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Immaculate Forms: A History of the Female Body in Four Parts
The turbulent history of women’s bodies, from classical Greece to the modern day
Breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb. Across history, these body parts have told women who they are and what they should do. Although knowledge of each part has changed through time, none of them tells a simple story. The way they work and in some cases even their existence have been debated. They can be seen as powerful or as disgusting, as relevant only to reproduction or as sources of sexual pleasure.
In Immaculate Forms, classicist and historian Helen King explores the symbiotic relationship between religion and medicine and their twinned history of gatekeeping over these key organs that have been used to define “woman,� illustrating how conceptions of women’s bodies have owed more to imagination and myth than to observation and science. Throughout history, the way we understand the body has always been debated, and it is still shaped by human intervention and read according to cultural interpretations.
Astute and engaging, Immaculate Forms is for everyone who has wondered what history has to say about today’s raging debates over the human body and who is “really� female.
Breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb. Across history, these body parts have told women who they are and what they should do. Although knowledge of each part has changed through time, none of them tells a simple story. The way they work and in some cases even their existence have been debated. They can be seen as powerful or as disgusting, as relevant only to reproduction or as sources of sexual pleasure.
In Immaculate Forms, classicist and historian Helen King explores the symbiotic relationship between religion and medicine and their twinned history of gatekeeping over these key organs that have been used to define “woman,� illustrating how conceptions of women’s bodies have owed more to imagination and myth than to observation and science. Throughout history, the way we understand the body has always been debated, and it is still shaped by human intervention and read according to cultural interpretations.
Astute and engaging, Immaculate Forms is for everyone who has wondered what history has to say about today’s raging debates over the human body and who is “really� female.
480 pages, Hardcover
Published January 28, 2025
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4,110 people want to read
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September 2, 2024After having listened to Helen King talk to on Liv's podcast 'Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!' (you can listen here )! I had a lot of thoughts ! I apologize for how long this gets!
As the title of the Conversation goes "Women Are Wet & Spongy" doesn't go into something I've often wondered- if there is scholarship that shows a link/common origin between the wet/hot/moist line of ancient Greek/Roman women's "medicine" and yin/yang and what I've picked up from historical fantasy/cultivation dramas & a "-deficiency" of yin or yang.
Instead it explores the very ancient Greek/Roman "medicine" a history of breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb. What they are now is not what they were then.
I recalled that even the goddess of women and marriage, Hera has a myth where she "regains her virginity":
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 1 :
"In Nauplia [in Argolis] . . . is a spring called Kanathos. Here, say the Argives, Hera bathes every year and recovers her maidenhood. This is one of the sayings�
Obviously Artemis and Athena had their baths interrupted by men and the bad things that happen to men there (transformation into stag, woman and blindness) also - there's Aphrodite emerging from the sea foam of Ouranos' castration.
I did like "the flowers before fruits" and the "menstrual blood likened to sacrificial blood"; Iphigenia/Polyxena distantly make me think of Persephone's rape myth (they thought they were getting married) but also how so many mortals turned to trees/plants/flowers and where they all ended up?- with Persephone.
I did find Pandora's jar as a womb fascinating because so many of the ills that come from the jar are children of the dynasty of gods prior to the Olympians - of Nyx or Eris, also you have this whole myth on how Zeus looks for Gaia's navel with two eagles, why? Because it's Delphi or the omphalos stone, which is also the stone used to make Kronos "give birth" to Zeus' siblings Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades and Hestia. Apollo later takes possession of Delphi and the Pythia sitting on a tripod or the omphalos stone has made me think of birth & snakes & sacrifice (and rebirth) there too.
Artemis and her tie to bears are enchanting aren't they? I adore the idea that because Artemis was goddess of birth she could shape people like a bear licking it's cubs into being; maybe that also has a tie to clothing being given to her by women at first cycle and with childbirth maybe because it would have to do with the Fates/spinning/blood.
I did find and read the text mentioning Brauron:
Suidas s.v. Arktos e Brauroniois (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek lexicon C10th A.D.) :
"Women playing the bear used to celebrate a festival for Artemis [at Brauron] . . . The reason was that a wild she-bear [sacred to Artemis] used to come to the deme of Phlauidoi and spend time there; and she became tamed and was brought up with the humans. Some virgin was playing with her and, when the girl began acting recklessly, the she-bear was provoked and scratched the virgin; her brothers were angered by this and speared the she-bear, and because of this a pestilential sickness fell upon the Athenians. When the Athenians consulted the oracle [the god] said that there would be a release from the evils if, as blood price for the she-bear that died, they compelled their virgins to play the bear."
The line about the brothers spearing the she bear of the virgin goddess sounded like a allusion to sex to me.
Atalanta being brought up by a bear, Callisto turning into a bear, plus the whole aspect of if it was her son Arcas by Zeus (childbirth? Also this son might have been eaten by his grandfather & reborn by Rhea/Demeter similar to Pelops - also where were the Furies there?) and how there's Polyphonte a hunter of Artemis who scorned Aphrodite, so Aphrodite drove her mad and she mated with a bear, later being turned into a small owl ("whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind.")! Which makes me think of 'witches'/Athena.
I didn't know about Nero wanting to see the womb he came out of and cutting up his mother Agrippina the Younger - it make a interesting parallel to her instructing the assassins sent by her son Nero to smite her in the womb. I couldn't help but think of Tiberius when Nero's attempt at pregnancy via tadpole/frog came up and I wonder if that's meant to have been a link at how awful they were by feminizing them/making them foreign/other.
I look forward to future podcast guest appearances from Helen King !
As the title of the Conversation goes "Women Are Wet & Spongy" doesn't go into something I've often wondered- if there is scholarship that shows a link/common origin between the wet/hot/moist line of ancient Greek/Roman women's "medicine" and yin/yang and what I've picked up from historical fantasy/cultivation dramas & a "-deficiency" of yin or yang.
Instead it explores the very ancient Greek/Roman "medicine" a history of breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb. What they are now is not what they were then.
I recalled that even the goddess of women and marriage, Hera has a myth where she "regains her virginity":
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 1 :
"In Nauplia [in Argolis] . . . is a spring called Kanathos. Here, say the Argives, Hera bathes every year and recovers her maidenhood. This is one of the sayings�
Obviously Artemis and Athena had their baths interrupted by men and the bad things that happen to men there (transformation into stag, woman and blindness) also - there's Aphrodite emerging from the sea foam of Ouranos' castration.
I did like "the flowers before fruits" and the "menstrual blood likened to sacrificial blood"; Iphigenia/Polyxena distantly make me think of Persephone's rape myth (they thought they were getting married) but also how so many mortals turned to trees/plants/flowers and where they all ended up?- with Persephone.
I did find Pandora's jar as a womb fascinating because so many of the ills that come from the jar are children of the dynasty of gods prior to the Olympians - of Nyx or Eris, also you have this whole myth on how Zeus looks for Gaia's navel with two eagles, why? Because it's Delphi or the omphalos stone, which is also the stone used to make Kronos "give birth" to Zeus' siblings Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades and Hestia. Apollo later takes possession of Delphi and the Pythia sitting on a tripod or the omphalos stone has made me think of birth & snakes & sacrifice (and rebirth) there too.
Artemis and her tie to bears are enchanting aren't they? I adore the idea that because Artemis was goddess of birth she could shape people like a bear licking it's cubs into being; maybe that also has a tie to clothing being given to her by women at first cycle and with childbirth maybe because it would have to do with the Fates/spinning/blood.
I did find and read the text mentioning Brauron:
Suidas s.v. Arktos e Brauroniois (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek lexicon C10th A.D.) :
"Women playing the bear used to celebrate a festival for Artemis [at Brauron] . . . The reason was that a wild she-bear [sacred to Artemis] used to come to the deme of Phlauidoi and spend time there; and she became tamed and was brought up with the humans. Some virgin was playing with her and, when the girl began acting recklessly, the she-bear was provoked and scratched the virgin; her brothers were angered by this and speared the she-bear, and because of this a pestilential sickness fell upon the Athenians. When the Athenians consulted the oracle [the god] said that there would be a release from the evils if, as blood price for the she-bear that died, they compelled their virgins to play the bear."
The line about the brothers spearing the she bear of the virgin goddess sounded like a allusion to sex to me.
Atalanta being brought up by a bear, Callisto turning into a bear, plus the whole aspect of if it was her son Arcas by Zeus (childbirth? Also this son might have been eaten by his grandfather & reborn by Rhea/Demeter similar to Pelops - also where were the Furies there?) and how there's Polyphonte a hunter of Artemis who scorned Aphrodite, so Aphrodite drove her mad and she mated with a bear, later being turned into a small owl ("whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind.")! Which makes me think of 'witches'/Athena.
I didn't know about Nero wanting to see the womb he came out of and cutting up his mother Agrippina the Younger - it make a interesting parallel to her instructing the assassins sent by her son Nero to smite her in the womb. I couldn't help but think of Tiberius when Nero's attempt at pregnancy via tadpole/frog came up and I wonder if that's meant to have been a link at how awful they were by feminizing them/making them foreign/other.
I look forward to future podcast guest appearances from Helen King !
December 26, 2024
Immaculate Forms is an incredible work and an obvious labor of love. King comes at her "four parts" from a societal and linguistic lens- diving into how society (almost exclusively men in power) viewed these specific areas.
The Breast portion was probably some of my favorite academic writing I have read this year. It was funny, and informative and set the book up with very high expectations. Unfortunately, this is a VERY LONG book, and that momentum started to wane halfway through the clitoris section. While, everything continued to be interesting, I noticed a lack of modern-day knowledge and thought... I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HYMAN IS AFTER READING THIS. Which is a huge oversight in my opinion. She is very aware that past people having different notions of our bodies don't make them "wrong", or "dumb", but I'd like to know what we as modern people know.
For a book that is critical of the cis-male lens, western religion, and western culture- it was pretty much focused on that and could have used some more outside sources. There is also the use of an outdated term for Inuit peoples, I'm unsure if it was in a quotation or not.
Despite these shortcomings, this is still an incredible work that is important historically and honestly taught me a whole lot. King is respectful of gender identities and transgender individuals as well. As an agender reader who just had an ovary taken out, I never felt uncomfortable with her portrayal of our bodies :)
I listened to the audiobook, and narrator Elaine Claxton freaking nailed it. She spoke clearly and knowledgeably. I though the author was reading it for a moment!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review :)
The Breast portion was probably some of my favorite academic writing I have read this year. It was funny, and informative and set the book up with very high expectations. Unfortunately, this is a VERY LONG book, and that momentum started to wane halfway through the clitoris section. While, everything continued to be interesting, I noticed a lack of modern-day knowledge and thought... I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HYMAN IS AFTER READING THIS. Which is a huge oversight in my opinion. She is very aware that past people having different notions of our bodies don't make them "wrong", or "dumb", but I'd like to know what we as modern people know.
For a book that is critical of the cis-male lens, western religion, and western culture- it was pretty much focused on that and could have used some more outside sources. There is also the use of an outdated term for Inuit peoples, I'm unsure if it was in a quotation or not.
Despite these shortcomings, this is still an incredible work that is important historically and honestly taught me a whole lot. King is respectful of gender identities and transgender individuals as well. As an agender reader who just had an ovary taken out, I never felt uncomfortable with her portrayal of our bodies :)
I listened to the audiobook, and narrator Elaine Claxton freaking nailed it. She spoke clearly and knowledgeably. I though the author was reading it for a moment!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review :)
January 29, 2025
Wow, what a book! It would have been very easy for a book on this topic to either slide into smugness about the errors people in previous generations made in thinking about our bodies or a useless essentialism. But King was very alert to these possibilities and was able to avoid them. There's a ton of information in this book, but I found it to be a fascinating read. Each chapter probably could have been a whole book on its own, there's so much to explore. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the topic.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
March 28, 2025
I’m always fascinated to see how history represents women across the ages and immaculate forms did an amazing job representing the four body parts that define women (the breast, clitoris, hymen, and womb) in tracing their history.
I appreciated the inclusivity author Helen King included in her narrative, representing female forms in all shapes and variations from the traditional to transit non-binary representation.
I found this book not only to be very informative, but highly entertaining and something I could easily listen to and be fascinated by.
Narrator Elaine Claxton had a great reading voice and articulated. The information clearly will still being very engaging. This is a great book to you experience through audio.
Overall is very impressed with the book. It’s taken on women and femininity throughout history and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject or expressing themselves as women.
I appreciated the inclusivity author Helen King included in her narrative, representing female forms in all shapes and variations from the traditional to transit non-binary representation.
I found this book not only to be very informative, but highly entertaining and something I could easily listen to and be fascinated by.
Narrator Elaine Claxton had a great reading voice and articulated. The information clearly will still being very engaging. This is a great book to you experience through audio.
Overall is very impressed with the book. It’s taken on women and femininity throughout history and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject or expressing themselves as women.
April 5, 2025
“Menemukan klitoris bukan hanya soal anatomi, tapi juga soal kuasa—tentang siapa yang berhak mendefinisikan kenikmatan, dan siapa yang tidak.”]
Bab ini mengangkat pertanyaan mendasar:
Bagaimana jika bagian tubuh yang mampu memberi perempuan kenikmatan terbesar justru yang paling lama disangkal keberadaannya?
Bab ini menantang cara berpikir kita tentang tubuh dan seksualitas, sekaligus mengajak kita melihat bahwa apa yang tidak dibicarakan sering kali mencerminkan apa yang ingin dikendalikan.
mengontrol tubuh perempuan, sering kali mengabaikan fakta biologis demi menjaga kehormatan keluarga atau struktur sosial.
Ironisnya, dalam beberapa teks medis, selaput dara justru tidak disebut sama sekali. Di titik inilah King menggunakan istilah “disappearing”—karena baik secara medis maupun sosial, ia muncul dan menghilang sesuai dengan kebutuhan naratif zaman.
Politisasi tubuh perempuan terjadi ketika tubuh mereka:
Dijadikan simbol moral dan sosial
Didefinisikan melalui kacamata laki-laki
Dikelola demi menjaga tatanan patriarki
Dihilangkan atau dipelintir dari narasi ilmiah dan historis yang sebenarnya
Berikut adalah rangkuman **Chapter 4: *Existing for the Sake of the Womb*** dari buku *Immaculate Forms* karya Helen King, diterjemahkan ke dalam **bahasa Indonesia**, dengan tetap menjaga kedalaman dan nada analitis dari penulis:
---
### **Chapter 4 � *Ada Demi Rahim***
Bab ini membongkar bagaimana **identitas perempuan secara historis telah direduksi hanya menjadi “wadah� bagi rahim**, dan bagaimana rahim dijadikan pusat dari segala definisi medis, sosial, dan moral tentang perempuan.
Helen King menyoroti bahwa dalam banyak teks medis kuno—termasuk dari Hippocrates, Galen, dan dokter-dokter Eropa abad pertengahan�**perempuan dilihat sebagai makhluk yang tubuhnya “dirancang� hanya untuk reproduksi.** Segala aspek dari tubuh, pikiran, bahkan penyakit perempuan sering kali ditelusuri kembali ke rahim.
> “Perempuan tidak memiliki tubuh. Mereka memiliki rahim, dan tubuh mereka adalah pelengkapnya.�
Konsep **"wandering womb"** (rahim yang mengembara)—yang dipercaya menyebabkan berbagai penyakit mental dan fisik pada perempuan—adalah salah satu contoh bagaimana rahim bukan hanya dilihat sebagai organ biologis, tapi juga **sumber ketidakstabilan dan kelemahan perempuan**.
King juga menunjukkan bahwa pemahaman semacam ini memperkuat ide bahwa **fungsi utama perempuan dalam masyarakat adalah menjadi ibu**, dan jika ia tidak menikah, tidak hamil, atau tidak menyusui, maka keberadaannya dianggap “gagal� atau “tidak lengkap.�
Selain itu, ia mengkritik bagaimana **modernitas pun tidak sepenuhnya lepas dari narasi ini**, dengan praktik medis, sosial, bahkan hukum yang masih menjadikan rahim sebagai titik tolak dalam menilai perempuan.
---
### 🔎 Inti dari bab ini:
- **Tubuh perempuan didefinisikan dari fungsinya untuk orang lain**, bukan untuk dirinya sendiri.
- Rahim dijadikan simbol kuasa dan kendali atas perempuan.
- Perempuan yang tidak “menggunakan� rahimnya (tidak menikah, tidak hamil) dianggap menyimpang atau tidak normal.
---
Bab ini memperkuat pesan buku: bahwa **pengetahuan tentang tubuh perempuan telah lama dibentuk bukan untuk memberdayakan, tapi untuk mengontrol.**
Kalau kamu ingin dilanjutkan ke **Conclusion: Our Bodies, Our Selves, Our History**, tinggal bilang aja ya!
Berikut adalah rangkuman bagian **Conclusion: *Our Bodies, Our Selves, Our History*** dari buku *Immaculate Forms* karya Helen King, diterjemahkan ke dalam **bahasa Indonesia**, dengan tetap menjaga gaya reflektif dan kritis penulis:
---
### **Kesimpulan � Tubuh Kita, Diri Kita, Sejarah Kita**
Dalam penutup ini, Helen King mengajak pembaca untuk melihat kembali bagaimana **sejarah tubuh perempuan telah dibentuk, disusun, dan sering kali disalahartikan**—bukan oleh perempuan itu sendiri, melainkan oleh struktur kuasa yang melingkupinya: medis, agama, budaya, dan hukum.
Ia menegaskan bahwa:
> “Tubuh perempuan selalu menjadi lokasi perdebatan—bukan karena tubuh itu misterius, tetapi karena tubuh itu penting secara politis dan ideologis.�
King menyoroti bagaimana narasi tentang **payudara, klitoris, selaput dara, dan rahim** bukan sekadar wacana biologis. Mereka adalah titik-titik di mana **kontrol, stigma, dan penghapusan perempuan terjadi**—baik dalam buku teks medis maupun dalam praktik sosial sehari-hari.
Namun, King juga memberi ruang harapan. Ia mengajak pembaca untuk **merebut kembali narasi tubuh perempuan**, bukan dengan menolak sejarah, tapi dengan **membaca ulang, mengkritisi, dan menulis ulang dari sudut pandang perempuan sendiri.**
Ia mengakui bahwa banyak hal telah berubah, tapi juga menekankan:
**“Jika kita tidak sadar akan bagaimana sejarah dibentuk, kita berisiko mengulangnya.�**
---
### 🔚 Penutup reflektif:
Kesimpulan ini bukan hanya mengakhiri argumen akademis, tapi juga menyuarakan pesan yang personal dan politis:
> Bahwa **tubuh perempuan bukan milik sejarah, bukan milik sistem, bukan milik laki-laki—melainkan milik perempuan itu sendiri.**
---
Kalau kamu ingin aku bantu membuat **kesimpulan visual** untuk konten edukatif atau versi *quote carousel*, tinggal bilang aja ya!
Bab ini mengangkat pertanyaan mendasar:
Bagaimana jika bagian tubuh yang mampu memberi perempuan kenikmatan terbesar justru yang paling lama disangkal keberadaannya?
Bab ini menantang cara berpikir kita tentang tubuh dan seksualitas, sekaligus mengajak kita melihat bahwa apa yang tidak dibicarakan sering kali mencerminkan apa yang ingin dikendalikan.
mengontrol tubuh perempuan, sering kali mengabaikan fakta biologis demi menjaga kehormatan keluarga atau struktur sosial.
Ironisnya, dalam beberapa teks medis, selaput dara justru tidak disebut sama sekali. Di titik inilah King menggunakan istilah “disappearing”—karena baik secara medis maupun sosial, ia muncul dan menghilang sesuai dengan kebutuhan naratif zaman.
Politisasi tubuh perempuan terjadi ketika tubuh mereka:
Dijadikan simbol moral dan sosial
Didefinisikan melalui kacamata laki-laki
Dikelola demi menjaga tatanan patriarki
Dihilangkan atau dipelintir dari narasi ilmiah dan historis yang sebenarnya
Berikut adalah rangkuman **Chapter 4: *Existing for the Sake of the Womb*** dari buku *Immaculate Forms* karya Helen King, diterjemahkan ke dalam **bahasa Indonesia**, dengan tetap menjaga kedalaman dan nada analitis dari penulis:
---
### **Chapter 4 � *Ada Demi Rahim***
Bab ini membongkar bagaimana **identitas perempuan secara historis telah direduksi hanya menjadi “wadah� bagi rahim**, dan bagaimana rahim dijadikan pusat dari segala definisi medis, sosial, dan moral tentang perempuan.
Helen King menyoroti bahwa dalam banyak teks medis kuno—termasuk dari Hippocrates, Galen, dan dokter-dokter Eropa abad pertengahan�**perempuan dilihat sebagai makhluk yang tubuhnya “dirancang� hanya untuk reproduksi.** Segala aspek dari tubuh, pikiran, bahkan penyakit perempuan sering kali ditelusuri kembali ke rahim.
> “Perempuan tidak memiliki tubuh. Mereka memiliki rahim, dan tubuh mereka adalah pelengkapnya.�
Konsep **"wandering womb"** (rahim yang mengembara)—yang dipercaya menyebabkan berbagai penyakit mental dan fisik pada perempuan—adalah salah satu contoh bagaimana rahim bukan hanya dilihat sebagai organ biologis, tapi juga **sumber ketidakstabilan dan kelemahan perempuan**.
King juga menunjukkan bahwa pemahaman semacam ini memperkuat ide bahwa **fungsi utama perempuan dalam masyarakat adalah menjadi ibu**, dan jika ia tidak menikah, tidak hamil, atau tidak menyusui, maka keberadaannya dianggap “gagal� atau “tidak lengkap.�
Selain itu, ia mengkritik bagaimana **modernitas pun tidak sepenuhnya lepas dari narasi ini**, dengan praktik medis, sosial, bahkan hukum yang masih menjadikan rahim sebagai titik tolak dalam menilai perempuan.
---
### 🔎 Inti dari bab ini:
- **Tubuh perempuan didefinisikan dari fungsinya untuk orang lain**, bukan untuk dirinya sendiri.
- Rahim dijadikan simbol kuasa dan kendali atas perempuan.
- Perempuan yang tidak “menggunakan� rahimnya (tidak menikah, tidak hamil) dianggap menyimpang atau tidak normal.
---
Bab ini memperkuat pesan buku: bahwa **pengetahuan tentang tubuh perempuan telah lama dibentuk bukan untuk memberdayakan, tapi untuk mengontrol.**
Kalau kamu ingin dilanjutkan ke **Conclusion: Our Bodies, Our Selves, Our History**, tinggal bilang aja ya!
Berikut adalah rangkuman bagian **Conclusion: *Our Bodies, Our Selves, Our History*** dari buku *Immaculate Forms* karya Helen King, diterjemahkan ke dalam **bahasa Indonesia**, dengan tetap menjaga gaya reflektif dan kritis penulis:
---
### **Kesimpulan � Tubuh Kita, Diri Kita, Sejarah Kita**
Dalam penutup ini, Helen King mengajak pembaca untuk melihat kembali bagaimana **sejarah tubuh perempuan telah dibentuk, disusun, dan sering kali disalahartikan**—bukan oleh perempuan itu sendiri, melainkan oleh struktur kuasa yang melingkupinya: medis, agama, budaya, dan hukum.
Ia menegaskan bahwa:
> “Tubuh perempuan selalu menjadi lokasi perdebatan—bukan karena tubuh itu misterius, tetapi karena tubuh itu penting secara politis dan ideologis.�
King menyoroti bagaimana narasi tentang **payudara, klitoris, selaput dara, dan rahim** bukan sekadar wacana biologis. Mereka adalah titik-titik di mana **kontrol, stigma, dan penghapusan perempuan terjadi**—baik dalam buku teks medis maupun dalam praktik sosial sehari-hari.
Namun, King juga memberi ruang harapan. Ia mengajak pembaca untuk **merebut kembali narasi tubuh perempuan**, bukan dengan menolak sejarah, tapi dengan **membaca ulang, mengkritisi, dan menulis ulang dari sudut pandang perempuan sendiri.**
Ia mengakui bahwa banyak hal telah berubah, tapi juga menekankan:
**“Jika kita tidak sadar akan bagaimana sejarah dibentuk, kita berisiko mengulangnya.�**
---
### 🔚 Penutup reflektif:
Kesimpulan ini bukan hanya mengakhiri argumen akademis, tapi juga menyuarakan pesan yang personal dan politis:
> Bahwa **tubuh perempuan bukan milik sejarah, bukan milik sistem, bukan milik laki-laki—melainkan milik perempuan itu sendiri.**
---
Kalau kamu ingin aku bantu membuat **kesimpulan visual** untuk konten edukatif atau versi *quote carousel*, tinggal bilang aja ya!
March 9, 2025
There are two main takeaways from this book. The first is that everything we know � and think we know � about our bodies must always be viewed through a cultural and, by extension, a historical lens. The second is that there really is no such thing as a true sex binary, and that any attempts to define one will always come up short.
Both of these points are argued consistently and well across the book. King spends a lot of time looking at classical and early Christian ideas, many of which shaped � and still shape � our understanding of the human body. She also includes approaches from other cultures where appropriate, often striking a delicate balance on some of the more controversial topics discussed.
I really liked the structure of the book, focussing on particular body parts that are associated with womanhood. That being said, I think it would have been better if the order had been reversed; so much of the first three body parts discussed also involved discussion of the womb, so by the time we got to the final section there wasn’t actually all that much more to discuss.
The thing that sticks out the whole way through is that the overwhelming majority of the opinions and research presented were from men. Of course this is the nature of historical records, that white male voices were not only given priority, but often were the only people given access to the tools and resources needed for research in the first place. It still would have been nice if there had been more acknowledgement of that, or more discussion into where the gaps in the research are.
Even so, this was a fascinating and insightful read, and very timely given the current challenges facing both trans people and women’s reproductive healthcare around the world.
I received a free copy for review.
Both of these points are argued consistently and well across the book. King spends a lot of time looking at classical and early Christian ideas, many of which shaped � and still shape � our understanding of the human body. She also includes approaches from other cultures where appropriate, often striking a delicate balance on some of the more controversial topics discussed.
I really liked the structure of the book, focussing on particular body parts that are associated with womanhood. That being said, I think it would have been better if the order had been reversed; so much of the first three body parts discussed also involved discussion of the womb, so by the time we got to the final section there wasn’t actually all that much more to discuss.
The thing that sticks out the whole way through is that the overwhelming majority of the opinions and research presented were from men. Of course this is the nature of historical records, that white male voices were not only given priority, but often were the only people given access to the tools and resources needed for research in the first place. It still would have been nice if there had been more acknowledgement of that, or more discussion into where the gaps in the research are.
Even so, this was a fascinating and insightful read, and very timely given the current challenges facing both trans people and women’s reproductive healthcare around the world.
I received a free copy for review.
December 8, 2024
This is a wonderful history on the various parts of the female body, as constructed by various parties through the ages. What's clear is that a lot of men, many hailing from religious and (pseudo)scientific and (pseudo)medical backgrounds more or less made up what female (and other) bodies are and how how they work.
While king covers some biological matters (as we think we know it now and thought we knew it then), her focus is less about the inner workings of the female body and more about how it was perceived and demarcated by various societies and cultures and mythologies. Yes, there's a lot of sexism. The mysteries of the feminine just always seemed to be less than and/or derived from men ... hmm, funny how that is. I was hoping for more on how these historical notions still guide modern thought, including in the medical and professional spheres. I also found that there was a preponderance of Western and Western-adjacent material. I was pleasantly surprised to have coverage of trans and intersex topics, although the former was clearly out of the author's depth. For instance, at one point, King comments on how there's no need to bind chests to be masculine, coupled alongside a discussion on how all people have breasts and men can even breastfeed under certain conditions. Okay.
The narration was superb. Frankly, I don't know if I would've gotten through this dense text in text form.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advance copy of the audiobook.
While king covers some biological matters (as we think we know it now and thought we knew it then), her focus is less about the inner workings of the female body and more about how it was perceived and demarcated by various societies and cultures and mythologies. Yes, there's a lot of sexism. The mysteries of the feminine just always seemed to be less than and/or derived from men ... hmm, funny how that is. I was hoping for more on how these historical notions still guide modern thought, including in the medical and professional spheres. I also found that there was a preponderance of Western and Western-adjacent material. I was pleasantly surprised to have coverage of trans and intersex topics, although the former was clearly out of the author's depth. For instance, at one point, King comments on how there's no need to bind chests to be masculine, coupled alongside a discussion on how all people have breasts and men can even breastfeed under certain conditions. Okay.
The narration was superb. Frankly, I don't know if I would've gotten through this dense text in text form.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advance copy of the audiobook.
March 6, 2025
Of all the books on the female body (Angier, Hazard, Bohannon) I liked this one the most. The author tells us how the female body was viewed in history, with an emphasis on Greek and Roman interpretations. Being an expert in ancient medical texts, King points out many errors seeping through in even recent treatises, on the ancient perceptions of the human body. For example, Figure 27 in Vesalius' book 7 is not a penis but a vagina and a womb, displayed to prove that the subject was not pregnant, although she pleaded so to evade execution. Hippocrates never described clitoridectomy, only the removal of a genital wart. And so on. I really liked these stories. It is a pity, however, that the book is only about four organs of the female body (of which two are actually not exclusively female), while there are so many parts to discuss (femur, pelvis, heart, thorax, clavicle, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex) when it comes to the immaculate forms of the female body that are different from men's.
March 16, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
A very cool sociological/medical look at the history of women's bodies. Truly wild to see how much of our current and past understandings come entirely from men. I really appreciated that this author took the time to dissect the idea of the gender binary and how it just isn't substantiated by medicine. I also very much enjoyed the narration of the audiobook!
A very cool sociological/medical look at the history of women's bodies. Truly wild to see how much of our current and past understandings come entirely from men. I really appreciated that this author took the time to dissect the idea of the gender binary and how it just isn't substantiated by medicine. I also very much enjoyed the narration of the audiobook!
February 4, 2025
"The key Bible verse - 'So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them' ... may not be as binary as some think, as it uses 'and' rather than 'or'. As with day and night, mediated by dawn and dusk, here the binary does not rule out other possibilities". I read thus far and no further. You may think differently.
March 7, 2025
I really enjoyed this book, it has a lot of different views on things and drew me in! I recommend you read this if you have views on the female body.
January 25, 2025
A very well written piece of work. It went way more into depth than I thought it would. I liked having the book divided into four parts: breast, clitoris, hymen, womb. The author has done extensive research and the historical aspects were very interesting. It was a bit too in depth for my general personal reading and interest, although I found it interesting. It would a great reader for a feminist course focusing on the body or a medical sociology class.
April 24, 2025
Book of the year 2024 to me, honestly. You'd think reading one book from the genre "history of women patients and female doctors" would have taught me every fucked up thing there is to know about it, but you do wonder how many more vile treatments women have been subjected to in the past now that, thanks to Helen King, I discovered I had only breached the surface of medical malpractice. Similarly to Elinor Cleghorn's , Immaculate Forms is a never-ending well of medical anecdotes (in the broader sense, since few of them are funny) to tell my healthcare coworkers on the job and hopefully teach them a lesson. Besides the enjoyable writing, this book boasts an
astonishingly gorgeous cover and title that I don't get tired of gazing at. Bravo!
***I received a digital copy from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.***
astonishingly gorgeous cover and title that I don't get tired of gazing at. Bravo!
***I received a digital copy from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.***
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