Looking Through the Speculum: Examining the Women’s Health Movement

Elevated to a symbol of women's self-knowledge and bodily autonomy, the speculum, as a shorthand for the women's health movement, inspired the creation of more than 50 women's health centers in the 1970s.In her examination of the women's health movement, Judith Houck, rather than focusing on its role within second-wave feminism, highlights the institution-building capacity of the movement.A historian of science and medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Houck conducted interviews with more than 75 health activists, including clinic founders and directors, and consulted administrative clinic records, privately held documents, and archival material in addition to a rich body of secondary sources.The result is a meticulously researched, thoroughly engaging book organized in chapter dyads around four topics: the gynecological self-exam, feminist abortion provision, lesbian health, and Black feminist self-help.The first chapter of each dyad contextualizes the issue with references to key figures, events, and places.The second chapter of each pairing closely examines one of four women's health clinics in California.While Houck draws comparisons to clinics across the United States, including in Florida, Iowa, and Utah, her primary focus on just one state is the book's only significant limitation.