A Message About the Future of Our Bodies Ourselves

That's really sad, and most unfortunate for the millions of women who rely on OBOS for updated information (which often challenges the conventional perspective of doctors, hospitals, and researchers--most of whom are men). OBOS is one of the greatest and most durable achievements of second-wave feminism. Especially now, when giant, profiteering corporations control both media and medicine, OBOS is needed more than ever!

Dear OBOS Board and Founders: I'm sure this was a heart-breaking decision. While I'm gratified that OBOS will continue, I am so sad it will no longer update or publish "Our Bodies, Ourselves." This is truly the end of an era that was significant for so many of us. And as one of the commentors said, is needed now more than ever.

That said, I feel such love and gratitude for all that OBOS and its amazing book has given us! For me at least, this book was the original roadmap that connected women, health, education and power. It's been by my side for a very long time, like a good friend.

I am so sad to read this, but understand completely...serving as one of the earlier contributors to OBOS along with Esther Rome changed my life and professional career!..I urge anyone who has benefited from this iconic work to pay it forward as an OBOS volunteer...we changed the world once, and we're doing it again! Best wishes for your "Next Chapter" in this incredible women's health resource...Nancy Reame

I write to express my deep gratitude for, and sense of inspiration about, all that OBOS has done and been. OBOS' contribution to feminism in the US and globally has been powerful, disruptive, and generous. But what is more important, it will endure.

I got one of the first editions in the early 1970’s. Loved seeing a clear, empowered view of women and our health. Thanks so much for all you have accomplished for women

Thank you for your amazing contributions to the women's health movement and to so many of us. I imagine it must have been a very difficult decision...but we need advocates now more than ever. I'm a member of National Women's Health Network, and greatly admire their work. How will your advocacy work be similar or different to those issues? All the best,
Erica
Newton, MA

It is sad to see the realities of this situation, but I am sure you all have done the best you can given the environment today. You can be proud of your history and I hope you will be able to find volunteers to provide whatever level of information is possible. Best of luck to you all.

Thank you so much for your work. My life, and those of many others, was made better by you all. You are an inspiration.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for your tireless efforts to make sure we all had complete and accurate, judgment free information. Thank you for swimming in the same direction whether it was against the tide or not all these many years. Thank you for consistently empowering all of us, and all of our daughters to be our best selves. Thank you for providing materials that I have used in my teaching. Thank you for producing books I could "leave out" for my teens to find. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I go back to the first one, and named my then cats Simon and Schuster (Schuster outlived Simon, and I got lots of chances to say why he was so named) in honor of their willingness to publish OBOS. I'm sad, but understand, the need for this transition, and I hope OBOS will continue a web presence and a loud voice.

My tattered and treasured copy of Our Bodies Ourselves: A Course by and for Women (New Printing of Women & Their Bodies) sits on my bookshelf. Even after almost 50 years the feel it in my hands and the faint odor of newsprint brings a flood of memories and emotions from those critical years and those critical personal connections.

Its pages are newsprint stapled together, copyright 1971 by Boston Women's Health Course Collective.
The price on the cover: 35¢

My "rap group" out here in San Francisco got together regularly and studied the material. We bought plastic speculums and held up mirrors for ourselves and our friends to help us better understand and accept our so-often-despised bodies.

It was revolutionary enlightenment for us and for so many women as we began the process of shaking off our chains.

I am forever grateful to you.

May the future bring new opportunities and new successes.

This makes me sad. I'm 45 years old. Someone gave me an OBOS book back when I was about eight years old. This book was my only source of information about my body, relationships, and social justice! It definitely had a profound affect in the kind of woman I am today! Thank you so much!

While I am saddened by your decision, I have a great deal of trust in your wisdom and the changes you are making.

I bought my first copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" in 1973, my first year of college. I shared it with roommates and friends and it was our inspiration to learn more about our bodies and take control of our lives, healthcare, and relationships. Years later I bought copies for my daughters as they grew into young women.

Thank you for all your dedicated work over the years and good luck as you transition into your new mission!

Dearest Judy, Bonnie, Current Staff and all those from the beginning of time:
I am so grateful for everything you have done and continue to try to do for women & girls around the world. As a 68 year old woman from the USA, I have been a beneficiary of all the teachings, education and resources from the beginning and I thank you. You have so much to be proud of and the world is better because you are in it✨

I have the original version of Our Bodies, Ourselves and plan on giving it to my daughter who is pregnant with her first baby.

