Zusatztext If only every little girl were born with a copy of Our Bodies! Ourselves in her hands! we would raise a society filled with healthy! confident women. And if women could have only one book on their shelves! let it be this classic tome filled to the brim with practical and empowering information. -- Toni Weschler! M.P.H.! author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility Zusammenfassung Six years after the 2005 overhaul of this classic guide to women's health! women everywhere will be ready for another revised and updated edition. With 30% revised material and roughly 25 new photographs! the 2011 edition will focus on what OBOS does best: provide information on women's reproductive health and sexuality; practical information on how to find and access health information; and resources! stories! and information to educate women about health care injustices and inspire them to work collectively to address them. Informationen zum Autor The Boston Women's Health Book Collective (now known as Our Bodies Ourselves) is a non-profit organization founded in 1969 whose board members include Teresa Heinz Kerry! Susan Love! and Gloria Steinem. Their mission is to empower women by providing information about health! sexuality! and reproduction. Our Bodies! Ourselves is the organization's core vehicle for driving their mission. While OBOS is famous for its voice in policy! advocacy! and educational efforts related to women's health! they see their role as a global content provider as paramount. Judy Norsigian is the Executive Director of Our Bodies Ourselves.

If only every little girl were born with a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves in her hands, we would raise a society filled with healthy, confident women. And if women could have only one book on their shelves, let it be this classic tome filled to the brim with practical and empowering information.

-- Toni Weschler, M.P.H., author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility

Autorentext

The Boston Women's Health Book Collective

Klappentext

This updated edition contains vital new information on such issues as the HPV vaccine, changes in the healthcare system, cosmetic surgery, violence against women, healthcare activism in the 21st century, and much more. It will tie in closely to the group's Web site, one of the leading online women's health resources. 848 pp. 75,000 print.

Zusammenfassung
Hailed by The New York Times as a “feminist classic,” and “America’s bestselling book on women’s health,” the comprehensive guide to all aspects of women’s health and sexuality, including menopause, birth control, childbirth, sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health and general well-being.

Six years after the 2005 overhaul of this classic guide to women’s health, the 2011 edition focuses on what Our Bodies, Ourselves does best: provide information on women’s reproductive health and sexuality; practical information on how find and access health information; and resources, stories, and information to educate women about health care injustices and inspire them to work collectively to address them. This new edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves includes the latest vital information on:

-Changes in the health care system—especially how health care reform affects women and how to get the care you need.

-Safer sex—how to engage in pleasurable, satisfying sexual experiences while protecting your health and the health of your partner.

-Environmental health risks—including minimizing exposure to everyday pollutants that endanger reproductive health.

-Body image—resisting negative media stereotypes and embracing healthier approaches to looking and feeling good.

-Local and global activism—using social media and organizing tactics to build community and advocate for policies that improve women’s lives.

-As well as crucial information about gender identity, sexual orientation, birth control, abortion, pregnancy and birth, perimenopause, and sexuality and sexual health as we age.

Together with its companion website, OurBodiesOurselves.org, Our Bodies, Ourselves is a one-stop resource for women of all generations.

Leseprobe
Our Bodies, Ourselves

INTRODUCTION

We are delighted to present Our Bodies, Ourselves—an in-depth look at women’s sexuality and reproductive health, from the first gynecological exam to sexual health in our later years.

Since its first newsprint edition published in the early 1970s, Our Bodies, Ourselves (OBOS) has enabled women to learn about their bodies, gain insight from the experiences of other women, and consider how best to achieve political and cultural changes that would improve women’s lives. This completely revised and updated ninth edition, released on OBOS’s fortieth anniversary, covers topics ranging from sexual anatomy, body image, and gender identity to pregnancy and birth, perimenopause/menopause, and navigating the health-care system.

This edition reflects the perspective and voices of a wide range of women, and their stories are told through new formats. At our invitation, more than three dozen women of all ages and identities participated in a monthlong online conversation about sexuality and relationships; we found their honesty and forthrightness so compelling that the conversation itself became the foundation of a new “Relationships” chapter.

Other new voices include women’s organizations around the world that have created their own resources adapted from Our Bodies, Ourselves. Throughout the book, you will meet members of the Our Bodies Ourselves Global Network and read about their work on issues such as abortion, infertility, HIV education and prevention, and social activism. From distributing posters via canoes in rural Nigeria to setting up interactive websites in Israel and Turkey and reshaping health policy in Nepal and Armenia, their efforts exemplify movement building and the power of voices raised in action.

This edition focuses on the core health issues—reproductive health and sexuality—that first brought the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective together. Some topics added over the years—such as nutrition, emotional health, and medical conditions that disproportionately or differently affect women—have been omitted this time, in part because information is now more readily available elsewhere. This has given us room to expand on issues such as reproductive rights, violence against women, and environmental health, which not only are centrally related to women’s sexual health and well-being but also are areas where, despite decades of advocacy and activism, women still face enormous challenges and obstacles that prevent them from leading safe and healthy lives.

Our Bodies, Ourselves is both a text dedicated to factual information grounded in the best available evidence and a resource about health-care inequities and the work of those dedicated to ending social injustices. The many contributors to this book did not always agree on how to analyze the social, economic, and political forces that affect women’s health or how to characterize a medical controversy. When a conclusion remains uncertain, we have shared their questions and concerns so readers can make their own decisions in the absence of the kind of evidence we ultimately hope will be available. Our website (ourbodiesourselves.org) contains additional content, references, and useful links on women’s health topics not covered in this book.

OUR BODIES OURSELVES GLOBAL INITIATIVE

Ever since Our Bodies, Ourselves became a best seller in the United States, it has inspired women in other countries to adapt it—in part or as a whole&#…