In 1971, a dozen Boston feminists published a groundbreaking book on women’s health and sexuality, originally called Women and Their Bodies. The book, first available in alternative bookshops in a stapled, newsprint edition of 193 pages, became so hugely popular - largely by word-of-mouth, that it went on to be republished in nine revised editions in more than twenty foreign-language translations.

The book was (and till is) full of enlightening information about a woman's body and conditions about which women need to be aware, such as sexually transmitted diseases, childbearing, and previously-thought-to-be taboo subjects like menstruation, masturbation, and menopause.

The idea for the book was formed in 1969, when the twelve women met during a women’s liberation conference in Boston. At a workshop on “women and their bodies,” they talked about their own experiences and decided to collaborate on a resource to make uncensored information about women’s bodies and health available to everyone.

In 1971 the authors changed the name of the book to Our Bodies, Ourselves and it was republished by the New England Free Press. The first commercial edition was published by Simon & Schuster in 1973.

In 1976, the book was recognized by the American Library Association’s Young Adult Service Division as one of the Best Books of the Decade.

In 1979, Our Bodies, Ourselves was recognized by "Time Magazine" as one of the Best 100 Nonfiction Books (in English) since 1923, when the magazine started.

In 2012, Our Bodies, Ourselves was chosen as one of 88 books included in the 2012 Library of Congress exhibition “Books that Shaped America,” a list of important works “intended to spark a national conversation on books written by Americans that have influenced our lives.”

In this day and age, when no subject is taboo and detailed explanations of every facet of existence are freely available online, it is hard to imagine a time when women could not find out reliable information about what was going on with their bodies, and what options were available to help them manage their lives as women. This book totally changed the social and political landscape for women.

The founders did not stop their activism with this book, but each of them has gone on to work for women and for social justice, as is clear from their biographies on the Our Bodies, Ourselves website, here. (The group now calls itself Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS), and operates as a nonprofit, public interest organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As they explain on the website, they develop and promote evidence-based information on girls’ and women’s reproductive health and sexuality.)

You can access much of the book's information online at the website, here. In addition, there is also a blog with regular health and political updates, here. ( )

I read this book over the course of over a year. It's hugely informative and answers a lot of questions that women may not feel comfortable asking anyone. I would recommend that every woman have access to a copy of this book to refer to. It covers everything from pregnancy to eating disorders, menopause to domestic abuse, medical problems to safe sex. ( )

Wow, this updated version is excellent! It covers issues in womens' physical, mental and emotional health and tells it in a very straightforward way. It gives information that is relevant to women of all ages from adolescence to old age. It is a book that can be revisited throughout one’s life. I revisited it when I was pregnant with my children and now again as a woman in middle age. I am old enough to have purchased the first edition of this book in the early 1970’s. It was a revolutionary book back then and it is still a solid resource today. It changed my life back then. I was only fourteen when I read it and I remember that I hid it in my closet so that my parents wouldn’t get wrong ideas about me and find out that I knew about all that stuff! The information I got from the book back then gave me a sense of self-knowledge and empowerment that is still relevant for today’s teens. It was very liberating at that age to know that much of what was in the book was going to be my own private business in life and I was taking my own voluntary steps to educate myself in preparation for adulthood. Every young woman deserves to feel that sense of empowerment.
This new edition of course has expanded on the first edition a great deal. I was glad to see more information on Violence and Abuse because I don't remember reading about that in the first edition. I highly recommend this book be part of high school library collections. ( )

The thicker, comprehensive new edition contains an essay by yours truly. This edition is carefully inclusive, and as detailed and frank as the original, with more pictures and reaching across the ages. My only complaint is the model-esque image on the cover. ( )