Selects: Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Feminist Physician | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

hi there friends it's me Josh and for. this week's select I've chosen our April. 2020 episode on Elizabeth Blackwell who. is a complex person to say the least and. she's a great example of how nobody fits. neatly into one group or another and. she's a great lesson and how a person. who you might hold different views from. and values from can still be one of your. Heroes I hope you get a lot out of this. episode about Elizabeth Blackwell the. feminist icon. [Music].

welcome to stuff you should know a. production of iHeart. [Music]. Radio hey and welcome to the podcast I'm. Josh Clark there's Charles W Charles. Chuck Wayne Twain Bryant and there's. Jerry Jerome Roland the Rizzy uh and I'm. just Josh like just Jack was just Jack. wow okay that's a heck of an in.

thank you let's do little jazz hands. there just call me Twain Twain From now. on. Twain it's not awkward to pronounce it's. really close to Schwing remember that. Schwing oh man I totally forgot about it. until just now Schwing Chuck Swing Swing. that's how you have to say it no you can. say it anyway like swing yeah well what. I really love is that we're talking. about uh America because first woman.

physician an amazing woman named El Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell who had an amazing. family and her story is incredible and. we're saying Schwing Schwing at the. beginning right especially considering. that she was a um a uh rather. puritanical person in a lot of Senses. she would probably not have been down. with us saying. Schwing no no because you know what uh.

uh she and her family were Quakers and I. know some Quakers and have known some. Quakers they hate swing they do but you. know what they love what being. awesome yeah yeah no I mean for sure um. this this I get the impression that her. entire family is a pretty good example. of like a a a like a Quaker family dude. Quaker every Quaker I've known has just. had it like had it all figured out it. seems like they're like the the.

Buddhists of the West yeah yeah pretty. much they also um I think they also go. by the Society of Friends which says a. lot. too if yeah I'm pretty sure and then if. you'll remember correctly Charles our. pacifist episode focused heavily on the. Quakers because they're big time. pacifists too so Elizabeth Blackwell. just by virtue of having been a Quaker. was a pretty interesting like upstanding.

upright uh person with with a good head. on her shoulders but she also like. individually personally was a a very. amazing person and not just the fact. that she was the first licensed woman. physician in America yeah um but to get. there she really had to blaze her own. path and put up with a lot of uh BS you. might put it um and and so much so that. even in her um her autobiography which.

was published in 1895 when she was in. her 70s I think um she called it. pioneering work um and that was there's. really no better way to put it she was. absolutely a Pioneer and not just. getting herself established as a a woman. physician in America but in making it so. that there could be more women physician. in America Physicians and more and more. much more so let's start with oh I don't. know February 3rd 1821 What's.

significant about that date she was born. as a little BB uh near Bristol England. she was the third of nine children uh. her mom was Hannah Lane who uh came from. a family of merchants who had some dough. and her pops was Samuel Blackwell he was. a sugar refiner and also prosperous and. like we said they were Quakers uh which. means that they were very cool they were. not and this was 1821 they were not down. with slavery they were activists against.

slavery yeah uh they were abolitionists. they supported women's suffrage um her. brother Henry um married Lucy Stone who. was a very famous women's rights. activist M her little sister Emily. followed in her Footsteps in medicine y. uh her sister-in-law Antoinette Brown. Blackwell first female ordained minister. in Protestant uh the Protestant. denomination yeah they were way ahead of. their time yeah and you can trace I mean. both of her parents seem to be pretty. cool um and you can Trace their um the.

roots of of their sensibilities back to. their parents like um Samuel was a. dissenter like he was a Quaker which is. I guess a form of protestantism but he. was definitely he didn't recognize like. the sole religious authority of say like. the Church of England or anything like. that and so as a result his children. could not go to public school he said. fine I've got some money I'm a. prosperous sugar Merchant uh I'm going. to hire the best tutors can find and not.

only that I'm going to defy the. conventions of England and have these. tutors teach my daughters the same stuff. that they're going to teach my sons. which is unheard of but that really. formed the basis for especially. Elizabeth's progression and education. that she she came to expect to be taught. just like she was a boy um because of. how she was raised yeah and you know by.

all accounts her parents are both pretty. great her dad was a very caring. individual he thought that all kids of. uh any gender should reach their full. potential sure uh he didn't physically. punish his kids which was weird at the. time people are like why ain't you. hitting your kids yeah and he said I. don't believe in it I've got a switch. right here you can borrow works really. well do he not have a switch that's what. the deal is he doesn't have a switch or. a paddle he switchless let's get him a.

ttch uh so he you know they would had. sort of like a dearit system in their. house and if you add it up to uh too. many Dem merits you would have to do. something like eat by yourself in the. Attic or something right uh that sounds. horrific also like sticking a kid in a. closet but I think it was just a a room. removed from the family dinner yeah it. was just you have to go away from the. family we can't even bear to look at you. you make us want to puke that's right. but everything changed when he lost his. sugar refinery in a fire.

and said you know what let's pack our. bags and let's move to New York City New. York City that's right New York City do. you remember back in I don't know like. around 20078 I feel like it was right. when we both started working around how. stuff works that a sugar refinery in. Savannah blew up yeah I remember that I. wrote an article about that it's like. that Sugar dust is is volatile they can. they can catch fire and I wonder if. that's what happened to his sugar. refinery I bet you okay so they moved to.

New York they lived in New York and in. Jersey for six years as you do yeah and. uh one of the cool things that that I. liked about him he was he was a little. paradoxical so he was a sugar refiner he. made his money off of sugar refining but. the sugar industry was. based almost entirely on slave labor. around the world this how sugarcane was. grown that's how I he didn't use slaves. I can tell you that but he still made. his money in an industry that was heavy.

heavy on slavery and in fact his. children were such staunch uh. abolitionists even as young children. they refus to eat sugar because they. knew that slaves uh had had a hand in. producing it so they wouldn't even they. wouldn't even eat it as kids little kids. wouldn't eat sugar because of of the. slavery involved um but he still made. his his money off of that but um when he. got to America one of the first things. he tried was to um introduce sugar beads. which are don't require slave labor it's.

much less labor intensive process of. extracting sugar from sugar beats and. this is really revolutionary at the time. like they think they first isolated. sugar from beets in 1800 like 30 years. before and they had been introduced to. America just like two years before he he. took this up so he was on The Cutting. Edge of of uh sugar be production but it. didn't actually work out very well no um. he his original sugar refinery went um.

went South in 1837 so he said let me. move to Cincinnati and I'll get in on on. the sugar beat thing but just a few. weeks after they got to Cincinnati in. August of 1838 he died of a fever and. because he had lost that sugar refinery. and didn't have the next sugar beat. operation up and going they didn't have. a lot of dough his family was um left. without a lot of money yeah which I mean. that's got to be really tough to go from. wealthy to not you know and just one.

Fell Swoop and but that's kind of what. happened with Elizabeth's family and um. a few years later she resolved when she. was 21 that she would not be dependent. on any man that she was going to be. self-sufficient and she was never going. to marry and she wanted to make her own. way and I mean it's pretty tough not to. trace that line directly back to you. know the the state that her father left. his his family and um not in any way. that you know that was his own doing or.

his own fault but that was just the. conventions of the time and so for a. woman to to resolve that she would make. her own way in life was very. unconventional but if if Elizabeth. blacka was anything she was very. unconventional that's right so she and. her mom and a couple of her sisters they. uh were teachers for a little while and. she eventually and we this is kind of. jumping ahead a bit but she she did. adopt a girl a seven-year-old Irish. immigrant orphan uh that she named Kitty.

her name was Katherine Barry and went by. Kitty and she was with her for the. duration of her life but she never got. married and she decided to become a. doctor when she had a really close. friend who was dying said you know what. I I think that I might have lived if I. might have had a woman as a doctor. because they're more compassionate and I. might have gotten better treatment and. Elizabeth Blackwell was like whoa that. really speaks to me. yeah they uh the they think that the.

woman was probably dying of uterine. cancer and she thinks that she would. have she would have disclosed more of. her condition possibly sooner and at the. very least she would have been more. comfortable in her dying days being. treated by a woman rather than poked and. prodded by some man right um who who. seemed to be less compassionate than she. believed a woman would be the the thing. about Elizabeth Blackwell is she first. of all she was struck by this and she. was so Str struck by it that she it.

