Published in idle musings·Jan 25, 2019Select Reader Comments From That Article About Female Sexual Pleasure I Wrote Last Year“What Men (Don’t) Want: Another tired story about the Patriarchy.” “Interesting stuff. Maybe next time try it without the biased lens of postmodernist oppressed/oppressor categorization. Really made for an unsatisfactory interpretation with that kind of nihilism.” “Great article. Impact could be enhanced through the use of bullet points and a…Sex2 min readSex2 min read
Published in Midwifery Around the World·Dec 13, 2018Member-onlyThe Black Birthing BodyThis essay was written by Anya Scott-Wallace and can be read here.Pregnancy1 min readPregnancy1 min readBlack Midwives in the Antebellum SouthThe Black Birthing Body----
Published in Midwifery Around the World·Dec 13, 2018An Abridged History of Midwifery in ScotlandScotland possesses a long and rich history of midwifery detailed in its medical literature, legislative records, and institutional development. From the man-midwives of the 1700s writing medical treatises; to the lay midwives, called howdies, who continued their work illegally after the government’s stipulations requiring midwife certification; to the legal developments…Pregnancy8 min readPregnancy8 min read
Published in Midwifery Around the World·Dec 12, 2018Member-onlyThe Mother-Procreator and the Independent Midwife:The Social Status of Polish Midwifery — This article is being published anonymously. It was written by one of the students in my Fall 2018 History of Midwifery class at Vassar College. Over the past twenty years, Polish mothers have been seeking a way to reclaim agency in the birthing process in a highly medicalized, authoritarian system…Pregnancy8 min readPregnancy8 min read
Published in Midwifery Around the World·Dec 12, 2018Member-onlyMidwifery in Modern ChinaTradition, technology, and turbulence — This article is being published anonymously. It was written by one of the students in my Fall 2018 History of Midwifery class at Vassar College. China has one of the longest histories of any nation in the world, and with this comes a rich tradition of medicine. Many fundamental concepts…Pregnancy10 min readPregnancy10 min read
Published in Midwifery Around the World·Dec 11, 2018Midwifery in Italy:From Ancient Rome to the Modern Day — This article is being published anonymously. It was written by one of the students in my Fall 2018 History of Midwifery course at Vassar College. It seems reasonable to assume that giving birth before the advent of modern medicine was much more dangerous than it is today. However, historical evidence…Italy9 min readItaly9 min read
Sep 22, 2018This is What Happens When You Report Your RapeSome (ir)relevent details of the incident, for those who care about such things: We met on Tinder. It was our second date. I went to his house for a “wine and movie night”. I had one glass of wine. I don’t know how much he had. I was wearing jeans…Rape6 min readRape6 min read
Sep 20, 2018Words for Womb in Ancient Greek MedicineThe Words of Medicine, Potchefstroom, South Africa, Sept 2018 Tara Mulder, Vassar College — Tota mulier in utero. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1949 Soranus Ἡ μήτρα καὶ ὑστέρα λέγεται καὶ δελφύς· μήτρα μὲν οὖν, ὅτι μήτηρ ἐστὶ πάντων τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς γεννωμένων ἐμβρύων, ἢ ὅτι τὰς ἐχούσας αὐτὴν μητέρας ποιεῖ, κατὰ δέ τινας, ὅτι μέτρον ἔχει χρόνου πρὸς κάθαρσιν καὶ ἀπότεξιν· ὑστέρα δὲ διὰ…11 min read11 min read
Published in EIDOLON·Mar 19, 2018What Women (Don’t) WantTiresias on Female Pleasure — There is a story in Greek mythology that the blind prophet Tiresias spent seven years as a woman. One day, when Zeus and Hera get into an argument about whether men or women experience more pleasure during sex, they call on Tiresias. As the only entity mortal or divine who…Sex13 min readSex13 min read
Published in idle musings·May 4, 2017Carnuntum Was Not the 4th Largest City in the Roman EmpireIn my elementary Latin class at Vassar I have the students bring in “popular press” pieces on Latin and ancient Rome and present them to the class. These pieces can be any recent article available on the internet that deals in some way with the subject of the class. Yesterday…History3 min readHistory3 min read