Dear Bonnie and Judy, and the whole team,
Thank you for sharing the news, and for the amazing courage and hard work with which you have managed OBOS, helping so many people throughout the world. I am grateful for and proud of your work and legacy. And let's celebrate as OBOS enters the future.

Thank you for your service through these past 48 years. I would be delighted to volunteer or assist in any way. As a former member of the Women’s Community Health Center in Cambridge MA., i know how important your work was and continues to be. Blessings

"Our Bodies, Ourselves" was the progressive, cutting edge, women's health bible of earlier decades in this country. I relied on it for information that I wasn't reading or receiving from doctors and the male dominated media of that time. The publication of the first resource book of "Our Bodies, Ourselves' was groundbreaking, exhilarating, helpful and empowering in its accurate portrayal and representation of women. Thank you!

As a former nonprofit ED I can only imagine how challenging this process and result has been for you all. Personally, I am very sad about this turn of events especially at a time when our language regarding women's bodies is under attack and at risk of erasure. I would love to see OBOSbe a voice for women in this regard.

Thank you all, so very much, for all the help you've provided to women through the years. I still have my first edition, and many others as well. Feminism owes you a great debt.

"In America, They Call Us Dykes." in the library...1972? I rushed home to tell my girlfriend there was a word for it, and when we grew up we could move to Boston, because there were some there. She basically never spoke to me again. 6th grade was hard. But I'll never forget my gratitude, for the women who gave me the name.

Thank you for your work. We needed you.

I am very grateful for the work you have done thur the years. I found a solution for a health problem I was having using the information from your book I stopped eating soy and all its products. My thyroid was enlarged I began having painful test done to me and was suggested surgery. I stopped soy vitiamins.. soymilk that I loved, and tofu. My knot in my throat went away within a month. Also stopped the supper flourite toothpaste the dentist said I should use and brought a water filter for my kitchen. Again thank you your books are health bibles for me.

Thank you for all you have done. Your book had a helpful impact on my life.

Thank you for all you have done for women and girls. You are sheroes one and all.

I adore you. Thank you for all your work.

Our Bodies Ourselves was a fixture in my house growing up and I learned so much from it and leaned so much on its honest information.
This is a difficult time for your organization but I see that you are moving forward as a united front, carefully and after much analysis. Your clear headed decision is brave and I love the idea of a website for this powerful bible of a book. I would also urge you to submit materials to the archives of feminism found through wonderful transmitters of knowledge and history such as the Cengage Learning publishers, offering compilation after compilation of in depth subscription documents to public libraries. Do not let this book disappear completely: it is a testament to our times. Thank you for everything ?

Nooooooooo! And yet there it is. The passing of an era. I still have my newsprint edition. It meant the world to me and I taught my first women's health class in Manitowoc, WI based on the book. I carried a plastic speculum in my purse after teaching self exams with mirrors as they taught me in the book. Ok so then, like now, I carried a big bag and it got lost in the bottom. So much of who I am was informed by OBOS and Eherenrich/English Witches, Midwives and Nurses.
Glad to see the advocacy work will continue. So very grateful for all your work.

Thank you, Sisters!

OBOS (and Judy Norsigian's mentorship) have meant so much to me, and to the organization I founded with her encouragement (and OBOS's support)-- but I think this is the right decision.

Though there is much work left to be done, OBOS radically changed the discussion and, I think, planted a million seeds that are continuing to sprout today. Ironically, by making misogyny in women's health often less glaring and more subtle, it has made it harder to sustain the act of calling it out. Thank you OBOS for forever changing the discourse, and may closing one door open many others, and free up many people's energy to address a variety of problems in ways we may not have even imagined yet. (Oh, and enjoy a well-deserved rest, too!)

I am 52 years old and grew up in Massachusetts. I probably began reading Our Bodies, Ourselves as one of the first things I could read at all when I was in elementary school and I've always considered it a foundational, trusted resources.

I now have a 13 year old daughter, an 80 year old mother and am co-creating an LGBTQ centered family building and reproductive justice center.

I am very grateful for the thousands who made this movement happen...We'll make sure to have your most recent edition on our resource shelves for generations to come.

Dear OBOS Board and Founders:

I can only imagine that these decisions were hard to make and heartbreaking. Thank you for the important conversation, contribution, and leading perspective on women’s health.

I am truly grateful to have benefited from this important work.

Important to continue!

Godspeed!

