A history of women's menstruation from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century [electronic resource] : psychological, social, medical, religious, and educational issues / Glenda Lewin Hufnagel ; with a foreword by Carolyn Stout Morgan.

Cover image for A history of women's menstruation from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century [electronic resource] : psychological, social, medical, religious, and educational issues / Glenda Lewin Hufnagel ; with a foreword by Carolyn Stout Morgan.

ISBN:

9780773411579

Title:

Author:

Hufnagel, Glenda Lewin, author.

Personal Author:

Hufnagel, Glenda Lewin, author.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (171 pages)

Contents:

Chapter 1. The Ancient Construction: The Classical Greek and Roman Period Through the Eighteenth-Century -- Chapter 2. The Modern Construction: Nineteenth-Century Europe and America -- Chapter 3. The Contemporary Construction: Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Europe and America -- Chapter 4. Implications for Education -- Chapter 5. Summary, Recommendations, Future Research.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Menstruation -- Social aspects -- History.

Menstruation -- Psychological aspects -- History.

Menstruation -- Religious aspects -- History.

Women -- Health and hygiene -- History.

Menstruation -- psychology.

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice.

Hygiene -- education.

Prejudice.

Social Conditions -- history.

Women's Health -- history.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2012

Publication Information:

Lewiston, New York :

The Edwin Mellen Press,

[2012]

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
612.662	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Hufnagel chronicles the historical inaccuracies in understanding menstruation which have contributed to viewing women as a second sex' and perpetuated feelings of shame. Her argument claims that only in the last few decades has science begun to fully understand the issue. Subsequent social and psychological treatment of menstruation in recent years has helped women to have an increased sense of comfort with their bodies. From Ancient Greece where Aristotle claimed that women were closer to animals, to contemporary misunderstandings about menstruation leading to increased acne, which was viewed as a sign of sexual immorality beginning with pubescence, the book tells the tawdry tale of women learning to accept themselves through successive scientific breakthroughs.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This brief, well-organized book provides a succinct overview of the history of menarche and menstruation from classical Greek and Roman times through the 18th, 19th, and contemporary 20th and 21st centuries in European-American culture. Chapters begin with representative quotations to set the stage for introducing misogynistic bias and limited scholarly historical menstrual research, along with the taboo against speaking about the passage from girl to woman in literature. The strongest chapters are 4 and 5, in which Hufnagel (human relations, Univ. of Oklahoma) discusses educational implications and important recommendations for future research. The author reports that what was a celebrated event during the ancient period, and remains positive for native and nondominant cultures, has been redefined as a curse or even an illness sometimes requiring medical-surgical and/or pharmacological intervention by male-dominated gynecology. She explores the evolution of the average age of menarche and marriage, the level of physical activity during menstruation and pregnancy, class differences, higher education for girls and women, and the role of wife and mother. By the 1950s, menstrual education was largely marketed by commercial producers of disposable pads and tampons. Extensive 49-page reference list and selection of recommended menarcheal education books/films for both girls and boys, health professionals, parents, and educators. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. E. R. Paterson emeritus, SUNY College at Cortland