Past, Present and Future

By Christine Cupaiuolo — April 18, 2007

Sometimes we appreciate a work of historical scholarship because of the new perspective it offers on the past, sometimes because of the added depth it provides to figures and events with which we are already familiar, and sometimes because it gives context to the struggles of the present.

A recent release from the University of Illinois Press promises to do all of the above.

Feminists Who Changed America: 1963-1975,” edited by Barbara Love, acts as a “Who’s Who” of second-wave feminism, chronicling the achievements of over 2000 feminist pioneers, including many of the original founders of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective: Joan Ditzion, Jane Pincus, Judy Norsigian, Paula Doress-Worters, Nancy Hawley, Wendy Sanford and Norma Swenson, as well as many of our contributors and supporters.

For more historical perspective, see “BWHBC and ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’: A Brief History and Reflection” — a brief but fascinating look at both the development of OBOS and the modern women’s health movement. Originally published in the Journal of the American Women’s Medical Association, it provides not only a sense of where we came from but also an inspiring call to action.

Founders of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, circa 1975

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