Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Women's History
How History Shaped Women's Healthcare, Josephine M. Rivera
How History Shaped Women's Healthcare, Josephine M. Rivera
Student Publications
At the beginnings of civilizations around the world, many of these inhabitants worshipped goddesses that connected them to the world and earth. However, invaders from male-dominated civilizations worked diligently to eliminate the faces and ideas of a woman in power. As time progressed, other events like the witch craze continued to minimize the influence of midwives and healers, creating a medical dynamic where only men “knew” the ways of a woman’s body. Thus, the birth of gynecology and American medicine put notions into place that did not allow women to pursue medical careers, further eradicating the possibility for a woman …
Goddesses Versus Gynecologists: An Analysis Of The History Of Women’S Healthcare, Marion A. Mckenzie
Goddesses Versus Gynecologists: An Analysis Of The History Of Women’S Healthcare, Marion A. Mckenzie
Student Publications
Starting from the downfall of Goddess cultures in Europe, women's health care has been negatively impacted for generations. The rise of the white, male Indo-European "dominator model" along with the witch craze, caused the end of widespread wise women traditions and pharmacopeia methods. After women's traditional voice was silenced, medical colleges were established to pronounce new, "professional" knowledge. Only those who attended these universities were allowed to legally practice medicine; however, during this time, medical research and treatments for women primarily included mutilation and painful, nonsensical regimens. The horrifying state of women's healthcare has since improved, but was originally a …