Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage

by Rachel E Gross

The Latin term for the female genitalia, pudendum, means "parts for which you should be ashamed." Until 1651, ovaries were called female testicles. The fallopian tubes are named for a man. Named, claimed, and shamed: Welcome to the story of the female body, as penned by men.

Today, a new generation of (mostly) women scientists is finally redrawing the map. With modern tools and fresh perspectives, they're looking at the organs traditionally bound up in reproduction-the uterus, ovaries, vagina-and seeing within them a new biology of change and resilience. Through their eyes, journalist Rachel E. Gross takes readers on an anatomical odyssey to the center of this new world-a world where the uterus regrows itself, ovaries pump out fresh eggs, and the clitoris pulses beneath the surface like a shimmering pyramid of nerves. Full of wit and wonder, Vagina Obscura is a celebratory testament to how the landscape of knowledge can be rewritten to better serve everyone.

• ISBN10: 1324006315
• ISBN13: 9781324006312
• Publish Date: 15 April 2022
• Publish Status: Forthcoming
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: WW Norton & Co
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[bearley]

This has to be in my top 10 for nonfiction. Rachel Gross did such a great job going over the broad topic of vaginas.
There were so many standout parts that I really want to read further about. The differing genitals of other animals. The history and process of gender affirmation surgery. (People that think being transgender is fake should really read that section cause I guarantee you no one would do that excruciating surgery for nothing.) The fact that women basically carry their grandchildren in the womb for a hot minute. The batshit history of gynecology. The Greeks thinking sperm were tiny people that unfolded in the womb (literal tf). The atrocious surgeries and experiments performed on women throughout history, mostly without their full knowledge or consent. Removal of the clitoris on babies, especially when knowing essentially nothing about the area. Transplanting animal sexual organs onto humans and even thinking transplanting straight men`s balls would heterosexualize gay men. Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy — 3 enslaved women that were experimented on by the “Father of Gynecology” and whose suffering led to the creation of the field and are known as the “Mothers of Gynecology.” Truly, if you don`t already hate evil men this book will make you wish death on dead people. It`s absolutely INSANE how recent most of the history in this book occurred and how men have assumed women were only baby factories since the beginning of time.
I honestly think the book could`ve been 200+ pages longer. Cases like David Reimer were glossed over — even though it doesn`t exactly fit the book topic it would`ve fit great with the chapters on sexual organs/growth hormones. I also hate John Money and felt he wasn`t aggressively damned enough in the short section about him.
This was just an enthralling read where I would have to stop reading just to tell anyone around me about the line I just read.