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7.2: Debunking Myths about Women

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    On the previous page you saw how females carry the lion's share of the biological reproduction of the human race. Since history assumed that women were impaired because of their reproductive roles (men were not), societies have defined much of these reproductive traits as hindrances to activities. Professor Hammond found an old home health guide at an antique store in Ohio. He was fascinated that in 1898 the country's best physicians had very inaccurate information and knowledge about the human body and how it worked. \({ }^3\) Interestingly, pregnancy was considered "normal" within most circumstances while menstruation was seen as a type of disease process that had to be treated (back then and today most physicians were men). On pages 892-909 it refers to menstrual problems as being "unnatural" and that they are normal only if "painless" and thus the patient should be treated rather than the "disease." Indeed from a male scientific perspective in 1898, females and their natural reproductive cycles were problematic.

    But, to the author, females were more fragile and vulnerable and should be treated more carefully than males especially during puberty. Patton states, "The fact is that the girl has a much greater physical and a more intense mental development to accomplish than the boy..." As for public education, he states that "The boy can do it; the girl can-sometimes..." He attributes most of the female sexual and reproductive problems to public school which is a by-product of "women's rights, so called."

    He'd probably be stunned to see modern medicine's discoveries today. In our day, women are not defined as being inferior in comparison to men. But, in 1898, a physician (source of authority and scientific knowledge) had no reservations about stating the cultural norm in print, that women were considered broken in contrast to men.

    Gender Socialization is the shaping of individual behavior and perceptions in such a way that the individual conforms to the socially prescribed expectations for males and females. One has to wonder what might have been different if all women were born into societies that valued their uniqueness and similarities in comparison to men. How much further might civilizations have progressed? It is wise to avoid the exclusion of any category of people-based on biological or other traits-from full participation in the development of knowledge and progress in society. In the history of the world, such wisdom has been ignored far too often.\

    Footnotes

    3. See, if you can find one, The Book of Health A Practical Family Physician, 1898, by Robert W. Patton

    7.2: Debunking Myths about Women is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.