Renate Klein

Disempowering midlife women: The science and politics of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)*

Synopsis Mid-life women are increasingly pressured to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the rest of their lives. Praised as the “cure-all” for anything from decreased (hetero) sexual interest and wrinkles to heart attacks and osteoporosis, the triumvirate of medical scientists, the drug industry, and the media has created a veritable Menopause Industry ( Coney, 1993 ), intending to turn the millions of women from the “baby boomer” generation who are now coming of age, into “patients” for life. In this article we challenge the notion that menopause is a disease. We discuss the claims made for HRT, including a brief historical overview, and juxtapose them with womens own experiences from our Australian study into the science and politics of HRT. In so doing, we expose the negative side of HRT use, ranging from heavy bleeding, irritability, and depression to weight gain, hypertension, and breast-related complications. We also expose the fallacies of claims made for the prevention of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease and warn of the possibility that HRT has the potential to cause drug addiction. We end with a call to women internationally to resist yet another form of medicalisation that, due to its many medical and psychological hazards, has the potential to disempower midlife women. Last, we suggest that not drugs, but a positive attitude to old age is needed, so that women can age “gloriously” ( Scutt, 1993 ).

The dynamics of the women's studies classroom: A review essay of the teaching practice of women's studies in higher education

Abstract Despite the fact that Womens Studies (WS) calls itself ‘an educational movement for change’, until recently, there has been a remarkable dearth of reflective writings on the theories and practices of the WS classroom dynamics. In this brief overview I first provide some suggestions as to why this gap exists in the literature on WS and then introduce some ‘themes’ that surface frequently in the existing articles on WS ‘gynagogy’, e.g. consciousness raising; interactive learning and teaching; being ‘other’ in the classroom; power and the hidden curriculum. Next I summarise a unique article on feminist values as guidelines for the WS teaching practice and two models on the dynamics of the WS classroom. I end this overview with the idea of ‘passionate teaching’ and suggest that in order to remain true to its origins in the Womens Liberation Movement, which is to empower women intellectually, personally and politically, WS needs to develop a body of both practical and theorectical knowledge on the dynamics of the learning climate in WS classrooms.

The ‘men-problem’ in women's studies: The expert, the ignoramus and the poor dear

Abstract That men in Womens Studies (WS) are a problem because they divide women and usurp power in an environment that was created by and for women is the thesis of this paper which is concerned with womens reactions to men intruding on our ‘onlywomen’ space and time. After describing various styles in which men in WS display themselves — as the ‘expert’, the ‘ignoramus’ and the ‘poor dear’ — I look at womens responses and contend that many women provide the ‘bearded feminist’ type of man with a lot of attention, service and support — to the detriment of their women-to-women interactions. The paper argues strongly for ‘men-free’ women-centered, autonomous WS where women have the opportunity to legitimately pursue our analyses of the multi-facetted manifestations of a patriarchal world and develop theories, methodologies and strategies for action towards ending womens oppression. I suggest that at the center of WS should be the intention to work together with other women towards a future in which men are no longer the measure and in control, but that instead women and men live their lives as responsible creative and self-determining human beings.

Passion and politics in women's studies in the nineties☆

Abstract This article first summarizes the origins and aims of Womens Studies—its “Idea Power” — which led to the impressive worldwide expansion of Womens Studies in the last twenty years as the educational arm of the Womens Liberation Movement. Then it discusses the “Woman Power” in Womens Studies and its promise of diversity followed by its subject matter, which is equally diverse and is conceptualized from revisionary to visionary and revisionary/visionary standpoints. Next are mentioned some obstacles to feminist vision and sisterhood, such as the libertarian ideology informing the theory and praxis of Gender Studies and post-structuralist discourse/deconstructionist epistemology. I contend that whilst there is much cause for celebrating the achievements of Womens Studies, there is also cause for concern with this latest resurgence of fragmented and disconnected theory, which mirrors similar developments in reproductive and genetic engineering. The article ends with some strategies of how Womens Studies might avoid colluding with compartmentalized frameworks and move “passionately forward” into the nineties and beyond.

Hormonal cocktails: Women as test-sites for fertility drugs women as test-sites for fertility drugs

Synopsis Clomiphene citrate is a drug that has been given to women for conventional fertility treatment for over 20 years. It is also now being administered—often in connection with other hormone-like drugs—to an increasing number of women in IVF programmes-(many of whom are fertile), in order to stimulate egg cell growth. Clomiphene citrate is handed out as if it were a “safe drug.” This paper analyses some of the medical and scientific literature on the drug including its effect on the women themselves and the children born after such treatment. It also incorporates our research with women who have used the drug. What surfaces is a disturbing array of health hazards ranging from depression, nausea, and weight gain, to burst ovaries, adhesions, and the promotion of cancer leading to death in some women, worrying rates of birth anomalies in the children and severe chromosomal aberrations in egg cell development. Of great concern is the evidence that the drug may stay in a womans body for at least six weeks. Since clomiphene citrate has a chemical structure similar to DES there may be as yet unknown long-term adverse effects similar to those from DES. Given the fact that all these “side-effects” have stirred considerable debate in the medical and scientific literature, we are shocked to learn that (a) the women taking the drug are not informed of its possible detrimental effects; and (b) that researchers continue to state, contrary to scientific evidence, that the drug has no side effects. We posit that the potential risks from the drug are too great to administer it to any women and demand the development of a different science that places values on womens lives instead of using them as “living test-sites.”

Women as body parts in the era of reproductive and genetic engineering

Reproductive and genetic engineering are presented by their promoters as miracle cures for people with infertility problems or who are at genetic risk in having their desired healthy child. Focusing on the test-tube baby method (in vitro fertilization), in this article I investigate the medical reality of these technologies and their impact on womens lives as individuals and as members of a social group, women. Specifically, I discuss these developments in a global context and suggest that, in connection with fertility-control methods, they could be used as the ultimate means of population control. I contend that reproductive and genetic engineering dismember, fragment, and dissect women into their body parts and that, in the interests of women with a right to bodily integrity and dignity, they need to be stopped.

A brief overview of the development of women's studies in the UK

Abstract This paper provides a brief overview of Womens Studies (WS) in the UK, drawing attention to its greatest expansion in adult education and, in general, non-degree granting areas of education. It further argues that this impressive diversity, at present, contributes to the invisibility of WS in the UK but that, potentially, the foundation of a National Womens Studies Association could make both the women who do WS, and WS itself, visible and powerful.