Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology

Owens's carefully researched, trenchant book brilliantly and painfully chronicles yet another tragedy of white America brutalizing the bodies of Black women. Such an important work.

I am a Registered Nurse with 25 years of experience. Sadly, I have witnessed some of the atrocities inflicted upon black / brown women during the Antebellum Era during the course of my career. I enjoyed this book for the knowledge and truths told. It broke my heart though, to see that very little has changed from the 1800 to 2020.

This is an excellent book, written very well, based on facts, and should be read by everybody, especially in the medical profession.

Great book that completely explains the horror Black enslaved women experienced and our I acknowledged contributions to the field of medicine and gynecology.

This book is magnificent! Read it for yourself.

Very interesting but not surprising what African American women suffered but also contributed in the science of women's reproductive health and creation of gynaecology as a field of medicine.

Trying to give this book a “star” review was difficult and here’s why: the book wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I was looking forWas it useful information? Yes.Did it answer a lot of questions I had? YesAm I glad I read it? YesThen what was the problem? Well, first, it reads like a text book. It felt like the author just took excerpts from every book she read on the topic and strategically placed all of them in one book. And if you’ve ever read a book that has a lot of references, you’ll understand. There was no emotion in the writing.. Just fact. Fact. Fact. Fact. Which isn’t a bad thing.I read this book because I wanted to learn more on the topic. (I’m not in college or anything. I was just interested) and I did learn a lot. But I wanted to FEEL. I wanted to feel the embarrassment, the shame, the pain. I wanted to feel like I was there along side these women. I wanted to finish this book with some attachment, because I felt what these women went through. But the book didn’t give me that. (And I don’t know if any book will)Overall it was a very educational book.

This is a deeply researched, well-written, important addition to the history of medicine in the United States. By centering the experience of enslaved and immigrant women, rather than that of the elite physicians, Cooper Owens turns a somewhat-familiar 19th century historical story into a new and essential work. A must-read.

excellent book terrifying details about the land of(FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY).

I am in the profession and the book’s premise really caught my attention. But I found it a hard book to read. It was repetitive and often dull to read. Ultimately I lost interest in finishing it.