still interested in people’s well-being, even though she’s retired. Don’t have her name, just remember that lucky, accidental meeting.
When she said she was one of the authors of OBO, I was thrilled. All I could really say was, “thank you”.
This history fleshes out the story, the time before major publication. So thank you to you, also.
This is incredible – thank you for sharing! 💙
I will never forget the first time I read Our Bodies, Ourselves. I was in college and my friends and I finally learned what we needed to know about our bodies. There was no other source of accurate information at the time.
I started college in 1976 and bought the book, subscribed to Ms. and eventually edited the Women’s Studies newsletter. Second Wave feminism poster child.
Our Bodies, Ourselves is a masterpiece. The ‘70s and early ‘80s were pre-AIDS and we were having a lot of sex and loving that we could be like men and do it just for fun and not commitment. Erica Jong blessed the whole enterprise.
“Safe sex” wasn’t a concept yet and avoiding pregnancy was the only goal. The Pill was available at the college health center or at Planned Parenthood in town.
I bought the book for each of my daughters as teenagers. I don’t know if they memorized it but I’m sure they consulted it. They had the Internet so the need was likely less.
Our Bodies, Ourselves changed everything.
It is, as you said, a masterpiece that changed everything. That it was created by 12 regular women makes it even more impressive in my mind. Thank you for sharing! 💙
As a Concordian who gave his daughter a copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves," in 1973 our so, I am delighted to read this history. It was so seminal at the time.
That's incredible! Thank you for sharing, and for being such a great dad. 💙
I read it in high school and learned so much that was crucial for a young woman to know. No one else was ever gonna tell me these things. At the time, I didn't appreciate what a big deal this was.
Yep. Today we can call up information from around the world in seconds, so I think it's hard for people who didn't grow up pre-internet to really appreciate what it means to truly not have a way to learn something. If MDs wouldn't tell you, other women were discouraged from telling you, and you had no one to ask or text to consult ...
It was revolutionary to have the information at their fingertips.
What I particularly admire is that these women, instead of merely pointing out shortcomings and expecting someone else to fix it, took the bull by the horns and took it upon themselves to take steps toward fixing it.
I had had 3 children before I read Our Bodies, Ourselves. Let me tell you, I learned a lot!
Oh my goodness – I can only imagine! We take our ability to call up a world's worth of information in a nanosecond for granted, don't we?
Yes, yes, yes! I am part of the changes in those years. Taught one of the first feminist Psychology of Women courses using Gornick and Moran for the text! We can now fight for MEDICAL PRIVACY. Instead of pro-choice or abortion, this would appeal to all genders, socioeconomic classes, and political parties. Medical professionals, NOT clergy and politicians are trained/educated to practice medicine. Let's go for it. The time is now.
Michele, you’re just the best friend of democracy I know! Sticking with the agenda against the many odds isn’t easy, but you continue fighting! Very admirably done!
Oh my goodness, thank you Anthony! Right back at you. 💙
I was put on birth control pills at age 11, well before the date suggested in this article. I had major hormonal issues and had to take them most of my life. Many women today still know very little about their own body. We need to shout these things from the rooftops!
Thanks Michele. To see these simple factual statements about the state of freedom as recently as 1970, when I was a kid and my single mother was struggling to navigate the world with four young children, is disturbing and powerful motivation at the same time. It’s clear to me now that much of my mother’s struggles, in St. Louis County, were not visible to me at all, and much of the rest was obscured by my own desperation to break out. We were well taken care of, make no mistake, by Mom and her constant hard work, and federal programs, lower middle income but not in any kind of poverty. Longer story.
Women’s freedom is half the freedom we have, and it is so recent. 1919 and the 19th Amendment, yes, but that was just the minimum, 130 years delayed. Now only 1% of voters have effectively crushed that progress. It was so damn close. It’s maddening. The full damage is still to come, amid horrific ongoing tragedies, but the rest will only be what we allow.
If 1% had voted the other way, for Harris, we wouldn’t be in this despair. It should have been a landslide for freedom, but at this point we would have taken an Electoral College victory.
We can’t capitulate. For me it’s the 14th Amendment, and common sense. He will never be legitimate, and no one who gives him aid and comfort will ever be legitimate. We must never let them forget, but most are already talking and acting like this is just the way it goes, it’s just normal.
This is not normal.
Thanks for this example. We have to fight with resolve and organize to mobilize the deep good sense that the majority of US citizens have, which 36-40% of our electorate did not exercise. Thanks for your work to find the good citizens and impel them to vote for freedom.
running at the keyboard, thanks again — b.rad
Thank you for this comment - and in particular for articulating that “women’s freedom is half the freedom we have.” You’re so right, but the clarity of that had escaped me until you plunked it down in front of me this morning. Women’s rights are human rights, of course, and we say that often. But too often we default to fighting for categories rather than explaining that we are fighting for everyone, regardless of category. Thank you for giving me something to ponder over my morning coffee! ☕️
Fabulous to keep showing ways forward. Thank you. Reminds me of all that Rebecca Solnit tells of the history of movements to remember.
Ah, yes! I love Rebecca's work. There are so many amazing stories about regular people doing extraordinary things. We each have so much potential to do so much good, if we only step out of our comfort zones and allow ourselves the opportunity. 💙
Great story and important history! As we have all come to know, just showing up is the critical first step to societal change. Brava to these 12 women, and to you Michele for reminding us. ❤️
You're so right – showing up is the first (and often hardest) step. Thank you! 💙
Thanks for sharing this exceptionally crafted and informative piece Michelle!!
Thank you Patrick! 💙
Thanks for this.
It was a revelation for many young men like myself, too. A very healthy introduction to women’s lived reality.
Although I was just 10 at the time, the book was on the coffee table in our house and I found it fascinating, frank and respectful of women’s health in a way which not only stood out at the time, but was crucial to how I would see women for the rest of my life.
I had no idea! Love the back story of such an important book. Thank you!