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Contemporary Classics - The Feminist Press
Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness
In this exciting sequel to their underground bestseller, Witches, Midwives, and Nurses, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English document the tradition of American sexism in medicine before and after the turn of the century. Citing vivid examples, including numerous "treatments" and "rest cures" perpetrated on women through the decades, the authors analyze the biomedical rationale used to justify the wholesale sex discrimination throughout our culture-in education, in jobs, and in public life.
Ever since Hippocrates, male medics have treated women as the "weaker" sex. By the late 19th century, when the authority of religious documents had waned, the ultimate rationale for sex discrimination became solely biomedical. In this intriguing pamphlet, the authors raise the difficult "How sick-or well-are women today?" They assert that feminists today want more than "more": "We want a new style, and we want a new substance of medical practice as it relates to women."
Ever since Hippocrates, male medics have treated women as the "weaker" sex. By the late 19th century, when the authority of religious documents had waned, the ultimate rationale for sex discrimination became solely biomedical. In this intriguing pamphlet, the authors raise the difficult "How sick-or well-are women today?" They assert that feminists today want more than "more": "We want a new style, and we want a new substance of medical practice as it relates to women."
96 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1974
63 people are currently reading
3276 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Ehrenreich
95 books2,013 followersBarbara Ehrenreich was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and award-winning columnist and essayist and the author of 21 books. Ehrenreich was best known for her 2001 book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, a memoir of her three-month experiment surviving on a series of minimum-wage jobs. She was a recipient of a Lannan Literary Award and the Erasmus Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
April 3, 2017
Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English, their sequel to Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers, documents the role of the medical system in propagating and fueling sexist ideology. The authors argue it is not biology that oppresses women; it is a social system based on sex and class discrimination.
Focusing on the late 19th and early 20th century, Ehrenreich and English cite one example after another of the barbaric “cures” women received for the ostensible purpose of healing them. These range from the compulsory “rest cure” made famous in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories to the placement of leeches on the cervix to combat amenorrhea.
The authors discuss the impact of race and class on women’s health. Upper class and middle class women aspiring to the upper class were perceived as weak, sickly, and frail. They were prescribed a life of enforced leisure with little to no physical activity. Their confinement to the home coupled with unmitigated boredom led to the cult known as “female invalidism” or hypochondria—a condition made even worse by the rest cure. The male dominated medical profession fueled this myth of female frailty since it served the financial interests of the physician to do so.
By contrast, working class and immigrant women, living in urban slums and exposed to hazardous working conditions, were perceived as breeders of germs and disease. They certainly did not have the luxury to indulge themselves in a rest cure or take advantage of medical care since that was virtually non-existent for the poor. Fear of the spread of disease, especially VD in the case of prostitutes, eventually spurred the growth of the public health movement and the birth control movement, both of which were aimed the reducing the risk of contagious diseases and curbing the population growth of the working class and immigrants.
The authors conclude their study by discussing the changes that have taken place since the 19th and early 20th centuries in the medical profession’s treatment of women. They urge women to educate themselves on their bodies and to recognize their biological similarities with all women while acknowledging the medical needs of women will vary based on race and class.
An essential read for those interested in the use of medicine as a form of social control whose purpose is to bolster a sexist ideology.
Focusing on the late 19th and early 20th century, Ehrenreich and English cite one example after another of the barbaric “cures” women received for the ostensible purpose of healing them. These range from the compulsory “rest cure” made famous in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories to the placement of leeches on the cervix to combat amenorrhea.
The authors discuss the impact of race and class on women’s health. Upper class and middle class women aspiring to the upper class were perceived as weak, sickly, and frail. They were prescribed a life of enforced leisure with little to no physical activity. Their confinement to the home coupled with unmitigated boredom led to the cult known as “female invalidism” or hypochondria—a condition made even worse by the rest cure. The male dominated medical profession fueled this myth of female frailty since it served the financial interests of the physician to do so.
By contrast, working class and immigrant women, living in urban slums and exposed to hazardous working conditions, were perceived as breeders of germs and disease. They certainly did not have the luxury to indulge themselves in a rest cure or take advantage of medical care since that was virtually non-existent for the poor. Fear of the spread of disease, especially VD in the case of prostitutes, eventually spurred the growth of the public health movement and the birth control movement, both of which were aimed the reducing the risk of contagious diseases and curbing the population growth of the working class and immigrants.
The authors conclude their study by discussing the changes that have taken place since the 19th and early 20th centuries in the medical profession’s treatment of women. They urge women to educate themselves on their bodies and to recognize their biological similarities with all women while acknowledging the medical needs of women will vary based on race and class.
An essential read for those interested in the use of medicine as a form of social control whose purpose is to bolster a sexist ideology.
April 25, 2011
I first became interested in the influence of gender on illness and its treatment after reading The Yellow Wallpaper--the story of a woman driven mad by either 1) the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom or 2) the rest cure proscribed to her for her nerves. In short, it was either an external physical factor that drove her to madness or it was the institute of madness. Either way, it the story offers interesting insights into the differing treatments.
The authors in this work take a longer and more objective view of the differing treatment that each gender received in the 1800 and 1900s. The book reveals the often barbaric treatment women got, which was really a method of keeping women in their subservant roles.
This is an interesting read for anyone interested in medicine or gender relations. Its also a very quick read--I would love to see an expanded version of their thesis, one that includes the path medicine has taken since they wrote this booklet in the 1970s.
The authors in this work take a longer and more objective view of the differing treatment that each gender received in the 1800 and 1900s. The book reveals the often barbaric treatment women got, which was really a method of keeping women in their subservant roles.
This is an interesting read for anyone interested in medicine or gender relations. Its also a very quick read--I would love to see an expanded version of their thesis, one that includes the path medicine has taken since they wrote this booklet in the 1970s.
September 20, 2019
Fascinating look at different class-based manifestations of medical sexism at the turn of the 20th century and their affects on today. Their points about how sickness can provide (some) women with superficial freedoms and how our good health can be used against us are going to provide me with a lot of food for thought around why so many of us seem to resist getting better. Also gave me a much needed reminder about why it's so important to be able to talk about the body! All in less than 100 pages. Really want to read Witches, Midwives and Nurses now.
March 15, 2021
Early in the book I felt angry and suspected this would be one of those books where every page infuriates me. But the sheer absurdity of male doctors' bizarre attitudes toward women in the late 19th & early 20th centuries makes me snort. I keep imagining a satire reminiscent of Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. The film Hysteria comes to mind.
Basically, male doctors made up crazy misogynistic shit to keep ladies in their "place" and to get their wealthy husbands to keep the doctors in business. It was a culture of hypochondria.
Simultaneously, working class women were expected to work tirelessly and never be sick... because they didn't have money to pay doctors.
19th century doctors claimed that women's most important organs were their reproductive organs and that using their intellects would harm their uterus and their ability to have babies! I guess being extremely not a breeder is a big "fuck you" to these assholes.
This book is very short and was published in the 1970s. I'm glad it addresses how the medical industry treated/treats women differently depending on race and class, but it has a heteronormative slant.
"... hysterics never had fits when alone, and only when there was something soft to fall on (p. 86)."
Basically, male doctors made up crazy misogynistic shit to keep ladies in their "place" and to get their wealthy husbands to keep the doctors in business. It was a culture of hypochondria.
Simultaneously, working class women were expected to work tirelessly and never be sick... because they didn't have money to pay doctors.
19th century doctors claimed that women's most important organs were their reproductive organs and that using their intellects would harm their uterus and their ability to have babies! I guess being extremely not a breeder is a big "fuck you" to these assholes.
This book is very short and was published in the 1970s. I'm glad it addresses how the medical industry treated/treats women differently depending on race and class, but it has a heteronormative slant.
"... hysterics never had fits when alone, and only when there was something soft to fall on (p. 86)."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2019
Complaints and Disorders is a really interesting look into the ways women were viewed within the medical industry as patients throughout history. They cover a lot of good ground about the way class played an especially strong role in the way women experienced medical sexism. I wish they had covered more to do with race (they mention it several times, but manage to avoid actually doing a proper delve into the subject) and on women who were legitimately disabled or sick (who they mention exist but don't really look into the topic of their treatment at all).
