Our Bodies Ourselves

09/26/2026

Since 2007, World Contraception Day has called attention to our s*xual and reproductive health rights -- raising awareness, ending stigma, and advocating for contraceptive equity and access for everyone.

Check out the contraception resources on the Our Bodies Ourselves website, including a video on reproductive autonomy with Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a downloadable poster about contraceptive choices, an interactive world map of birth control access, and a collection of personal stories about why we use birth control and what happens when we cannot afford it.

09/23/2026

“Invisibility is a problem. Few people know we exist, because we don’t ‘fit’ into either the heteros*xual or the le***an world. When we are open both worlds judge us. . . . [But] as more women feel comfortable and safe in being open about bis*xuality, we will create more of a community for ourselves, and we will further challenge both heteros*xual and le***an assumptions about who and how women can love." ~ Our Bodies, Ourselves (1984)

Our Bodies Ourselves has been advocating for bi-visibility since the 1970s. We honor the leaders like Lani Ka'ahumanu who put the Bi in LGBTQ activism. And we see all the work still left to do. Bis*xual women today face higher rates of violence than both heteros*xual and le***an women. Bi-erasure remains a problem, as does hypers*xualization. Media continues to stereotype bis*xual people as wanting to have s*x with "anything that moves." (That's why the Bay Area Bis*xual Network called their q***r activist magazine "Anything That Moves," helping to launch a bi pride movement back in the 1990s.)

OBOS stands against bi-phobia in all its forms. We affirm the need for greater bi-awareness, to make a world in which all of us thrive as our full selves. 🩷💜💙

*xuality *xualAwarenessWeek

09/15/2026

Our Bodies Ourselves is proud to have a diverse team of content experts that help us provide a wide range of inclusive resources. In honor of , we want to highlight our Latine, Latina, Latinx, and Hispanic content experts and staff.

Thank you to Jacqueline Arellano, Rosa Beltré, Sofia Elkin Bercerra, Donna Castelblanco, Yamnia Cortés, Eiko La Boria, Bianca Laureano, Aida Manduley, Laura Prieto, Marta Pagán-Ortiz, Nyk Rayne, Elena Rivera, Emmeline Rodriguez, Valeria Serrano, and Dior Vargas for your continued work on the OBOS team!

09/14/2026

The Wait Is Over!
We are excited to announce that "Introducing the Femscope: Giving the Speculum a Makeover" has a new rescheduled date!

Join us for an Our Bodies Ourselves webinar exploring The Femscope Calm Collect Device, an award-winning new alternative to the speculum. Drs. Behnke and Filter, both nursing faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint, will introduce the Femscope and share the exciting story behind developing the device.

🗓️ October 6th
⏰ 5:30pm-7pm ET

Please register below to RSVP and receive your zoom link, even if you registered before.
https://ourbodiesourselves.org/events/developing-the-femscope

09/07/2026

We are saying sad farewells to another fierce feminist: poet, artist, editor, and activist Robin Morgan. A key figure in radical feminism, Morgan helped to found many important feminist organizations, including the Women's Media Center with Gloria Steinem. We are grateful for her support of the work of Our Bodies Ourselves through the years. She published the iconic "Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement" in 1970, the very same year that the Boston Women's Health Book Collective first wrote "Our Bodies, Ourselves." The enduring feminist logo of a clenched fist within the woman symbol was her creation.

In December 2022, Robin Morgan invited Our Bodies Ourselves on the podcast, Women's Media Center Live, to talk about our online transformation and rebirth. She interviewed executive director Amy Agigian and three members of the OBOS Board of Directors: Judy Norsigian, Diana Namumbejja Abwoye, and Marta Pagán-Ortiz. During the conversation, Morgan shared her own memories and feelings about OBOS as a "great feminist classic":

"How I remember hungrily devouring the trustable knowledge in those pages of the original edition. After all, carefully fostered ignorance about our own bodies was appalling, we knew that much. Even our own gynecologists gave evasive answers back then... We knew OBOS had answers that would be sane, sensible, pro-woman, approachable, trustable, and in plain non-medicalese language we could actually understand... OBOS was the go-to place to find your cl****is, frankly! We didn't know anything... Women were particularly in the dark about our own bodies, and here was this bible."

https://ourbodiesourselves.org/media-coverage/wmc-obos-interview

Rest in power, Robin Morgan. We will remember you and keep making the change that the world still needs.

