Description
What has been the source of women's oppression by men? Shorter argues that women were victimized by their own bodies. Exploring five centuries of medical records and folklore from Europe and the US, he shows how pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecological disease have kept women in positions of social
Table of Contents
Women, Men, and Bodies 1. Men, Women, and Sex 2. The Architecture of the Body A History of the Birth Experience 3. Traditional Births: Women Take Charge 4. A Typical Birth Then 5. Pain and Death in Childbirth 6. Infection after Delivery 7. The Rise of the Birth Experience 8. Abortion Other Physical Differences Between Men and Women 9. Did Women Live Longer Than Men? If Not, Why Not? 10. Diseases of Sexual Significance 11. Changing Alliances and the End of Victimization



