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    Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers by Barbara Ehrenreich, Deirdre English, Deirdre English

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    (Paperback)

    Average Customer Rating: Customer Rating for this product is 4.5 out of 5 (2 ratings)

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    • Publisher: Feminist Press at CUNY, The
    • Pub. Date: December 1973
    • ISBN-13: 9780912670133
    • Sales Rank: 17,281
    • 48pp
     
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    Synopsis

    Women have always been healers, and medicine has always been an arena of struggle between female practitioners and male professionals. This pamphlet explores two important phases in the male takeover of health care: the suppression of witches in medieval Europe and the rise of the male medical profession in the United States. The authors conclude that despite efforts to exclude them, the resurgence of women as healers should be a long-range goal of the women's movement.

    FGP - WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women

    This dandy little book quickly and concisely explains why it is that 93% of the doctors in this country are men even though women make up 70% of all healthcare workers. If you assumed that men are the doctors because they were the pioneers of the healing arts, then this book will open your eyes. Barbara Ehrenricch and Deirdre English show how, for reasons of class politics, women's suppression and naked greed, wealthy men discredited, persecuted and outright killed the wisewomen healers, leaving them to be the sole practitioners of their "scientific" medicine. The information presented here gives a whole new perspective to medical history and points to some of the causes underlying our current healthcare mess.

    Customer Reviews

    Number of Reviews: 2
    Average Rating: Customer Rating for this product is 4.5 out of 5
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    Customer Rating for this product is 4 out of 5 Excellent background material
    Jan (janthom2002@yahoo.com) , a parent educator, 09/02/2003

    I have been using the material in this little book for years in parent education workshops. Audiences find many of its facts meaningful in understanding how the role of women in medicine has evolved over centuries.

    Customer Rating for this product is 5 out of 5 the truth about 'witchcraft'
    A reviewer, A reviewer, 12/19/2000

    Setting aside considerations about nursing history, for me the real value of this is to provide hard-to-find historical background on this aspect of women's history. So much nonsense is floating around (and published) about witchcraft, both pro and con, that we are fortunate that this basic work is still available to us. Highly recommended to anyone interested in women's history - as well as in going beyond wishful thinking and fantasy.