Complaints and Disorders: the Sexual Politics of Sickness [Paperback]

Barbara Ehrenreich (Author), Deidre English (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1973

Classic feminist text on women and medicine. Provides important overview on women's health in the 19th & 20th centuries. Discusses class issues as the impact on health (especially working women) gender, public health, medical profession, immigrants, prostitution, reformers like Margaret Sanger, etc. Essential reading for history of medicine. Stapled illustrated self wrapper.

Product Details

• Paperback: 94 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press; 1st edition (1973)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000LCERQ0
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,584,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's one of those books that is fascinating, factual and a real page turner, April 20, 2007

By 

Rosemary Thornton "Niece of Addie Hoyt Fargo ... (Norfolk, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness (Glass Mountain Pamphlet) (Paperback)

I'm fairly stunned at the two two-star reviews here. This book was co-authored by Barbara Ehrenreich who went on to write several other WONDERFUL books, such as "Nickel and Dimed" and "For Her Own Good."

"Complaints and Disorders; The Sexual Politics of Sickness" is a short book (95 pages) but that's part of what made it such a good read. Once you start reading it, you won't want to stop until you're to the last page. And there's a lot of info packed into those pages.

On page 37, the authors write, "The entire mystique of female sickness - the house calls, the tonics and medicines, the heatlh spas - served, above all, to keep a great many women busy at the task of doing nothing."

That's what was done to women in the Victorian era. In modern times, we use beauty and weight as the lure to "keep women busy as the task of doing nothing."

There's also some background info on how women healers (or witches, as the men liked to call them) were removed from power so male doctors could enjoy their ascension to power and wealth.

It's one of a handful of books I've pressed into the hands of my daughter and said, "you have GOT to read this book." And *that's* the highest recommendation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Primary Source Material, March 19, 2010

By 

D. Rubel (Brighton, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness (Glass Mountain Pamphlet) (Paperback)

If you're interested in the subject the bibliography alone is worth the purchase. Great illustrations and a nice discussion with good primary source quotes on both upper/middle class women and working class women and their relationship with medicine from the turn of the last century.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic feminist text on women and medicine, October 26, 2009

By 

J. Schwarz "Informed Woman" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Classic feminist text on women and medicine. Provides important overview on women's health in the 19th and 20th centuries. Discusses class issues as the impact on health (especially working women), public health, the medical profession, immigrants, prostitution, reformers like Margaret Sanger, etc. Still stands as essential reading for history of medicine.