Reviews

Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology by Deirdre Cooper Owens

lalawoman416's review against another edition

3.0

The concept is so important and everyone should read this book. However, it reads like a repetivoe thesis and could have done with more humanity, anecdotes, and stories.

screechie's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Information that should definitely be more common knowledge. There are some places in science where advancements & atrocities are woven together so tightly it’s hard to find the demarcation between them. There are also some where it is very, very clear that the knowledge gained wasn’t sought for out of curiosity with compassion, rather for personal advancement using every sadistic method available. Horror&gratitude nauseatingly intertwined after reading 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

biobeetle's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy

shesometimesreads's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

3.0

sadiesmind's review against another edition

dark informative

4.0

passivemoon's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

cool_breeze's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Every medical professional needs to read this book. I already knew about the experiments our ancestors went through, and the fact that doctors still believe we have a higher pain tolerance. I wasn’t surprised by anything in this book as a black woman.

sybyll's review against another edition

4.0

Excellent and well researched reflection on Black enslaved women's exploitation and possible sites of resistance and knowledge in the realm of reproductive and medical health and research. Read the Afterwords as well.

Fairly quick read and it flows interestingly and easily.

biol409's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

4.0

sataellites's review against another edition

2.0

this was a struggle to get through and not because of the subject matter. this read like the driest textbook chapter in the world, and as such was a slog to read in spite of the subject being of interest to me. the separation of the content into chapters was also almost unnecessary given that the same few points were reiterated throughout the entire book to an almost ridiculous extent.