moved her to want to become a doctor but. not only that she had to overcome a. natural deep-seated aversion to the idea. of the body or Anatomy or medicine like. she was not at all interested in this to. begin with and in fact she had an. aversion to it but she was so moved by. that woman um and her experience that. she resolved to overcome her disgust and. her aversion at bod functions in anatomy.

and become a doctor herself it's pretty. I mean that's a really key detail it is. a hugely I mean that's enormous like not. only she she like she just wasn't a kid. who wanted to be a doctor right like I. love the sight of blood and internal. organs so this kind of fits anyway yeah. she had to overcome an aversion to it on. top of overcoming the aversion that. Society had against a woman becoming a. doctor because at the time it was it was. considered that a woman couldn't know. enough about the human body to be a.

physician and still be considered a. morally upright woman that her morals. were at risk of being corrupted right. just by knowing everything there is to. know about the human body yeah I mean. let's be honest they they would have to. see a male. penis as part of their training sure a p. pee so oh man we're such children we are. so she said all right I'm going to do. this I'm going to get up over this I'm. going to be a doctor how do I do this.

I'll just go to medical school Medical. School said no no no no no women can't. go to medical school right um there are. a few ladies around the country that are. unlicensed Physicians that worked as. apprentices and learn their trade but um. you're not going to go this traditional. route and medical school at the time was. just weird anyway which we'll get into a. little bit later but we I mean we also. got into it in our grave robbing episode. this was similar to that time this. around that time it was crazy it wasn't. n.

like it wasn't the the I don't think. doctors were as respected back then even. no they they I no because they were the. ones who were um who were cutting open. bodies and just kind of figuring stuff. out as they went along and if you went. to a doctor there was like a 80% chance. you were walking out one limb. short yeah so she uh while she was a. teacher she boarded with um families and. she did a lot of the stuff in the South. uh which we'll get to as well but um two.

Southern Physicians mentored her um she. still could not get into Medical School. of course she had some physician friends. who were Quakers she asked them about it. they said that's a great idea but no it. costs too much you're never going to be. able to get in um what you should do is. disguise yourself as a man and go to. France and she was like not a bad idea. if that's the best advice somebody's. giving you you need to rethink the. people who you take advice from it. sounds like she was a though but uh she.

decided to save money instead and apply. to Med uh medical school in the United. States so and today dollars I did the. the uh the old inflation calculator. three grand back then would be about. $85,000 today yeah so that's a lot of. money and she between I think for a. period of two or three years went South. and taught school in slave states uh. which was very hard for her to do in. order to say money for medical school.

she didn't know what she could get into. anyway right exactly and the first the. first place she taught in Kentucky she. only lasted a year she just found the. social climate so intolerable just she. she was really you know she couldn't put. up with it and I don't know how she was. able to better in North and South. Carolina but yeah I mean she managed in. in two years to raise 83 Grand from. teaching I guess rich kids in North and. South Carolina and she she um but she. also while she was there she's like well.

I want to teach the slave kids too I'll. do a pro bono and they said well it's. against the law for you to teach slave. kids and they said but you can teach. them Sunday school she said fine I I'll. do that and there was a great. quote that came from her uh in a letter. to her family in 1845 and I'm not sure. what state she was in maybe even. Kentucky but she said I assure you I. felt a little odd sitting down before. those degraded little beings not saying.

they were naturally degraded that they. had been degraded by other people I. believe to teach them a religion which. the owners profess to follow whilst. violating its very first principles it. says it all doesn't it it really does. she was like you know these people. are profess to be Christians but are do. not treat other people like Christians. and that's just such a a Quaker thing to. do huh that is a very Quaker thing to do. you want to take a little break yeah. let's do it okay we're going to take a. break everybody and we'll will be back. to tell you more about Elizabeth.

Blackwell's progress toward med. [Music]. school so Chuck like you said she um was. mentored by a couple of doctors who she. she stayed with while she was teaching. in North in South Carolina one of whom.

was actually a professor of medicine so. he had all the books he was very. encouraging to her um he taught her. everything he could and that was like. you said a way that a woman could become. a physician but an unlicensed physician. um certainly not one that was that was. in any way established as an actual. legitimate physician and that was. ultimately her goal yeah like she. continued to get sort of uh tutored by. different people in the that she knew. who were Physicians MH and it was great.

that these uh these men encouraged her. and tuted her said here use my books um. but again like you said she wanted to do. the real deal and and Forge a path and. not just kind of go the the the back. door route so she applied to all the. medical schools in New York and Philly. she applied to 12 more in the Northeast. she was rejected by all of them and on. the 30th application to to Geneva. Medical College in Western New York in.

