The Wandering Womb: A Cultural History of Outrageous Beliefs About Women / Edition 1

by Lana Thompson

Overview

Female anatomy, especially the womb, has for centuries been shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding, defining the social place of women in male dominated cultures. Even with advances in medicine, some in today's society believe they can control women's sexual identity.The Wandering Womb is a provocative tour through religious, medical, and social histories, pinpointing humorous, outrageous, and hair-raising beliefs, practices, and longstanding falsehoods that permeate human cultures. In Egyptian times, it was believed that the womb was an entity unto itself capable of "wandering" in the body, and also into the world beyond in search of nourishment! This idea, and many others were entwined in medical ignorance and religious superstition, which have often labeled women as incomplete, inferior, imperfect, and even inherently evil.Sexual myths have viewed menstruation as dirty, designing outrageous rituals around this natural process, from strange diets and prescriptions to mandated isolation and violent practices. Sexuality and desire in women has been viewed as taboo and dangerous, while child rearing is considered the highest calling. In Western history, women's health problems were often written off simply as an "unsatisfied uterus," or "hysteria" of their weak and demon possessed bodies, while physical characteristics were used to label women as witches.This fascinating, often maddening romp through the bedrooms and birthing rooms of time illustrates why women have been sexually "enslaved," and reminds us that we've come a long way from the mythical virgin birth to women's liberation and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781573922647
Publisher:	Prometheus Books
Publication date:	02/01/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.45(w) x 8.94(h) x 0.74(d)

About the Author

Lana Thompson (Boca Raton, FL) is a freelance medical writer, and a specialist in women's studies and anthropology.

Editorial Reviews

Thompson's history suffers both from being too selective and from being taken out of context...this brief historical survey is still informative and amusing. The Wandering Womb will peak the interest of a great many readers and, perhaps, inspire them to further reading about the politics and history of the female body.
— ForeWord Magazine

Nava Hall

The title refers to an ancient Egyptian belief that the womb was capable of wandering throughout the body if sexually unfulfilled--one of the many outrageous beliefs discussed here by Thompson, a freelance medical writer. Her amusing, sometimes infuriating romp through bedrooms, birthing rooms, madhouses, and menstrual huts is well illustrated with historical b&w paintings and drawings. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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