The gestation of a book is an odd thing... So there I was watching a superb drag burlesque act, The Down and Dirty Show, featuring The Gentleman King and Foxy Tann, the scheduled entertainment at the 2011 Berkshire Conference for Women Historians. And the sky opened. Sometimes moments of insight come when you least expect… Continue reading Agnodice: down and dirty?
Tag: Hippocrates
Four weird ideas people used to have about women’s periods
What did menstrual bleeding mean to the people of the past? And what expectations did that raise?
Vicarious menstruation
One aspect of the history of menstruation that is fascinating to a modern reader is the phenomenon of ‘vicarious menstruation’, in which a woman bleeds regularly from another orifice, or even from a wound. While modern medicine still recognises conditions in which other mucous membranes bleed along with, or instead of, the womb lining, the cases… Continue reading Vicarious menstruation
Period pains – have women always suffered from menstrual cramps?
A recent YouGov survey of 1000 British women showed that the majority had period pain, and 52% had found it affected their ability to work. John Guillebaud, a professor of reproductive health at University College London, suggested that the level of pain is almost as bad as a heart attack. Have women always suffered pain? Early twentieth-century advertisements for ‘Hall’s… Continue reading Period pains – have women always suffered from menstrual cramps?
The history of tampons – in ancient Greece?
Did ancient Greek women use tampons? It’s clear that women today are curious as to what women in the past did when they were menstruating. I did my PhD on ancient Greek menstruation and I also feel I’m on a crusade to clear up some of the ‘creative’ (actually, just plain wrong) statements about Hippocrates… Continue reading The history of tampons – in ancient Greece?
Mistaking histories 