1847 she was accepted and I say I raised. my voice because she got accepted. because it was a joke that. uh well everyone thought it was a. practical joke the professor there the. dean of the medical med school basically. said hey let's take a vote here we'll. have all the the the men here that go. here vote on whether or not a woman can. come to school here and if every single. person says yes she can come here and if.

one person says no she won't they all. thought it was a prank from I guess the. neighboring rival medical school so they. West Geneva yeah they said sure let her. in and it wasn't a joke and they did let. her in they they did um and apparently. they were all very surprised like this. almost sounds like an urban legend but. from what I saw like this is across the. board what happened that they they. thought it was a practical joke and it. turned out to be real and that is how. she ended up going to medical school.

unbelievable so when she showed up she. was taking this quite seriously she was. 26 already she'd spent some time like. living around seeing the country um just. she was 26 like that says a lot about a. person over say like 20 or 19 or. something like that and so she when she. showed up um Not only was she a little. more mature probably than some of her. contemporaries she also um. was she was well aware of the convention. she was breaking of the challenges and.

the obstacles that laid ahead of her um. and there's a a pretty good report like. the fact that she showed up at Medical. School made the papers and in fact the. Boston Medical Journal even wrote up. something about the fact that that she. was yeah that she was there taking. Medical classes the Boston Medical. Journal said that she comes into the. class with great composure takes off her. Bonnet and puts it under the seat. exposing a fine phenology you kidding me.

you're talking about the shape of her. head yeah yeah but this is the Boston. Medical Journal at the time hopefully. the bmj has um has officially uh uh. stopped using phenology yeah in any way. shape or form but we'll have to we'll. have to get a subscription and find out. so we talked earlier about the fact that. medical school at the time was really. different um it sounds like animal house. or something uh it was very. rockus uh apparently when there were. lecturer. uh you would make crude jokes out loud.

and no matter what you're talking about. it sounds like a bunch of children. taking sex ed or something in like the. sixth grade yeah but apparently. Blackwell's effect on the whole like. every class she went into was everyone. took it a lot more seriously because she. was there yeah because again like if you. were a man you acted far far far. differently around a woman um at the. time where you were just much more. Gentile it was just the social. convention. and so you had to bite your tongue in uh.

medical school if if um Elizabeth. Blackwell was in your class or you just. did that was just kind of the effect. that she had on class just by being a. woman but even beyond that there was. this whole view that like these guys. were somehow contributing to this. woman's moral corruption by even being. in the same class with her let alone. being the instructor teaching her and so. one of the things she ran into in Med. school was she would sometimes be asked.

to go step outside oh sure because this. particular lecture is a little rough. yeah and Elizabeth Blackwell did not. truck to that at all she was very. adamant that remember she was educated. Like a Boy by the tutors her father. hired she had a full expectation to be. left out of absolutely nothing at med. school she was to be a full physician. and so she was to learn everything that. any physician would learn and eventually. over time she kind of overcame this. Gentile opposition to her Presence by.

her professors and and male classmates. yeah and I think in no small part due to. her serious take and her uh. fastidiousness and her uh the fact that. in the end she graduated first in her. class yeah that says a lot she was the. best student in 1849 she graduated first. um. ultimately uh earn the respect of her. fellow students not to say that it was a. um it was a cakewalk there were still. plenty of jerks there uh and you know a.

lot of them had animosity toward her. remember a cakewalk is racist is it. really yeah remember we did a we did a. um show on what was it I can't remember. the um like words that have different. Origins than you would think or. different meanings than you would think. you don't remember yeah I think I do. remember that I'm sorry. everybody I'm sorry for interrupting you. that's okay so it was no piew.

