our bodies of knowledge
"Our Bodies, Ourselves" co-author to speak at A Women's Gathering
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Nantucket women of all ages and in all stages of their lives will have a unique opportunity to hear Judy Norsigian, a veteran of women's health initiatives, speak during the fourth annual A Women's Gathering on Friday, March 28. Norsigian is co-author of the classic 1973 guidebook, "Our Bodies, Ourselves," and co-founder and executive director of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective.

Celebrating National Women's History Month, the event this year is a collaboration, including co-sponsorship by A Safe Place, the Nantucket Atheneum and The Nantucket Independent, explained Gennifer Costanzo, who founded AWomen's Gathering.

"I began it to recognize National Women's History Month and the many dynamic women who live on Nantucket," she said. "We chose Judy this year because we wanted someone with a great deal of knowledge and experience with women's health and issues. To me, that organization (the collective) is a pioneer. They started so many great organizations in the 1970s. It is a nonprofit that has started so many programs and does not accept money from pharmaceutical companies, so their vision is very clear."

The event will be held upstairs at Sherburne Hall, also home of Preservation Institute: Nantucket, and begins at 6 p.m. with wine and appetizers followed by Norsigian's presentation called "Our Bodies of Knowledge." There will be a question and answer period after the talk. The hall will be decorated with works by island women artists, and representatives from nonprofit organizations will provide information on women's health topics and homeopathic practices, said Costanzo, who will be assisted by Sandy Walsh and others. In addition, copies of the three distinct published versions of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" will be available for purchase.

The original A Women's Gathering was coordinated with Walsh at thespace and comprised an evening of island women speaking on a variety of topics. The second event was held at The Egan Institute of Maritime Studies (now the Egan Maritime Foundation) with Dr. Cynthia Geiyer from Canyon Ranch wellness center as the featured guest. The third year the program was coordinated with the Atheneum presenting two women speakers and a profile of the book, "Why I'm Still Married."

Judy Norsigian, co-author of the now classic women's health resource book "Our Bodies, Ourselves," will speak at a special event on March 28. Pictured at top and bottom are the original and updated editions of the book which will be on sale at the presentation.

Norsigian explained that the forerunner to "Our Bodies, Ourselves" was called "Women and Their Bodies," a stapled booklet published in 1970 by the New England Free Press. The concept for the publication derived from ideas developed between a dozen women attending a women's liberation conference in 1969 at Boston's Emmanuel College. In 1971 the title was changed to "Our Bodies, Ourselves," republished by the Free Press and became a huge success.

In 1972 the Boston Women's Health Book Collective was incorporated (doing business as Our Bodies, Ourselves since 2001), and in 1973 the first commercial version of the book was published by Simon & Schuster. Continuing the timeline, the book was updated over the years and translated to foreign languages and in Braille. In 2006 a second edition called "Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause" was released. This month the latest book, "Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth" was published. Norsigian said the contents are decided among the collective's members, noting that the 2005 version of the original book included international input from approximately 400 people.

At the Women's Gathering will be artwork by women of Nantucket that represent the female form. This painting, by Gabriela Maira Marchesse, depicts a woman of wisdom comforting and teaching a younger one, the mother, and both taking this innocence to guide and protect the child. The theme of National Women's History month this year is "Women's Art, Women's Vision."

As devoted an advocate for women's overall wellbeing today as she was 40 years ago, Norsigian offers this advice: "Be well informed, incorporate the best available information, avoid the hype that emphasizes a drug you may not need and only have surgery when you need to. There isn't any single message that is more encompassing than to talk to as many people as you can about your medical health care and care other than medical issues. You want to make sure you have a support network you can turn to. There is a point when we all need this."

Norsigian, a Newton resident, is a founder and board member of Boston's Community Works raising funds for social change organizations. She was a board member of the National Women's Health Network for 14 years and is currently on the board of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research.

The suggested donation for the event Friday, March 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. is $25. For more information call the Atheneum at 228-1110, ext. 118, or Gennifer Costanzo at 228-1654, ext. 103.