When I was a teenager, most of my health information came from Dolly Doctor. Pretty sure it was the same for my friends. Occasionally, someone would access a copy of Cosmo from an older sister or their mother – Cosmo had a ‘sealed section’ that was full of the details that Dolly Doctor only hinted at. I mention this because girls and women have talked about their health for an eternity; the sources of information are varied (in accuracy and reliability); and there’s lots of myths that persist well beyond what seems sensible (who hasn’t heard the story about the washcloth, glitter and a visit to the gynecologist?).

Kaz Cooke examines centuries of ‘bad and bonkers’ advice to women in You’re Doing it Wrong. The book begins with health and relationship advice, and moves on to how to manage housework, how to dress, and how to behave (essentially, ‘be pretty and be quiet’). As Cooke describes, each sub-heading in the book is a lie that woman have been told, and those alone are enough to horrify – Continue reading →