"Our Bodies, Ourselves" Is Looking for Real Women's Stories

Before my freshman year of college, my mother ceremoniously gave me a going-away present. It was a book, a big book, the cover was pink, and it had smiling middle-aged women on the cover. Really, Mom? When I got to school I kept it hidden away in a drawer because I was embarrassed. What I didn't realize at the time was that this book, Our Bodies, Ourselves, is one of the greatest products of the feminist movement.

Our Bodies, Ourselves is one of the most valuable products of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s; today, it continues to be a vital aspect of feminist activism. Developed by feminists in Boston in the early 1970s, Our Bodies, Ourselves was a radical response to the negligent and even harmful treatment and portrayal of women by the medical establishment.

When Our Bodies, Ourselves was first breaking ground, single women lacked equal access to contraception, and breast cancer meant social shame. You get the idea: women's health and sexuality were either viewed as shameful or nonexistent. Since its original publication in 1973, Our Bodies, Ourselves has not only been translated into over 20 languages, but has also been adapted to reflect the contexts of women's health in other countries. To convey the great importance of the book, history professor Linda Gordon provocatively called it "the American left's most valuable written contribution to the world."

As feminism has evolved to include the diverse perspectives of women, so has Our Bodies, Ourselves. It is actively dedicated to a distinctly inclusive and up-to-date understanding of women's lives and experiences. As one history of the book notes, "the original authors soon came to understand how saturated their book was with the perspective of educated, middle-class, white American women." Today, Our Bodies, Ourselves is getting ready for its next edition, due out in 2011. In preparation, they are seeking the experiences of women of all stripes so as to truly represent the diversity of women's experiences and backgrounds.

In a world where women are constantly told how their relationships and sexuality should play out, it is extremely refreshing to have a book based on what real women have to say. In the next few weeks, the Book Collective will engage with a few dozen women on the subject of relationships. They are currently seeking a diverse array of women to tell their stories and give their opinions: "We are seeking the experience and wisdom of heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual and queer women ... We are committed to including women of color, women with disabilities, trans women and women of many ages and backgrounds." The conversation, to be conducted over an online forum, will begin on February 14th, or V-Day, and continue through March 12, 2010. To participate, click here for more information on how to apply.

"Women secretly love to talk about their vaginas," goes a line from the Vagina Monologues, "mainly because no one's ever asked them before." Our Bodies, Ourselves continues to do just that: talk to women who may never have had a chance to define or discuss their own health and sexuality, and from those discussions create an honest and realistic portrayal women's sexuality, for the benefit of all women. Despite my embarrassment, I have pulled the book out from its hiding place on occasion and am grateful to have it.

Photo credit: Boston Women's Health Book Collective