Anna Fischer-Dückelmann (1856-1917): Extract from Woman as Family Doctor (1905)

Abstract

Anna Fischer-Dückelmann (1856-1917) was one of the first female doctors trained in Switzerland, the first Western country to accept female medical students into the same institutions as men. She was a controversial figure who sought to liberate women from 'illness, prejudice and ignorance', which she believed was caused by an ignorance of medical matters, through the publication of a female-centred health book. Her text Woman as Family Doctor was first published in German in 1901. Almost 900 pages long, the manual contained precise and avant-garde information about women's health. The first edition depicted controversial images of female genitalia and contracep-tive methods. However, the revolutionary nature of the original text was later subdued, adapted and censored to suit male lecturers and readers. These later, less controversial versions remained popular, seeing translations in French, English, Polish and Spanish and remaining in print until the 1960s.