walk good save Chuck still plenty of. jerks uh there were some men there that. um would um would laugh at her some men. there that would support her some men. that would jeer at her some men that. would help her out but like I said in. the end she she got that degree first in. her class apparently and I don't know if. this is the movie version but the the. medical school's Dean uh bowed to her. when she accepted her diploma and. everyone busted out in Applause yeah. that's what a newspaper account uh said.

from the correspondent who was there and. they also added and brother Bluto became. Senator. blutarski very nice that wrapped. everything up do you think that movie. ages well we're talking about Animal. House again I haven't uh I haven't seen. it in a well I should say sorry in a in. a while I'm not sure oh okay I have seen. it plenty of times but I haven't seen it. in a while I'm sure it doesn't it. can't uh I don't know know man I think. it's kind of Timeless mhm.

um however I've heard certain people. that I won't name say it doesn't age. well. null oh yeah yeah nol doesn't think you. think there's a there's a raft of. comedies from that era that just are not. funny now wait not funny or politically. correct not oh gotcha it doesn't age. well as in like why is this why do. people think this is a comedy classic. it's not even that good gotcha gotcha. okay yeah I'll have to watch it again I. haven't I haven't seen it in a while I.

don't know man I think it's kind of. Timeless in its comedy okay I mean sure. there are parts that don't age well and. every other respect like any comedy made. before like four years ago sure that's. what I or no like like the last five. minutes I thought that's what you were. talking about no I mean it's entirely. possible because I've seen some comedies. where I'm like this is this is not at. all funny like Spies Like Us give me a. break not good no I haven't seen it in a. long time it's not good see now I'm. afraid to watch some of those oldies you.

chubby Chase though I do my dad taught. me well but if you uh if if you want to. continue to cherish any movie that you. used to love I would not risk it no well. we'll see unless it's Ghostbusters that. definitely holds up friend yeah that new. one looks good too uh what is the new. one the the sequel sort. of so it's technically Ghostbusters. Three yeah or four I mean we or wait was.

there a third or was just the first two. yeah the two second one there the first. two and then the third one had like I. think Kate McKinnon and all but ited in. a different Universe didn't it yeah yeah. that was that was just a reboot which. was great I thought but this new one is. a sequel many years later and I think. it's one of their. grandkids um you know stuff starts. happening it looks good Paul Reds in it. okay oh and what's his name's kid uh. wrightman's is directing it it's a oh. he's great Jason yeah it's a Jason wman.

Jam so that's good stuff that might he. might be a little too high high brow for. a Ghostbusters movie I don't know man. well hey I can tell you you know who's. spinning in her grave right now about a. th000 RPMs who Elizabeth Blackwell I. know I'm so sorry Dr Blackwell should we. take a break I don't know who knows. anymore all right let's take a break and. we'll stop talking about dumb old movies. right after this.

[Music]. all right so Chuck I think where we. officially left off um Elizabeth. Blackwell received her diploma right the. uh the dean of the medical school stood. up and bowed and the auditorium broke. out into Applause which is pretty. awesome um uh apparently she when she.

although she won over her classmates. there were still like a lot of women. actually of the time who were not very. happy with what she' done but she said. nuts to you guys that's right I'm going. to move to Paris and London and I'm. going to uh pursue my my practice there. to start that's right which is a great. idea and when she got there they said. wow you were real deal doctor and you. have a medical degree here be a midwife. yeah a woman scker blue yeah she was uh.

she was led into Midwifery and. nursing um but she's like really sort of. trying to be revolutionary here because. all she sees are these men walking. around not washing their hands at all. and she's like you know what is probably. super important is personal hygiene and. preventative care and they're like. What's that yeah well they literally. were what's that because this was early. 1850 s and remember our great stink.

episode oh man that was so good so they. were still operating under the my Asma. theory that it was like bad Vapors and. smells that made you sick crazy so her. idea that it was like that handwashing. was part of this preventative medicine. was really ahead of its time and so in. in addition to being a woman who they. were just discrediting out of hand. anyway just for being a woman they were. also saying like you're talking cooky. stuff everybody knows it's smells that. make you sick your nut job go over there.

and deliver a baby and she's like but I. haven't washed my hands like we just. told you it doesn't matter babies are. dirty as long as your hands don't stink. it's fine yeah we should also mention uh. it's right about here where she lost. sight in her left eye M uh from an. accident that I can barely even talk. about oh I want to can I please so she. contracted purulent. opthalmia which is an infection which is. an infection of the eye and her eye.

