Frequently Asked Questions

Our Bodies Ourselves, a project of the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University, is a nationally renowned resource for the health and sexuality of women and gender-expansive people.

We create and share resources that support the health, sexuality, and human rights of women and gender-expansive people and advocate for sexual and health equity and reproductive justice.

The Our Bodies Ourselves website offers content on the following overlapping subject areas, with more to come as we grow: abortion, birth control, gender-based violence, growing older, heart health, menopause and perimenopause, menstruation, mental health, pregnancy and birth, sexual anatomies and sexual health, and sexualities, gender, and relationships.

The site also features the global translations and adaptations of the "Our Bodies, Ourselves" books and extensive materials on our history and legacy.

Everyone! The site and all of its resources are available, at no cost, to everyone who wants to learn, grow, and share. Millions of people have used and learned from Our Bodies Ourselves since 1971, and continue to do so on our digital platform. Specifically, our users are often

• Women and gender-expansive people wanting to learn about and gain comfort and confidence in their own bodies and sexuality
• Partners and caregivers of women and gender-expansive people, who want to know more so they can be better partners and caregivers
• Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers who are looking for information to share with patients and clients
• Women looking for women-centered, feminist resources on health and sexuality
• Faculty looking for resources on women’s health, reproductive justice, gender and sexuality, and other intersectional feminist health issues
• People seeking information about abortions—what are the different types, where to go for abortion and post-abortion care, how to pay for an abortion, and to learn about abortion politics
• People deciding which form of birth control is best for them
• People who are looking for feminist ideas and perspectives about their own health, sexuality, and relationships
• People who are going through health or personal challenges and seek the solace of knowing they’re not alone
• Pregnant people who need to understand their birthing options
• People going through perimenopause, or looking ahead to menopause, and wondering what to expect
• People of all ages in need of accurate sexuality information
• Trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer people seeking trustworthy health and sexuality resources
• People who want to share their stories
• People looking for information and opportunities to engage in advocacy and activism around reproductive justice, menstrual equity, and sex education

Ever since the first edition of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” was published in 1970, thousands of people – the vast majority of them women – have shared their energy, expertise, and wisdom to help the organization thrive.

Today, Our Bodies Ourselves has over 100 active contributors, including its directors, members of the Leadership Council, content experts, staff, founders, former board members, student employees, contractors, interns, volunteers, and donors. These active groups are intentionally diverse by race, sexual orientation, gender, disability, and age. We are all members of the communities we serve.

In the simplest sense, when we describe ourselves as feminist, we mean that we center the needs, voices, and perspectives of women and gender-expansive people in our content. This is in line with the 50 plus year history of  “Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book By and For Women.” Today, we also center the lives, health, and sexuality of a wide range of women and gender-expansive people.

What are the particular feminist politics that drive us? We are powered by diverse women who don’t agree on everything. But there are fundamental shared views that we believe advance the health and self-sovereignty of us all.

For over 50 years, Our Bodies Ourselves has been “by and for women,” addressing the pervasive sexism that deeply affects the health, sexuality, and human rights of women.  We have always been, and will remain, powerfully woman-centered. At the same time, it’s critical to our mission to include gender-expansive people, especially in this time of concerted attacks against the LGBTQIA+ community.

The language people use to convey identities can be very personal and may be sensitive. Gender-related terminology often changes rapidly; it varies by context and by individual. We chose the phrase “women and gender-expansive people” to include as wide a range of people as possible.

Our Bodies Ourselves embraces people of all gender identities and expressions. We have gender-expansive content experts and leadership council members, and we have resources specifically geared toward gender-expansive people. For example, many trans men and nonbinary people will find meaningful resources on menstruation, reproduction, and heart health.

Our inclusivity doesn’t in any way marginalize cisgender women, who are still the majority of our staff, volunteers, and users. Rather, we aim to enlarge the collective “we” in “ourselves.”

The terms we use to talk about sex, gender, and sexual orientation are evolving and multiplying, varying widely depending on time, place, and the communities we’re part of. There are many good lists of terms, but the most important thing is to respect the language each person uses about their own identity.

When Our Bodies Ourselves first began in 1969, it was difficult to find even the most basic information about women’s bodies, sexuality, and reproductive health. These topics were not discussed in public, or, often, in private, and the internet didn’t exist.

Today, information about bodies, sexuality, and health is abundant. Yet the quality, trustworthiness, and inclusivity of that information varies enormously. In fact, beyond simply overlooking important information and perspectives, political entities invest heavily in generating and spreading misinformation and disinformation.

What we find in the media too often fails to include the diversity of people’s lived experiences, is biased by corporate and pharmaceutical interests, and neglects the social, economic, and political factors that influence our health and sexuality. This is one reason Our Bodies Ourselves is still needed.

At the same time, many groups and individuals – including those in the public health, self-help, disability rights, academia, reproductive justice, and patient-centered communities — have created trustworthy, accurate, and enlightening health and sexuality resources. But these resources, often created by people who don’t have funding to promote them, usually get buried in Google search results.

Our Bodies Ourselves draws from this large group of excellent resources. We carefully review and evaluate all of the high quality, free materials we select – whether they are created by an individual, an advocacy group, a nonprofit organization, government agency, or other source – and only include the best of what we find.

Our primary goal is to offer content that is accurate, up-to-date, clear, and useful, that reflect the lived experiences of diverse women and gender-expansive people, and that demystifies health and sexuality.

The lived experiences of women and gender-expansive people matter! First-hand stories let people share their experiences, offer new ideas and information, and connect to a wider community. They add important perspectives and correctives to other kinds of knowledge. Stories are also an important part of consciousness raising.

Our understanding of health and sexuality is deeply rooted in intersectional feminism, reproductive justice, and social justice. Our work is grounded in the human rights principle that all people have a right to the highest attainable standards of physical, mental, and sexual health and well-being.

So far, our funding has come from generous individual donors and private foundations. We also receive in-kind (non-cash) support from our home institution, Suffolk University.

We don’t accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or from organizations that don’t align with our mission. We don’t display ads or sell products (except for our own swag).

We are committed to financial transparency as part of our public service ethos.

In May of 1969, as the U.S. women’s movement was gaining momentum, a group of young white women met at a “female liberation conference.” As they talked, they realized how little they knew about their own bodies. They shared that their doctors (usually male, patronizing, and condescending) rarely educated them or provided the kind of health care they wanted. They decided to take action and formed the Doctor’s Group, the forerunner to the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective.

Within a year, they put together the first edition of “Our Bodies, Ourselves.” For more than forty years, versions of this group updated and revised the groundbreaking book approximately every five to seven years. The most recent print edition was published in 2011. A number of the founders remain actively involved in women’s health, education, and advocacy.