Class Year
2019
Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Fall 2015
Department 1
First Year Seminar
Abstract
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 direct result of several key historic events.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
McKenzie, Marion A., "Goddesses versus Gynecologists: An Analysis of the History of Women’s Healthcare" (2015). Student Publications. 375.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/375
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Health Policy Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Women's Health Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
This paper was written for Professor Stephanie Sellers' first year seminar, FYS 130-1: Women's Health and Sexuality, Fall 2015.