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Rituals Reproducing Race: African American Women's Feminine Hygiene Practices, Shared Experiences, And Power, Angela K. Guy-Lee

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of the role African American women’s feminine hygiene practices, namely vaginal douching, plays in the creation and reproduction of race. Compared to their white and Latina counterparts, African American women are the most likely to engage in this practice. Vaginal douching is associated with myriad reproductive and sexual health problems. These problems include but are not limited to recurrent yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, disrupting healthy vaginal microbiomes, and spontaneous preterm birth; of which African American women experience disproportionately. Although racial differences in vaginal douching are well documented, little is known about the impetus for African …