became infected because she was tending. to an infant who I guess had uh some. sort of wound that was infected and pus. squirted in her left eye from the. infection and infected her left eye to. such a terrible degree that she became. blind in her left eye yes and that is. that is sad but really sad because she. was not able to become a surgeon which. is what she really wanted to do it's. also said that there was a baby with an. infection well sure a infection.

let's not forget about that baby sure uh. and that baby grew up to be Roy. cone she she moved to the that's really. good um she moved to the UK then from. Paris and this is where she hooked up. with a little buddy named Florence. Nightingale yeah who deserves her own. episode too sure oh totally they became. good friends they were like you like to. wash your hands I do too isn't it. awesome. let's go do it together that's kind of.

the long and short of it they sat around. and saying ABCs or I don't want no. scrubs wash their hands and they were. both like why are none of these men. doctors ever washing their hands and. they were both like cuz they're dummies. yeah just give them a few years and germ. Theory will be developed and then. they'll listen to Louis past year not us. exactly but I think that's pretty. awesome it's almost like. um I don't know Einstein and somebody. else me. you know like just it's cool to know.

that these these two like legendary. figures met and were friends at one. point in time oh totally it's almost. like a movie you know what I'm saying it. this totally should be a movie I'm. surprised it's not yet agreed maybe. Jason wman could direct it that's right. and maybe. uh uh what's his no uh who's the guy. that Wolverine I jack yeah maybe Hugh. Jackman can be in it he would play. um Dr Elizabeth Blackwell that's right.

and Jared from Subway can played the. puss. baby yeah everything would come full. circle and the universe would collapse. in on itself and then the shark NATO. would kill them all yeah oh man so she. uh is PALS with Florence Nightingale she. decides you know what I'm going to go. back to New York uh it's 8 1851 and I. really want to get a practice going. there um she got back and of course. discrimination against uh women in the. the doctoring industry was still there.

oh yeah so she didn't have a lot of. opportunity she didn't have a lot of. patients she didn't have a lot of other. doctors that she could even exchange. ideas with um and so she started. applying for jobs instead of starting. her own practice at the women's. Department uh in a big city disp uh. dispensary but she was not uh she was. not hired no and I had to look up a. dispensary is like a charity or public. clinic so this ambition yeah this This. Woman's ambition this first woman doctor.

in the United States now um her ambition. was to help the poor that was that was. what she wanted to do her her her. missions in life were to help the poor. help women retain their Chastity and. Purity in the hopes of um having a good. moral impact on the world around them. and then to make it so that more women. could become doctors and like she was.

like a tireless fighter and champion of. all of these things that's right and so. in typical Elizabeth Blackwell fashion. when she was turned down for a job at a. dispensary she just opened her own. dispensary that's right in a little. single rented room uh she saw patients a. few afternoons each week MH uh it was. incorporated in 1854 where they moved to. a small house uh there on the Lower East. Side East Village area of Tomkin Square. uh her sister we mentioned that she. followed I believe at the very beginning. that she followed in her sister's.

footsteps by this point she was Dr Emily. Blackwell she got her degree at Western. Reserve University in Cleveland and she. joined her in. 1856 with uh another doctor Dr Marie o. Zack Zak. zusa wow the that's the Doctor Seuss. pronunciation that's a tough one I would. say Zack zacka okay Zak Sheva all right. and they all open the New York infirmary.

for women and children uh On Bleecker. Street there in the West Village in 1857. yep and now you can go left out of the. doorway and hit a Swatch store or acoss. the street and see a and go get a. sandwich at lean quote to the end I saw. the Swatch joke coming because I did the. old Google Earth too and I was like I. guarantee you that poked out to Josh but. what's crazy so 64 at least as far as. the Google company is concerned 64 bleer. Street doesn't exist anymore but that.

means that it was subsumed by either um. the kith clothing or the the uh Swatch. store somebody took over this but. there's a I think the Swatch store did. it in 1858. there's yeah they were all on chains. right um but the the the there's a. there's a physical structure that's. still there that was the first um women. run infirm. uh or clinic I should say in New York.