09/05/2026

PCOS Awareness Month is now PMOS Awareness Month!

The condition formerly known as Polycystic O***y Syndrome (PCOS) was recently renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS). This change is not just cosmetic. It recognizes the condition as a whole-body syndrome, rather than focusing on ovarian cysts as its distinct marker.

Calling this condition "Polycystic O***y Syndrome" has caused confusion and misunderstanding, contributing to inadequate care. Making "cyst" so prominent in the name of the condition is misleading. Many people with PMOS do not have ovarian cysts, while many people with ovarian cysts do not have PMOS. People with PMOS often suffer from irregular periods and high androgen levels, instead of or in addition to ovarian cysts. PMOS is also linked to other metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and unexplained weight gain.

Changing the name of the condition from PCOS to PMOS is a positive step toward improving both diagnosis and patient-provider communication.

Check out our updated resources and help spread the word about PMOS!
https://ourbodiesourselves.org/tags/pmos

09/04/2026

Happy World Sexual Health Day, every body! Celebrate with us by adding your square to the "Our Bodies, Our Quilt" project!

The current phase of Our Bodies Our Quilt is a collaboration between Our Bodies Ourselves and UN|HUSHED, taking on the World Sexual Health Day theme, EVERY BODY. We made some squares at our in-person event last week and welcome more submissions by mail up through December 1. Your square might express your responses to these questions:

- What is it like living in your body?

- How does your body move through the world?

- What would it look like for every body to have s*xual health, rights, justice, and pleasure?

Your quilt square can reflect a personal experience, give voice to feelings and values, or issue a call to action. Of course, we welcome designs that note the place that Our Bodies Ourselves may have played in your journey.

Instructions and more info on the project are on our website, along with a growing digital version of the quilt!

https://ourbodiesourselves.org/our-bodies-our-quilt

09/03/2026

Gloria Steinem lit the way. She served on the Our Bodies Ourselves Advisory Board and was a generous supporter to OBOS in many other ways. We are thankful for her consequential feminist life, including her staunch support for health justice around the world.

Steinem wrote a passionate, personal preface for the 25th anniversary edition of "Our Bodies, Ourselves." She reflected on how, before the Boston Women's Health Book Collective published OBOS in 1970, she accepted the status quo. Even with the privilege of whiteness and education and middle class status, she saw meager resources, "ignorance, humiliation, and lack of empathy" simply as "the price for being female" while seeking healthcare. "I assumed that my body needed attention only when it didn't work."

And then she stopped believing that s*xism was inevitable.

"Much has changed in this past quarter century of a forceful and populist women's health movement," Steinem attested in that 1996 preface. "Though there are still unacceptable differentials by race, class, age, s*xuality, and ability... we now know that we can topple hierarchies by starting with our bodies... Whether we are insisting on good nutrition when we are pregnant or safe abortions when we choose not to be pregnant, whether we're exposing male violence as a major health danger or exposing household chemicals as carcinogens, whether we're exercising our s*xual rights or using our health consumer rights, we are taking control of our own bodies--and freedom... Trusting, comparing, and compiling our own experience IS the revolutionary act taught to us by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective--as it is by feminism in all areas of life."

Rest in power, Gloria Steinem. And long live that revolution.

https://ourbodiesourselves.org/the-latest/gloria-steinem

09/03/2026

We woke up to the sad news of that feminist powerhouse Gloria Steinem has died.

We're grateful for Gloria's staunch support for Our Bodies Ourselves. She stood in solidarity with us many times, reflecting publicly on how much we mattered to feminism and to herself personally. "OBOS taught me that women are the owners of our own bodies," she proudly proclaimed.

Steinem's foundation shared how Gloria loved the tradition of lighting signal fires on hills to light the way to the other side of the mountain. Join us as we keep lighting the signal fires, helping one another find the path to a world where we can all thrive, free of oppression.

09/02/2026

We are remembering beloved Our Bodies Ourselves co-founder Esther Rome on her birthday. 💜
with thanks to MA Women's History Center for the lovely snapshot bio in Esther’s honor today.

Happy Birthday, Esther Rome (1945-1995), who co-founded the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective in 1969, which authored the groundbreaking book on women’s health and s*xuality, Our Bodies, Ourselves! Rome worked to educate women about their health and brought awareness to the dangers of products like tampons and breast implants. MWHC partner Our Bodies Ourselves carries on her work and continues to provide educational information on women’s health. https://bit.ly/3sHyw9A