“Witches, Midwives & Nurses” (WMN) Book Report
“Whitches, Midwives & Nurses, A History of Women Healers”
Authors of the booklet Witches, Midwives and Nurses; A History of Women Healers, Second Edition (WMN) are Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English, who have wondered when and why women’s medical care and needs became taboo. In the authors’ terms, “We were beginning to suspect that women had not always… -been so disempowered with respect to their own bodies and care.” (Ehrenreich, English p.9) The WMN booklet empowers readers with historical knowledge of sexism and elitism, demonstrated from the middle ages to recent decades. Religious leaders, laws, and white, male professionals labeled women and lay healers as witches, sinners and criminals. The contents seem bleak, however the authors do a beautiful job of introducing their audience to historical truth as well as a stubborn, defiant spark of hope. I believe the authors’ purpose in writing this booklet is to inform and inspire, which is exactly what they have done. The subject matter is of general interest and could be read at a high school level or above. When women, BIPOC folks, and different marginalized people are kept out of positions of importance in the medical field, we are all affected. That makes the contents of this booklet pertinent to anyone.
Readers will likely feel a sense of injustice reading this work. I feel passionate every time I read it, and the only thing I wish the booklet had more of was notes or citations behind its boldest statements. However, if the authors detailed every bold statement they made with citations, notes and data, this would no longer be a small booklet. In a busy and digital age, many people appreciate condensed, to the point information. Also thanks to this digital age, one can easily look deeper into any questions sparked by this attention grabbing read. WMN was originally published in 1973, my own copy is the second edition, published in 2010. WMN was published by the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave, Suite 5406 NewYork, NY 10016. The booklet is engaging, consisting of just 108 pages and several illustrations and excerpts throughout. The flow of language is easy and intuitive, except for while using excerpts from medieval texts, which are outdated and dense, requiring translation from the authors. Illustrations and excerpts are cited either in the text under illustrations, or in the Bibliography spanning pages 105-108.
The booklet is easy to navigate, with a table of Contents on page 5 that provides easy access to the structure of this literature.
This booklet shows proof of sexism through times past. The authors include a historically sourced illustration of a male doctor and a female doctor racing each other, but the woman loses. She has stopped to pick up a wedding ring tossed on the ground. This illustration is originally from the Punch Almanack in 1877, as cited under its print in the booklet, and is a demonstration of historical sexism used by the authors. (Ehrenreich, English p.75) They add that women who wanted to become doctors faced; cost and sexism in being accepted to “regular” medical school, harassment from male students, professors who would not discuss anatomy with a woman in the room, and textbooks with statements like, “‘She [Woman] has a head almost too small for intellect but just big enough for love.’” (pg. 76-77.) This quote is cited as from a “well-known, 1848 obstetrician text”. (Ehrenreich, English pg.76.) I recommend this booklet to everyone, along with Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology written by historian Deirdre Cooper Owens. I also recommend the historical fiction The Birth House, written by Ami McKay. The Birth House helps us to imagine what the real impacts were of these elitist movements butting into medicine, but from the viewpoint of a young midwife in 1900’s Nova Scotia (around World War I).
“To know our history is to begin to see how to take up the struggle again,” (Ehrenreich, English pg. 30), Ehrenreich and English provide insight into the struggles of today because they are not new. They demonstrate a brief history of how white, male, upper class professionals forced women and lay healers out of their practices by labeling them as witches and criminals. Witches, Midwives and Nurses allows us to notice patterns throughout centuries being repeated today. With its searing truth comes empowerment, we can see where to “pick up the struggle” and know that we are up for the challenge.
References
Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English, Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers, Second Edition (Feminist Press at the City University of New York,
The Graduate Center, 2010)
Punch Almanack
(Punch Almanack, 1877) As referenced by Ehrenreich and English pg. 75
Book Report By Roseanna B.