I got a copy of the original edition back in the seventies. I learned so much. It seems like we've grown up and grown old together. Your updates will be missed.

Change is always difficult, I applaud you for redesigning yourselves and prioritizing your mission.

The world is so fortunate you will remain involved in women’s health activism and social justice!

The work you all do is so important, and I thank you...for myself, my 2 daughters, and all women and girls in this world. You are all extraordinary, and I cannot express enough gratitude for all your years of fighting the good fight! Much love and peace as you transition...so glad you'll still be around.

While I'm saddened to hear this news, I remain grateful for all the hard work you've done. OBOS, saved my life as a teen in the "inner city". It was an invaluable resource during my adolescence and one that I referred many other teens to, when they needed answers that their parents couldn't (or wouldn't) give them. Again, thank you.

Thank you for all you have done. I hope you will find organizations you have faith in to partner with and contribute to in the future. Best wishes to you all.

Mary Freet-Everson

My first girlfriend sat me down with a copy of OBO when we first started dating at 16 to clear up some misconceptions I had and catalyze conversations about consent. While I am a UU and I expect my son will eventually take OWL classes, I am sorry that this candid and woman-centered resource will not be available to him as well: it really helped cut through some of the masculinist baggage I had absorbed as a boy.

Thank you for finding a way to continue. As many have noted, we need the wisdom of OBOS now more than ever to counteract the corporatization of health care. OBOS has always been my trusted go-to for thorny issues. I will rely on your choices of partners in the future to help guide me and my daughters. Long live OBOS.

such sad news. When in Peace Corps Honduras 198t6-88, Our Bodies Ourselves was a huge help when working with women. At that time Peace Corps provided the book. I joined Peace Corps again in 2007, posted in Azerbaijan, Sadly Peace Corps no longer provided the book , but you beautiful people sent two copies to me ! the women i worked with were so eager for any and all information. They had never had the opportunity to discuss or be given any information regarding a woman's body, sex, reproduction, and on and on. thank you thank you , for all you have contributed.

I know this was a hard decision and salute your efforts to reach consensus and move forward in a treacherous age for feminism and women's health. Your group has made an enormous difference. Thank you all for all your work. I look forward to what's next.

This book, OBOS, changed my life when I first read it almost 40+ years ago. I have repeatedly suggested it to mothers with daughters, professing the straight-forward "facts" laid out in its pages instead of the "myths and lies" regurgitated by so many. Agree with previous comment, "needed now more than ever".
Thank you for all of your dedication to empowering girls and women everywhere.

Thank you so much for all of your revolutionary and groundbreaking work. You have all made a huge difference in the lives of women. However, I'm sorry to hear that Our Bodies, Our Selves will not be updated. I am a therapist/health educator who specializes in women's issues particularly midlife and menopause. Years ago, I taught a class at a local hospital on menopause. I wanted to use a chapter from Our Bodies, Our Selves as a reading. However, the male gyn. who was coordinating the program censored my reading!! Shocking. Again, thanks for publishing the best resource ever for women's health issues.

How about a consortium of Ms. Magazine, BUST and other feminist organizations already in the publishing business?

Thank you for your tremendous contribution to the health of women. I still have a copy of the original, and remember how we devoured it - the first publication that addressed the health issues that all women encounter. Give yourselves a huge pat on the back for your groundbreaking work!

I forgot to mention, I caught my sons reading OBOS. I daresay it contributed to helping them be the fine men they are today.

I still have my original copy of our bodies ourselves, purchased in 1979. It was the only information I could get my hands on regarding birth control and how my body worked. I could not get access to the birth control I needed and ended up pregnant at 15 years old that year. Our Bodies, Ourselves provided me with much needed information about my growing baby and the changes within my body and how to prepare for childbirth. While it also provided information on abortion, I choose to continue my pregnancy but I appreciated all the detail information about abortion options as I made my decision. I am so thankful that this information was available to me, resulting in the right choice for me and a very healthy baby. I continued to use it throughout the 80s and 90s and it was a valuable and usually primary source of information. I now get my information from the Internet but still consider my book to be a treasure. Thank you very much for providing so many of us the detailed and unbiased information that was just not available in any other format at that time. You are an amazing group of women and nurtured me and guided me through difficult times without even knowing me. I hope you will find your way through the new communication outlets and continue your impact on young women everywhere.

Your original edition, which I bought early on, was incredibly important to me personally and to many of my friends. Thank you thank you thank you for all your work.