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Avoiding the Gynecologist's Office

By Linda Jane

How To Stay Out of the Gynecologist's Office. The Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers. Peace Press, 1981. $6.95.

Having avoided GYN's for several years, I read How To Stay Out of the Gynecologists's Office with the hope that I could continue to justify my boycott. I had had my share of rude doctors and worthless prescriptions. More importantly, I had spent nearly two years in a feminist self-help group which acquainted me with my cervix and gave me a good idea of when things were and weren't working properly. To my pleasure, the book addressed most of my lingering concerns, as well as ones I hadn't even thought of, in a down-to-earth and comprehensive

manner.

The data for the book was compiled by an organization of women-owned, women-controlled health centers across the nation. It is based on the research and experiences gathered from self-help groups and lay workers in women's clinics in the ten years since the first self-help clinic was established in 1971. Its basic premise is that most visits to the . gynecologist are unnecessary. Most of the women in the doctor's office are well women, whereas the medical profession earns its living by identifying and treating disease. Also, the majority of "female problems," such as vaginal infections, are minor and are better taken care of and prevented by simple home remedies and a good dose of self-education. The

authors caution, however, that if a symptom persists or a woman suspects a more serious condition, she should not hesitate to seek professional care. This is not the kind of book that you sit down and

read in an afternoon. This is partly because there is little logic to its organization. A typical chapter jumps from test-tube babies to depression or nausea during pregnancy to hemorrhoids with no common

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thread except that all relate to women. It does, however, serve as a valuable reference with an amazing amount of material covered in only 134 pages.

A good deal of the material is devoted to the politics and procedures of self-help and the participatory clinic where women learn about their bodies and take control of their own health care. The authors stress that it is helpful, although not necessary, to practice regular self-examination of the vagina and cervix and explain the simple procedure of using a plastic speculum.

Of particular significance are the sections on common health problems, including their causes and symptoms, prevention, common medical treatments and numerous alternative home remedies. The sections are broken down by organs and include the breast, the vulva and clitoris, the vagina, the cervix, and the uterus. One remedy discussed is yogurt for yeast infections, a treatment introduced in this country by women at the Los Angeles Feminist Women's Health Center. Ironically, Carol Downer, founder of the Center, stood trial in 1972 for practicing medicine without a license for prescribing yogurt. She was acquitted, and today many physicians are beginning to recognize yogurt as a valid treatment.

A section I found especially useful discussed vaginal odors and secretions. It answers the question "When is a secretion a discharge?" by encouraging women to look for change in their secretions which might indicate the source of vulvar odors and infec(continued on page 11)

Lillian Craig: An Uncommon Common Woman

By Mary Walsh

Just A Woman: Memoirs of Lillian Craig, with Marge Grevatt. Orange Blossom Press, 1981, $2.95.

Lillian Craig was a common woman but an extraordinary one, making an indelible impression on all who met her. Her life situation was all too familiar to many women, but her accomplishments and her impact on others were uncommon indeed. This book, written with Marge Grevatt, a friend for.

Photo by Tim Smith

woman and, that if she had achieved significance in her life, she should show women everywhere that they too could achieve meaning. "Women must see," she insisted, "that if I could do it, any woman can".

Thus this book is not only a tribute to one woman, but an inspiration to all.

Born in Cleveland in 1937, Lillian suffered a battered childhood and lived in various foster homes during her youth. After a brief marriage by which she had three children, she was divorced and forced to go on welfare to survive, suffering the shame that many welfare mothers feel. In the early 1960's, however, she became politically active, joining the first political action organization of welfare recipients in the country, here in Cleveland. In 1964, when SDS established the Cleveland Community Project on the near west side, where Lillian lived, her political awareness was deepened. SDS taught Lillian basic political skills such as analysis and public speaking; Lillian taught them practical skills such as using camomile tea for an upset stomach and chicory when they couldn't afford coffee. There was a mutual respect and sharing which no longer seems evident in political movements.

Because of her imposing presence, Lillian suddenly found herself a leader and a media figure, in demand as a speaker and used by many groups as a tokenthe white welfare mother. She attended many demonstrations, becoming well known to such people as Sgt. John Ungvary of the Cleveland Subversive Squad (many of us remember him well-trying to lurk unobtrusively behind a telephone pole at demonstrations while he took notes on the participants). Lillian also joined with others in writing The Welfare Rights Manual, explaining welfare

many years and like Lillian a single mother, is based on conversations between the two women before Lillian's death in 1979 at age 42 from cancer. Lillian stated the purpose of the book; it was to be rights and procedures in language all could under-

a gift to "the ordinary women" of the world.

"The audience," she said, "should be the woman who says, 'I'm just a woman,' or 'I'm just a welfare mother,' or 'I'm just a housewife'." She felt that she was an ordinary'

stand.

Despite her accomplishments, however, she could not get a job and get off welfare-even from the "liberal". administration of Mayor Carl Stokes, for whose election she worked hard (he considered her

too controversial). Ironically, in 1976, Republican Ralph Perk appointed her Director of the Near West Side Multi-Service Center, where she proved that a former welfare mother could function successfully as an executive, and where she brought her hard years' experience into providing an understanding and human approach to her work.

These bare facts, however, do not begin to give an idea of the struggle Lillian went through to overcome her own poor self-image and attain a sense of worth: If you're white and poor, the main thing that you are taught every year in school is that you are dumb. Otherwise you wouldn't be poor, in a society where supposedly anyone can make it with a little effort. By the time you are grown you are convinced you can't do anything. If you are female, things only get worse. Our society says, "If your husband's cheating on you, it's because you're not meeting his needs at home. If your husband's beating you, it's because you're not behaving properly. If your husband's beating the kids, it's because you are not raising them correctly". After your marriage fails and you're left with the kids, on welfare, you have absolutely no self-image left. Lillian's sense of responsibility to others was the central fact of her life, and explains why she always 'put herself on the line-at demonstrations, at hearings, and in her own community. Lillian was often abrasive and impatient, but those lucky enough to have known her admired and understood her.

This book is a labor of love by Marge Grevatt. The printing was made possible by the donations of many of Lillian's friends. The first 2000 copies were given away free, but a second printing has incurred additional expense. Lillian was very concerned that cost not keep anyone from having the book; thus it is only $2.95 at Six Steps Down and Coventry Books. However, copies will be made available to anyone who does not have that much by Marge Grevatt, c/o Legal Aid Society, 1223 West 6th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 (phone 861-6945).

“April, 1962/What El

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