I was there, and remember this work and the thrill around being part of attempts to reclaim our body rights. I say attempt, because we were somewhat less than successful against the power of the male centric medical establishment.
Today's feminists don't know about this early work, and don't carry it on. Perhaps renewed knowledge of Lorraine and others work in this area will spur a resurgence of women's body rights efforts. It certainly doesn't exist in modern medicine with the prevalence of surgical birth on demand, technology to aid fertility, and years of carcinogenic hormone shilling; or in the pornography movement, which pretends to be about women's "agency" but has taken us very far in the opposite direction, with women's bodies even less viewed as their own, but rather, a commodity. Gynes happily provide assistance for this with their western style FGM surgical procedures.
I'm sorry to say that I haven't found women physicians or gynes to be much better than their male overseers. I understand why of course; their willingness to kow tow to the patriarchal agenda is one of the reasons they get in to medical school.
On a personal level, I remember standing in front of an oncologist gyne 30 years ago, and with Lorraine and other women who shared my women's health beliefs backing me (in spirit if not reality) I refused a castration for a blip on a pap smear. Was told that I would "die a horrible death". Two years ago I refused castration again. I remain intact. It wasn't as easy this time to find feminists or feminist research to help me, and I had to fall back on the work done in the '70s. But there are some, still speaking out.
I was there, and remember this work and the thrill around being part of attempts to reclaim our body rights. I say attempt, because we were somewhat less than successful against the power of the male centric medical establishment.
Today's feminists don't know about this early work, and don't carry it on. Perhaps renewed knowledge of Lorraine and others work in this area will spur a resurgence of women's body rights efforts. It certainly doesn't exist in modern medicine with the prevalence of surgical birth on demand, technology to aid fertility, and years of carcinogenic hormone shilling; or in the pornography movement, which pretends to be about women's "agency" but has taken us very far in the opposite direction, with women's bodies even less viewed as their own, but rather, a commodity. Gynes happily provide assistance for this with their western style FGM surgical procedures.
I'm sorry to say that I haven't found women physicians or gynes to be much better than their male overseers. I understand why of course; their willingness to kow tow to the patriarchal agenda is one of the reasons they get in to medical school.
On a personal level, I remember standing in front of an oncologist gyne 30 years ago, and with Lorraine and other women who shared my women's health beliefs backing me (in spirit if not reality) I refused a castration for a blip on a pap smear. Was told that I would "die a horrible death". Two years ago I refused castration again. I remain intact. It wasn't as easy this time to find feminists or feminist research to help me, and I had to fall back on the work done in the '70s. But there are some, still speaking out.
HERS Foundation http://www.hersfoundation.com/...
and sexual knowledge and health primarily directed to younger women, but then, so was Lorraine's work, then: http://www.scarleteen.com/