I would recommend this to anyone looking to read more books from second-wave feminism, and to anyone looking for the briefest introduction into sexism in the medical industry.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to read more books from second-wave feminism, and to anyone looking for the briefest introduction into sexism in the medical industry.
March 24, 2010
While the book is 37 years old, it still offers a solid (and frequently horrifying) look at the treatment of women by the medical profession. The thought that leeches were once placed on the cervix to help "fix" amenorrhea makes me flinch.
July 23, 2019
An easy and essential marxist feminist history. A great primer for those wanting to learn more about gender history in post-civil war america.
March 1, 2025
j’ai adoré le fait que ce soit écrit de manière très concise et que les autrices aillent droit au but : ça se lit vraiment d’une traite MAIS j’aurais aimé qu’il y ait un peu plus de documentations et de sources de ce qu’elles racontaient (je suis en train d’écrire un mémoire donc je me permets 🕺🏻)
mais anyway c’était quand même hyper intéressant
mais anyway c’était quand même hyper intéressant
March 24, 2025
Une très bonne lecture sur le pouvoir médical et le corps des femmes entre 1860 et 1970 aux états unis. Puis une excellente post face de Eva Rodriguez qui transpose le discours au territoire français (et pas seulement la France métropolitaine !!!). J'avais adoré l'autre pamphlet des mêmes autrices "Sorcières, sages-femmes & Infirmières" et celui-ci semble bien le compléter. Dans le premier on parlait plutôt des femmes soignantes et ici des femmes soignées. J'ai encore beaucoup appris dans celui-ci notamment sur le lien entre une société patriarcale et les femmes toujours considérées comme malades, fragiles etc selon les périodes de l'histoire physiquement ou mentalement. Et l'influence de la société sur l'évolution des traitements médicaux qu'on leur imposait (si toutefois leur classe sociale le leur permettait). Bref c'est à lire
March 14, 2013
A short yet convincing exploration of the class-based sexist underpinnings of the medical industry from the 19th to 20th century. Short, but hard-hitting: "The medical system is not just a service industry. It is a powerful instrument of social control, replacing organized religion as a prime source of sexist ideology and an enforcer of sex roles." "We must never lose sight of the fact that it is not our biology that oppresses us--but a social system based on sex and class domination."
March 16, 2019
Σύντομο, αλλά κατατπιστικότατο για την άκρως μισογυνιστική ιστορία της ιατρικής. Είναι ενδιαφέρον και παράλληλα ανησυχητικό το γεγονός ότι γράφηκε τη δεκαετία του '70, αλλά τα θέματα που θίγει μας απασχολούν και εν έτει 2019. Κάτι πολύ σημαντικό είναι ότι οι συγγραφείς καθ'όλη την πορεία ανάλυσής τους χρησιμοποιούν το τρίπτυχο φεμινισμός- φυλή- τάξη, κάνοντας συσχετισμούς μεταξύ αυτών, κάτι απαραίτητο όταν επιχειρεί κανείς να μιλήσει για τα γυναικεία ζητήματα.
January 12, 2008
A great introductory pamphlet on medicine's treatment of women and its effects on women and how they are perceived by others. It's depressing how I still see the problems the authors talk about in the "current issues" sections at the end, considering this was written in the SEVENTIES! Oh, feminism . . .
February 21, 2017
Fascinating and infuriating, binge-read in one sitting
September 13, 2025
This should be a must-read for every woman and man today. The authors give such an interestingly short yet deeply enriching approach of women’s oppression through sexist medicine and so called scientific justifications during the 19th and 20th centuries.
It’s also full of interesting references for anyone wanting to deepen a specific topic.
I deeply recommend and would love to read more about this subject in the future.
It’s also full of interesting references for anyone wanting to deepen a specific topic.
I deeply recommend and would love to read more about this subject in the future.
June 7, 2022
Probably my favorite nonfiction book of all time. Focusing on the medicalization of women and people with uteruses and how the medical system in the US has been designed against them from the beginning.
February 9, 2025
À la fois hyper intéressant et bien détaillé pour nous expliquer la réalité de ce à quoi se résumait la femme à une époque et à la fois hilarant lorsqu'on lit certaines phrases en comprenant que ce n'est pas du tout une blague mais que les gens étaient juste entièrement fous
October 27, 2019
Review to Follow. Read for Dewey's 24-hour Readathon.
October 22, 2024
can u say swag?
February 12, 2025
so great to refresh my memory on feminist healthcare + sickness history. Learned a lot too! So grateful to have this info (my passion!)
April 25, 2014
First part, four stars. Second part, 2 stars. Perhaps I enjoy remote history better than recent history as that is how the book is organized. I did enjoy learning about the origins of "hysteria" and the crazy bogus and misguided "cures" the patriachal medical society inflicted on upper society women.
I liked how they separated out the dichotomy of how the same women, but from different social classes, could be sick and the other sickening, i.e a rich woman gets "put to bed" while a poor woman is spreading disease (Typhoid Mary).
I am also learning that this was a sequel to their other pamphlet so maybe I should have read them in reverse order? I'll try again.
I liked how they separated out the dichotomy of how the same women, but from different social classes, could be sick and the other sickening, i.e a rich woman gets "put to bed" while a poor woman is spreading disease (Typhoid Mary).
I am also learning that this was a sequel to their other pamphlet so maybe I should have read them in reverse order? I'll try again.
October 30, 2016
A friend let me borrow this. It took me a bit to get into, but once I did I found it riveting. I was pleasantly surprised that this book expanded upon its discussion of gender to incorporate the intersections of race and class:
"Medicine does not invent our social roles, it merely interprets then to us as biological destiny." (154)
I found it to be an informative snapshot of medicine as a form of social control.
"Medicine does not invent our social roles, it merely interprets then to us as biological destiny." (154)
I found it to be an informative snapshot of medicine as a form of social control.
July 9, 2025
Doctors/ illness for middle/upper class white women = "In fact the medical attention directed at these women amounted to what may have been a very effective surveillance system. Doctors were in a position to detect the first signs of rebelliousness, and to interpret then as symptoms of a 'disease'" (pg 82).
Where poor WOC were denied the help of Doctors and had their own women healers taken away.
Where poor WOC were denied the help of Doctors and had their own women healers taken away.
January 14, 2018
I began reading this during the election and wasn't able to come back to it until recently. The issues of health and women were an obvious attack point by Trump and this little pamphlet will show you the horrific economic and class history with medicine. Although this was written in the early 70s, forty years later it still seems fresh and relevant, which is frankly discouraging.
July 28, 2007
Jessica Goodman gave me this booket too, which tells how western medicine is tied up with the patriarchy and how sick women are diagnosed and treated differently from sick men. Very interesting and informative.
February 11, 2008
Great look at period views on women, especially during the Victorian era. Barbara Ehrenreich wrote the fantastic Nickel and Dimed, and she also is worthy of a read in this short introduction to the sexual politics of sickness.
January 1, 2011
This is the second of two pamphlets that these authors published in the 70's - I didn't like the first very much but I really wish they had expanded their research for this one. I would be interested in a whole book on this topic.
April 7, 2019
It's definitely of its era but this holds up fairly well from my memory of it from...undergrad? It gets intersectional to a degree at the end, but it does completely miss any grasp of the intersection of gender identity/sexuality on the issue.
Read
September 11, 2008I was exited to find this stagnating on a shelf in a high school. Clearly written and also a superb example of quality small press work.
June 8, 2013
"...our bodies are not the issue. Biology is not the issue. The issue is power, in all the ways it affects us."
Should be required reading for everyone all the time.
Should be required reading for everyone all the time.
August 12, 2016
Fascinating look at the patriarchal power structures and their impact upon women's relationship to medicine and public health. I'm going to be looking for more books down this avenue.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews