Immaculate Forms

“King’s thoughtful tome [addresses] how difficult it has been for women, having historically always been perceived as mysteries to themselves and to those who would seek to know them… King addresses how women have been defined, and how their bodies by their very existence resist those definitions.”

“An impressively widely read study of four parts of the female anatomy often (and sometimes incorrectly) considered to be uniquely female, and the way our conception of them has changed throughout history, from medical treatises to agony aunt columns. It is lightened along the way with illuminating trivia – Mary Wollstonecraft breastfed puppies on her deathbed – and King’s gentle wit.”

“King’s book is chock-full of wonderful, strange, and amazing stories.”

“By denaturalizing our own unexamined beliefs about bodies, King renders our own bodies unfamiliar, revealing them to be, at least in part, chimerical. Her assertion works like a magic trick, or a turn in a poem that recontextualizes everything that precedes it. …King contends that understanding the changing nature of historical ideas about bodies, gender, and sex presents us with opportunities to challenge and expand our own.”

“A comprehensive and detailed historical account of the way in which four different parts of women’s bodies – breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb – have been viewed, interpreted, and treated by society, medicine, and the Church, mainly by men… impressive research.”

“With erudition and cool wit, Helen King anatomises three millennia of Western commentary from doctors, teachers, and theologians about the female body. Males have tended to do most of the talking; now readers across the gender spectrum can find surprises and illuminations in this entertainingly comprehensive survey of what past generations knew, thought they knew, and often got wildly wrong.”

“In Immaculate Forms, King expertly weaves science, history, and culture to illuminate history and educate about the most misunderstood parts of our bodies. There is no better guide to trace the history of what we know and to make it relevant for us today. Never has medical history been more entertaining! Impeccably researched, thoroughly enjoyable, and filled with moments of surprise, this book will astound. Immaculate Forms is not just essential reading for those interested in science; it should be read by anyone interested in understanding how disinformation about women’s bodies comes to be, and how it can be exploited.”

“Delightful, timely, and critical. If cognitive science has taught us anything, it’s that our imagination of the future is built from our memories of the past. King is here to give us some better material to build with. The history of women’s bodies isn’t nearly what you think it is, nor the history of ‘womanhood’ itself.”

“Immaculate Forms is also a work of immaculate writing. With unrivalled expertise and a wealth of classical and contemporary detail, the author weaves historical knowledge of medicine, anatomy, literature, art, and religion into a narrative that surprises, informs, excites, and frequently amuses. Essential reading for busting prejudice and myth about women and their bodies.”