Books by Alma Gottlieb
Blood Magic: The Anthropology of Menstruation
Thomas Buckley & Alma Gottlieb (editors)
“It’s a cultural anthropology of menstruation. It’s one of the first books that said, ‘Instead of universalizing the idea that all humans have menstrual stigma, let’s actually take a closer look at all of these different groups.’ Actually, menstrual stigma is the exception, not the rule. All these practices that we’ve assumed were stigmatizing, like various types of menstrual seclusion practices, are actually more about ‘this is allowing us to concentrate our power’ or ‘this is giving us a break from domestic labor’ or ‘this is allowing us to go hang out with friends.’ Our Western narration told the wrong story, and this was the first collection that really pushed against that. It’s a really powerful book and it’s recognized as a classic among people who do critical menstrual studies. But outside of that, I think it’s an under-recognized collection. People don’t realize what a big deal it was that Buckley and Gottlieb had this thought, wrote an amazing introduction, and put together all these readings.” Read more...
The best books on Menstruation
Kate Clancy, Anthropologist
The Afterlife is Where We Come From
by Alma Gottlieb
This book is a beautiful and moving account of the relationships between the mothers and children in this community and how close they are, even when childhood is endangered.
Interviews where books by Alma Gottlieb were recommended
The best books on Children and their Minds, recommended by Alison Gopnik
Author and psychology professor, Alison Gopnik, tells us what’s going on in children’s minds – and that it’s a lot more than we may think
The best books on Understanding Infants, recommended by Tobias Hecht
The anthropologist explains how infants are socially aware and why behaviour thought inevitable in some cultures, such as tantrums, can be uncommon elsewhere
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The Managed Body: Developing Girls and Menstrual Health in the Global South
by Chris Bobel -
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Blood Magic: The Anthropology of Menstruation
Thomas Buckley & Alma Gottlieb (editors) -
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Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)Ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction
by Sami Schalk -
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Pollution is Colonialism
by Max Liboiron -
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Dangerous Pregnancies: Mothers, Disabilities, and Abortion in Modern America
by Leslie Reagan
The best books on Menstruation, recommended by Kate Clancy
The best books on Menstruation, recommended by Kate Clancy
Menstruation is a natural process that will happen some 400 times in a woman’s life, and yet it still causes embarrassment. Biological anthropologist Kate Clancy, author of Period: The Real Story of Menstruation, recommends books that shed light not only on periods, but on how to make the world a better place.