The Eternally Wounded Woman: Women, Doctors, and Exercise in the Late Nineteenth Century

by Patricia Vertinsky

"This book is about the historical influence of late nineteenth-century medical beliefs and values on the perceived benefits of physical activity for women across their life span. The practice of medicine and the knowledge which underpins it have never been simple and logical progressions from one truth to another. Rather, scientific knowledge, medical practice and social perception have interacted to affect views concerning what kinds of amounts of physical activity, including sport and healthful exercise, might be most appropriate for girls and women at different points in their life course.
 
"A review of thinking is needed in the field of sociohistorical analysis concerning attitudes toward the female body and attempts to regulate female physical activity. Such analyses may generate new insights into the questions of both social control and the unevenness of progress in women's real or perceived opportunities for participating freely and fully in sports and exercise of their choice."
 

Genres: Feminism

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Maricarmen Garduno-vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of medicine regarding women is based in men perceptions

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As my partner so often points out, "The Eternally Wounded Woman" makes this book sounds like a 1970s feminist whine. Thankfully, it is not. Well researched, footnoted, and valuable to any scholar of 19th c. social history.