1
150
1
-
https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/files/original/72bd6fc847a383c0f955f61a36c12463.jpg
86ed90770821e8cbf1d975a2d48d1d2b
https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/files/original/ec22e2789a1ca38714b48cffb04a9087.pdf
b680ea68efefec78f77ce06238e43259
PDF Text
Text
My Accounts
Contact Us
Giving
Search Website
Neilly Series Lecture: Sarah Rodriguez
"The Medical Use of Female Circumcision and Cultural
Ideas (and Ideals) of Female Sexuality in the United
States, 1860s-Present"
Rush Rhees Library, Hawkins-Carlson Room
March 5, 2015 7:00pm to 8:00pm
From the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth
century, American physicians treated women and girls for
masturbation by removing the clitoris (clitoridectomy) or clitoral
hood (female circumcision). During this same time, and
continuing to today, physicians also performed female
circumcision to enable women to reach orgasm. Though used as
treatment, paradoxically, for both a perceived excessive sexuality
and a perceived lack of sexual responsiveness, these surgeries
reflect a consistent medical conception of the clitoris as a sexual
organ. In recent years the popular media and academics have
commented on the rising popularity in the United States of female
genital cosmetic surgeries, including female circumcision, yet
these discussions often assume such procedures are new.
In Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy in the United States: A
History of a Medical Treatment, Sarah Rodriguez presents an
engaging and surprising history of surgeries on the clitoris, revealing how medical views of the female body and
female sexuality have changed -- and in some cases not changed -- throughout the last century and a half.
During her talk, Rodriguez will trace the medical use of female circumcision in the United States as therapy for
adult women who either masturbated or who failed to have an orgasm with their husband. Though seemingly
paradoxical, with one use meant to curb sexual expression, the other to enhance, the use of female circumcision
as therapy for each condition reveals both a medical understanding of the clitoris as an important sexual organ as
well as cultural understanding of what constituted normal sexual expression for women.
Sarah Rodriguez is a lecturer in the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, and a
lecturer in the Global Health Studies, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, at Northwestern University. She is a
medical historian interested in women’s health in the 20th century, in particular women’s reproductive and sexual
health. Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy in the United States: A History of a Medical Treatment, is her first
book.
She will be introduced by Theodore M. Brown, PhD, professor of history and medical humanities, and the Charles
E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor of Public Health and Policy at the University of Rochester.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Reserved parking is available in the Library Lot.
The Neilly Series is supported by the Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Endowment and the River Campus
Libraries at the University of Rochester. The view the full series schedule, click here.
For more information, please call 585-275-4461.
Text Only | Mobile Version
Staff Login | Privacy Statement | Copyright & Fair Use
Copyright © 1998-2019 University of Rochester Libraries. All
Rights Reserved.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Neilly Series
Event
A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Metadata for an event provides descriptive information that is the basis for discovery of the purpose, location, duration, and responsible agents associated with an event. Examples include an exhibition, webcast, conference, workshop, open day, performance, battle, trial, wedding, tea party, conflagration.
Event Type
lecture
Form
Designates the particular physical presentation of an object
--All digitized objects use the term electronic
electronic
Location
Refers the institution or repository that holds the resource
All materials from RBSCP should include the following text:
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rodriguez, Sarah
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-03-05
Description
An account of the resource
<div class="normalFont">
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">From the late nineteenth </span>century through the mid-twentieth century, American physicians treated women and girls for masturbation by removing the clitoris (clitoridectomy) or clitoral hood (female circumcision). During this same time, and continuing to today, physicians also performed female circumcision to enable women to reach orgasm. Though used as treatment, paradoxically, for both a perceived excessive sexuality and a perceived lack of sexual responsiveness, these surgeries reflect a consistent medical conception of the clitoris as a sexual organ. In recent years the popular media and academics have commented on the rising popularity in the United States of female genital cosmetic surgeries, including female circumcision, yet these discussions often assume such procedures are new. In <em><span><a href="http://bit.ly/femalecircumcisionbook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy in the United States: A History of a Medical Treatment</a></span></em>, Sarah Rodriguez, Ph.D., presents an engaging and surprising history of surgeries on the clitoris, revealing how medical views of the female body and female sexuality have changed -- and in some cases not changed -- throughout the last century and a half.</p>
</div>
<div class="normalFont">
<p class="p2">During her talk, Rodriguez traced the medical use of female circumcision in the United States as therapy for adult women who either masturbated or who failed to have an orgasm with their husband. Though seemingly paradoxical, with one use meant to curb sexual expression, the other to enhance, the use of female circumcision as therapy for each condition reveals both a medical understanding of the clitoris as an important sexual organ as well as cultural understanding of what constituted normal sexual expression for women.</p>
<p class="p2">Rodriguez is a lecturer in the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, and a lecturer in the Global Health Studies, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, at Northwestern University. She is a medical historian interested in women’s health in the 20th century, in particular women’s reproductive and sexual health. <em>Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy in the United States: A History of a Medical Treatment</em>, is her first book. </p>
<p class="p1">She was introduced by <a href="http://bit.ly/tedbrown" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><span>Theodore M. Brown</span></a>, Ph.D., professor of history and medical humanities, and the Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor of Public Health and Policy at the University of Rochester.</p>
</div>
Title
A name given to the resource
Sarah Rodriguez: Neilly Series Lecture
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brown, Theodore M.
Relation
A related resource
University Archives (UR-RBSCP)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Neilly Series