In Print: Exposed: The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam
Publication Title
Exposed: The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam
Author
Publisher
Polity Press
Publication Date
September 2024
About the Book (from the publisher)
The pelvic exam. If you've ever had one, you're probably already wincing. It might be considered a routine medical procedure, but for most of us, it is anything from unpleasant to traumatic.
In Exposed, noted historian Wendy Kline uncovers the procedure's fascinating--and often disturbing--history. From gynecological research on enslaved women's bodies to nonconsensual practice on anesthetized patients, the pelvic exam as we know it today carries the burden of its sordid past. Its story is one of pain and pleasure, life-saving discoveries and heartbreaking encounters, questionable procedures and triumphant breakthroughs. Drawing on previously unpublished archival sources, along with interviews with patients, providers, and activists, Kline traces key moments and movements in gynecological history, from the surgeons of the nineteenth century to the OB/GYNs of today.
This powerful book reminds us that the pelvic exam is has never been "just" a medical procedure, and that we can no longer afford to let the pelvic exam remain unexamined.
About the Author
Wendy Kline, Ph.D., Dema G. Seelye Chair in the History of Medicine at Purdue University, is internationally recognized for her scholarship in the history of medicine, history of women's health and the history of childbirth. She is the creator and Director of Purdue's Medical Humanities certificate program.
She is the author of four major books focusing on sexuality and reproduction: Exposed: The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam (Polity Press, forthcoming, June 2024); Coming Home: How Midwives Changed Birth (Oxford University Press, 2019); Bodies of Knowledge: Sexuality, Reproduction, and Women’s Health in the Second Wave (U. of Chicago Press 2010); and Building a Better Race: Gender, Sexuality, and Eugenics from the Turn of the Century to the Baby Boom (U. of California Press, 2001).
She has appeared in the Netflix documentary, Sex, Explained, as well as the PBS documentary, The Eugenics Crusade, and will appear in the Showtime documentary, Pharma, in 2023. Her research has been funded by major fellowships, including a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar fellowship, a British Academy Fellowship, and a Huntington Fellowship. Kline is also a professional violinist, currently principal second with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra.