Women's Studies Final Exam

Henrietta Lacks

A 31-year-old black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951 whose cancer cells were harvested without her knowledge. They became the first strain of “immortal” cells wich are still used today

Affordable Care Act (2010)

a healthcare reform law which stated that insurance companies could no longer charge women more than men because they could get pregnant

Tuskeegee Syphilis Study

A clinical study which discovered a cure for Syphilis but did not administer it to their african american male patients so they could observe the diseases progression

Medicalization

the process in which conditions and behaviors are labeled and treated as medical issues, often resulting in profit gains for medical industries

Hysterectomy

the surgical removal of the uterus and sometimes the cervix & ovaries as well. Requires 6-8 weeks of recover time, risks of infection, and insurance only covers if “medically necessary”

Mississippi Appendectomy

In the 1960s and 80s poor african american women were given hysterectomies without their consent during other surgeriesor under misleading circumstances, often to control their reproduction without their knowledge.

Reproductive Justice - according to Loretta Ross

The complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, social, and economic well-being of women and girls, based on the full achievement and protection of women’s human rights. This includes the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, the right to parent children and control birthing options (midwifery)as well as the right to live in safe and supportive communities. Reproductive justice emphasizes the intersection of reproductive health with social justice.

Betty Dodson (1929-2020)

Developed the “Bodysex” method which promoted sex-positivity and spread information about female sexual pleasure (masturabation workshops, essentially)

Gayle Rubin

A sex-positive feminist who wrote an essay (“Thinking Sex” 1984) which was foundational to the fields of LGBTQ studies, sexuality studies, and queer theory