‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ author to discuss body image for Assembly Series

Norsigian will also participate in "Women and Stem Cell Research" panel

Judy Norsigian, co-author of the landmark feminist book, Our Bodies, Ourselves, will deliver a lecture titled “The Impact of Media on Women’s Health” for the Washington University Assembly Series at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 2, in Graham Chapel. Norsigian’s lecture is in conjunction with the Kemper Art Museum’s exhibition, “Inside Out Loud: Visualizing Women’s Health in Contemporary Art.”

Judy Norsigian
Judy Norsigian

Norsigian also will participate in a panel discussion on “Women and Stem Cell Research” at 4 p.m. in Whitaker Hall Auditorium. She will be joined by Washington University faculty members Rebecca Dresser, Ph.D., Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law; and from the School of Medicine Susan Lanzendorf, Ph.D., and Kelle Moley, Ph.D., both associate professors of ob & gyn. The program will end at 6 p.m. with a reception.

Our Bodies, Ourselves, a comprehensive book on health care for women first published in 1973, helped spearhead the women’s health movement. Norsigian and her colleagues veered from the perspective of the male-dominated medical establishment and for the first time dealt with health-care issues unique to women and noted how discrimination can affect the health of women and minority groups.

Norsigian began her involvement in women’s health as an employee of the Cambridge Youth Resources Bureau, organizing and leading youth discussion groups on sexuality. Soon afterward, she began working for the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, a commitment that has spanned three decades. The organization’s name was later changed to Our Bodies Ourselves, and Norsigian now serves as its executive director.

Since co-writing Our Bodies, Ourselves, Norsigian has authored and edited numerous other publications on women’s health. She speaks publicly on women’s health and appeared on a number of television and radio shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, National Public Radio, and “NBC Nightly News.”

Additionally, she has served on the boards and councils of numerous organizations and journals that relate to women’s health, including the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, Women and Health, and the National Women’s Health Network.

Graham Chapel is located just north of Mallinckrodt Center (6445 Forsyth Blvd.) on the Washington University Hilltop Campus. All Assembly Series lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, check the Web page at http://assemblyseries.wustl.edu or call (314) 935-4620.