美国国家公共电台 NPR Feminist Health Guide 'Our Bodies, Ourselves' Will Stop Publishing

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

At some point somewhere, you or a woman you know has likely looked through a copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves." The book was revolutionary when it was first published in the early 1970s. It taught women about their own reproductive systems at a time when talking frankly¹ about sex was considered unladylike. Now "Our Bodies, Ourselves" has announced it's ceasing publication. NPR's Neda Ulaby tells us why.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE²: You could have seen this coming. After all, we're talking about a book and a tiny not-for-profit devoted³ to women's health.

JULIE CHILDERS: We've never had a big budget.

ULABY: Julie Childers is the executive director of Our Bodies Ourselves.

CHILDERS: It became harder and harder to make ends meet, harder and harder to ask staff to do the work that was required to publish this amazing book.

ULABY: The book sprang from consciousness-raising courses held by feminists⁴ in Boston about then-taboo topics like masturbation and birth control, which, at the time, was illegal for unmarried women in Massachusetts.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRY")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I remember that after the first session...

ULABY: The original members of the Boston Women's Health Collective in a documentary called "She's Beautiful When She's Angry."

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRY")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Then we said this is going to become a book. We each took the subject that most involved us personally.

ULABY: Those topics became chapters on nutrition, pregnancy⁵, menopause, sexual identity. Verna Brocks (ph) ran across a copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" at a Detroit hospital in the 1970s.

VERNA BROCKS: At that time, I worked for General Motors - clerical person.

ULABY: She took a copy with her to work. And at lunchtime, she says, she and her female co-workers would pore over the book and talk about what they learned.

BROCKS: I can't believe I just learned about this, and here I am already with children. The make-up of the woman's body - you know, those things that your mother forgot to tell you.

ULABY: Or that maybe your mother didn't know. Brock said before she read "Our Bodies, Ourselves," she never knew she could ask a doctor questions.

BROCKS: But with the book in hand, I mean, that book was a godsend.

ULABY: One of the founders⁶ of Our Bodies Ourselves told me that women have thanked her over the years for explaining the signs of an ectopic pregnancy, which can kill you if not properly diagnosed. But women's well-being⁷ in "Our Bodies, Ourselves" is broadly defined. Jessica Halem got a copy in the 1980s from her mother.

JESSICA HALEM: So it's, like, one of those books where you literally⁸ leaf through it and discover things about yourself you didn't even know.

ULABY: Like what?

HALEM: Like the clitoris.

ULABY: Halem took her copy to college and passed it around until it fell apart. Now she advises students at Harvard Medical School. There's nothing else, she says, like "Our Bodies, Ourselves'" friendly, authoritative⁹ tone that mixes real anecdotes¹⁰ with professionally vetted¹¹ facts. The book has sold more than 4 million copies, been updated eight times and translated into 31 languages from Polish...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Speaking Polish).

ULABY: ...To Vietnamese.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Speaking Vietnamese).

ULABY: And maybe now is the time to stop, says Dr. Paula Johnson.

PAULA JOHNSON: I applaud them.

ULABY: Johnson's the president of Wellesley College in Massachusetts and an advisor¹² for Our Bodies Ourselves. She says the organization plans to scale down and collaborate¹³ more with other groups.

JOHNSON: They have had an enormous impact. And they have made an active decision not to replicate¹⁴ but to refocus their work.

ULABY: Before the internet, "Our Bodies, Ourselves" was someplace to find out information that was not then common knowledge. Now it's easy to find trustworthy websites that teach about women's health, reproductive options and sexual identity. And that, says Johnson, is "Our Bodies, Ourselves'" direct legacy¹⁵. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

1 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 feminists   

n.男女平等主义者，女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中，只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
• The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句

5 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

10 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

12 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

13 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

14 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

15 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。