Secrets of Women

By Katherine Park,

Book cover of Secrets of Women: Gender, Generation, and the Origins of Human Dissection

Book description

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, medical writers and philosophers began to devote increasing attention to what they called “women’s secrets,” by which they meant female sexuality and generation. At the same time, Italian physicians and surgeons began to open human bodies in order to study their functions and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Secrets of Women as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

In spite of the impressive intellectual and scientific achievements of the Renaissance era, doctors and anatomists still had a very limited understanding of “women’s secrets,” that is, how the female body functioned. This era saw an increasing number of human dissections for medical study, but the vast majority of medical specimens were male, leading to an imbalance of knowledge.

In this captivating book, Park focuses on dissections of female bodies and the development of knowledge about the titular “secrets of women.” By expanding her study beyond university dissections to include those done in religious and domestic settings, she finds not…

From Celeste's list on Renaissance Italy.

Want books like Secrets of Women?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Secrets of Women.

Browse books like Secrets of Women

Book cover of The Renaissance in Italy: A Social and Cultural History of the Rinascimento
Book cover of Mad Blood Stirring: Vendetta and Factions in Friuli During the Renaissance
Book cover of Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,188

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in health, the Middle Ages, and Italy?

Health 119 books
The Middle Ages 431 books
Italy 410 books