Marion A. McKenzie '19, Gettysburg College
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
First Year Seminar
Starting from the downfall of Goddess cultures in Europe, women's health care has been negatively impacted for generations. The rise of the white, male Indo-European "dominator model" along with the witch craze, caused the end of widespread wise women traditions and pharmacopeia methods. After women's traditional voice was silenced, medical colleges were established to pronounce new, "professional" knowledge. Only those who attended these universities were allowed to legally practice medicine; however, during this time, medical research and treatments for women primarily included mutilation and painful, nonsensical regimens. The horrifying state of women's healthcare has since improved, but was originally a direct result of several key historic events.
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
McKenzie, Marion A., "Goddesses versus Gynecologists: An Analysis of the History of Women’s Healthcare" (2015). Student Publications. 375.
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