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Classical Gynecology: A History of Unrealistic Expectations Defined by Realistic Sexism

Ancient gynecology is a field with a large number of contradictions. Women were expected to have full awareness of their bodily functions but were not trusted as authoritative experts on the subject. In Rome, the majority of midwives were uneducated slave women, yet the expectations held for a proper midwife required formal education. The ability to give birth made women powerful in the eyes of the Greeks but was also used by Greek men (chiefly Athenians) as an excuse to oppress women. Studying ancient gynecology is a necessity for truly understanding the day-to-day lives of ancient women. In works such as the Odyssey or The Iliad, the women featured are typically upper-class nobles who are in unrealistic settings and have similar abilities, expectations, and lives. By reading through medical texts written by respected physicians such as Soranus and Hippocrates, scholars are provided an in-depth look at how ancient doctors truly saw the female body.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2137533
Date05 1900
CreatorsTrammell, Dana
ContributorsBeebe, Kathryne, Wise, Michael, Thorstad, Audrey
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Trammell, Dana, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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