The Modern Period by Lara Freidenfelds
This accessible study sheds new light on the history of popular modernity, the rise of the middle class, and the relationship of these phenomena to how Americans have cared for and managed their bodies.
Freidenfelds argues that innovations in menstrual management would not have been possible without the expansion of middle-class values and lifestyle expectations.. Recommended especially for readers in gender studies. Library Journal 2009 None who read this will fail to appreciate the sheer power of suggestion that marketing creates... Today's 'modern' women are more open about getting their periods, but for the less comfortable among us, the bold-faced title, The Modern Period, suggests a history book and thus lends itself to being read comfortably in public places with nary an old-fashioned blush. Internet Review of Books 2009 This is the best cultural history of menstruation of twentieth-century America. Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health An informative and intellectually dense treatise... incorporating resources from feminist theory, history of science, anthropology, and medicine. Women's Review of Books 2010 The Modern Period is a good overview that combines the major themes raised by other secondary sources with original archival and interview research. It is well written and accessible to those new to the subject. It would be suitable for both undergraduate and graduate courses in medical history and gender studies. Journal of American History The Modern Period provides a rich picture of the changing public aspects of menstruation, by mining traditional historical sources such as the medical advice literature and advertisements for Kotex and Tampax. Freidenfelds goes further, however, and lets us in on the private aspects, on the discussions between mothers and daughters, boyfriends and girlfriends, and husbands and wives... Freidenfelds' deft use of these stories augments her solid social history with the seductive lure of eavesdropping. Endeavour 2010 This book adds rich, varied, and interesting dimensions to what we knew about this important subject, and it should become required reading for anyone interested in the health of twentieth-century women. -- Judith Walzer Leavitt Journal of Social History 2010 A thorough and engaging history of menstruation... Her title, The Modern Period, is more than a succinct description; it cleverly references her discussion throughout of how advancing Progressive values shaped beliefs and practices surrounding menstruation. The diversity of age and ethnicity among Freidenfelds' interview participants is particularly striking and significant. Social History of Medicine 2010
Lara Freidenfelds is a visiting lecturer in Women's Studies at Wellesley College.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780801892455 |
| ISBN 10 | 0801892457 |
| Title | The Modern Period |
| Author | Lara Freidenfelds |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Johns Hopkins University Press |
| Year published | 2009-08-10 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Prizes | Winner of PCA/ACA Emily Toth Award for the Best Single Work in Women's Studies 2010 (United States) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |