UMass Boston Celebrates Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas
University
Reporter
Fulbrights
Will Take Professors to China and Vietnam
Biography
and the Web: Visiting Fellow Starts Clinton Bio
Milestones,
Memories, and Mirth at the JFK Library
"The
Harringtons of Salem" Traces Rich History of North Shore Family
MBA
Program Receives Accreditation
College
of Management Shines at Silver Anniversary
English
Department Introduces New Literature Internship Program
Search
Committee Announce Four Finalists for UMass Boston Chancellor
By Leigh DuPuy
UMass
Boston celebrated the publication of Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas,
the Spanish-language cultural adaptation of Our Bodies, Our Selves on
November 29 in an on-campus ceremony. Ester R. Shapiro, of the Psychology
Department and the Gastón Institute, served as coordinating editor
of the project. She joined two of the book’s authors, Maria Morison
Aguiar and Maria Marmo Skinner, and Judy Norsigian, the founder of the
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC) in speaking at the
program.
Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas (NCNV) is a collaborative project initiated by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC) to create a Spanish-language cultural adaptation of the book famous for providing the first comprehensive source on women’s health. The newly published book took four years to complete. The adaptation included the input of nineteen women’s health groups from countries in North and South America, and the Caribbean. The group examined and revised each chapter of the 1972 Spanish translation of Our Bodies, Our Selves (OBOS), to better reflect Latina perspectives on health and sexuality. These changes included a conceptual reorganization of key chapters to examine issues of cultural identity, politics, and living life for women of Latin American descent.
OBOS was first published in 1970 and became the quintessential resource book on women’s health issues. The book has sold millions of copies in the U.S. and has been adapted into nineteen languages. Not only a health resource, the book is regarded as a catalyst in influencing views of reproductive health and rights, domestic violence, and gender justice.
Chancellor Sherry H. Penney opened the celebration with words of commendation
for the project’s leadership and commitment to women. In her address,
she praised the collaboration between UMass Boston, the Gastón
Institute, and the BWHBC as one that reflected their combined urban
mission. She went on to note that project would help reduce racial disparities
in health outcomes for women of all cultures.
Copies of the NCNV were sold at the event for $24 and proceeds from
the sale were dedicated to donating books in Latin America. For those
looking for more information, please consult BWHBC’s web site:
www.ourbodiesourselves.org.
Image: Celebrants Maria Morison Aguiar, Maria Marmo SKinner, and Ester R. Shapiro.