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brought together in a fascinating sweeping narrativeFemale circumcision in the 1800s as a respective remedy for misunderstood diseases, prefrontal lobotomies as "cures" for ulcerative colitis in the 1950s, and unreported deaths from initial clinical trials of birth control in Puerto Rico ... of those who participated in the trial, many suffered debilitating side effects and three died - but their deaths were never reported in the subsequent release of "the pill." In Unwell Women, Elinor Cleghorn explores this almost unbelievable history of how medicine has failed women, and shows how the legacy of disenfranchisement and discrimination is alive and well in the contemporary relationship between women and sickness.When Cleghorn was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after years of being told her symptoms were anything from psychosomatic to a possible pregnancy, she was inspired to unpack the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification, and misdiagnosis of women's bodies.



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