and what became one of the first um. Women's medical schools amazing in the. country not the first but one of the. first um and there's no plaque there's. no sign there's no nothing really but. the building is that not that I could. see but the building is still there you. can still visit the spot where poor. people went and Dr Elizabeth Blackwell. treated them wow yeah with one eye yeah. let's not forget that one a sight in one. eye I should say so she starts going. she's like I want to do this in England.

too my home country uh let me I'm gonna. go back and forth I'm gonna try and. raise some money uh to do the same thing. over there um at the same time she's. also taking on and it's amazing what you. can do when you don't get married and. have to be subservient to a man right. like she was living single so she had. nothing but time you know she had this. this adopted daughter but I I imagine as. she grew she helped her mom out with. this stuff yeah and in there off time. they would watch Living Single.

together so she was getting on other. social reform movements um all kinds of. things to do with women's rights uh. Family Planning even way back then uh. hygiene always um did we mention. Eugenics and how deep she got in that do. we even know I looked and I could not. see because you would think there'd be. people that would say like oh Elizabeth. Blackwell L her but listen to this. eugenic stuff she's into I saw saw. basically one of those things where it.

was this this list was repeated. basically in the same order across the. internet that means one so I have no. idea how much she was into Eugenics but. I do know I did get an impression of. her as far as women's rights were. concerned um she was a feminist through. and through oh sure absolutely a. feminist but she was also a moralist and. a prude and died in the wool rude and so. she was really concerned with the um the.

the moral Purity P yeah I guess the. moral purity of women because her her. whole thing was if a if a woman has. basically had sex out of wedlock she has. corrupted her morals she's traded in her. morals and now she's going to be. interested in men she's going to think. about other men rather than her husband. her she's not going to be able to focus. on her home and so the home will start. to come apart because this woman had sex.

out of wedlock before she got married or. whatever and so there that's one home. broken and if more and more women do. this then all of a sudden the whole. country's morals are corrupt and there. there's nothing but crime and and. drinking and all sorts of horrible. things that come out of it and she. definitely identified men as a aggressor. in this that it was definitely men who. came along and like persuaded girls to. have sex out of wedlock because these. girls were not too naive to know the. ramifications and consequences so she.

tried to in books and pamphlets and. lectures and all this warn mothers to. warn their their daughters away from men. like this and also teach them about the. consequences of having like premarital. sex and also basically identifying as. you know men as as the the aggressors. the wolves in the situation but so she. was super into that and she was very. widely and well received because her. line of thinking was very in line with. Victorian super rigid morals but um at.

the same time I mean it it it. it's it's difficult to reconcile with. just straight ahead feminism that you. know of the the type that we're used to. today but there's really no one who. could who could discredit her as a. feminist she a feminist in a Victorian. way it exactly it was a time where you. couldn't be like girl own your sexuality. and like you as the man to marry you. like just didn't happen at all so this. was the opposite of that when she was.

tting she was also what would be known. today as a feminist for Life a staunch. anti-abortion feminist as a matter of. fact that if you read her diary in a. certain way you can make the case that. one of the reasons she became a doctor. is because she read an article about a. woman uh who was an abortionist at the. time uh who was termed a female. physician which I guess was code for. women abortionists interes back then and. she uh was so appalled by this that she. wanted to reform the term female.

physician to mean an actual like just a. a woman doctor a general doctor um and. that's one of the things that drove her. too so um yeah she was a very. complicated character she reminds us. right but I think she reminds us that. over time when you become a legend the. you know a legend grows up around you. and and you know the different edges get. you know smoothed over or overlooked or. whatever and people are complicated and. complex and that's the way that it. should be and they should be understood.

as such you know but but it none of that. under undermines. her depending on your your way of. thinking I don't think anything. undermines her that she did or thought. undermines the the work that she did and. the good that she did well of course not. and I think maybe people should try to. remember what it would might be like to. be a trailblazing feminist in the 1840s. through 80s you know yeah yeah so the. Civil War that was very nicely said good. job I hope so oh God I hope.

so uh Civil War rolls around uh she and. her sisters train nurses for the union. for their hospitals she said you know. what what we really need is a medical. school for women um and so she continued. to try and get support from Britain uh. she finally raised enough backing in. America to add that medical school to. her Women's Hospital in New York in 1868. uh this was this one you were talking. about mhm the um the New York infirmary.

was finally established with 15 students. uh nine faculty and she was the. professor of. hygiene and her sister Emily was fine. hygiene yes taught uh was he well taught. uh Obstetrics and diseases of women yeah. she handled a allot of the surgery too. at the uh Clinic oh Emily did yeah. because her sister couldn't right but um. so think about this like she established. not just this um this uh this clinic.

this dispensary but also a college to. teach women doctors right and not only. did she do that in New York she did it. in London too after after she had. managed to establish this she said okay. Emily you got this I'm I'm moving back. to to England and I'm going to do this. over here yeah and what it did was it. provided about a 32e stop Gap uh until. 1899 when medical schools Cornell. University um finally began accepting uh.

women into their program so for 32 years. she was running the show and she was. providing that um I almost said service. but it kind of is in a way you know. until medical until mainstream medical. schools began catching on yeah no for. sure and um the the the fact that that. she was establishing this. college like that this was one of her. her Big Dreams and and focuses and. drives just kind of goes to underscore.

the fact that like she she was trying to. make it so that more women could become. doctors that's just it's just easy to. overlook when you're like oh well she. went and became a doctor herself and. then she did doctoring she also. simultaneously was trying to expand. access to um medical training for women. as well to become a licensed physician. and she did in a big way um in 1869 when. she was in her late 40s she uh this is. when she established the London practice.

um she had passed on the New York. Medical College to her sister at that. point and founded the National Health. Society in 1871 and was one of the the. first champions of prevention is better. than cure um which is very obviously. important thing today in all of medicine. but at the time it was kind of a. revolutionary uh kind of way to go about. things they're all about cures and she. was one of the first people standing up. and being like hey let's not get to the. point where we need need to cure by. preventing things with handwashing and.

lifestyle and hygiene yeah wash your. hands yeah what's your problem uh in. 1870 she finally set up a private. practice in London and um in. 1874 along with Physicians Sophia JX. Blake and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. established that London school of. medicine for. women yeah so again she did this in New. York she also did it in London she. agitated for legislation to be passed in. 1876 to allow women to get medical.

degrees um she was the first woman added. to the Med medical register in uh. England yeah um so she did this in two. continents she opened up the the door. for women to become doctors on two. different continents at about the same. time and um ultimately she sto had to. stop practicing she had to stop seeing. patients um because she had something. called billiary College. which is where GST blocks the the B duct.

which is not good for you um and. apparently is very painful condition and. especially back then before they could. do a lot with it or say break it up with. lasers or something sure it could knock. you out of out of your career and it did. for for decades I think she had billiary. colic um 20 or 30 years before she died. yeah she she basically didn't practice. for the last 20 years yeah uh and very. sadly in 1907 at uh the rip old age of.

86 which is great um she had an accident. she fell down a flight of stairs and was. mentally and physically disabled after. that lived a few more years after that. uh and then eventually died of stroke in. 1910. yeah that was it great great. lady yeah there's this statistic here in. 1881 so she'd moved to the UK. permanently in 1869 in 1881 there were.

only 25 registered women doctors in. England and Wales but 30 years later. 1911 it was up to. 495 there you have it now I would guess. that there's at least double. that probably more probably so so hats. off to Dr Elizabeth Blackwell um way to. go my Bonnet is off and under my seat oh. that's a fine phenology you've just EXP. there Charles thank you uh if you want. to know more about Dr Elizabeth.

Blackwell there's a lot of good stuff on. the internet including a site that we. used among others famousscientists.org. check them out and scientists is plural. I just have a thick tongue so sometimes. it's tough to add that extra S at the. end and since I said I have a thick. tongue it's time for listener. [Music]. mail uh this is from Isaac hey guys I am. on day two of 6 weeks of staying home. home in quarantine I live in Seattle. Washington which was the place where the.

first North American Corona virus case. was there have been rumors at my school. I'm in the seventh grade that would. close for cleaning but 6 weeks is nearly. all of third quarter yeah I've got a. long stretch of Time ahead of me and. I've spent most of that time playing. video. games great reading great okay and. listening to stuff you should know nice. that's a nice three-pronged approach. little fun little knowledge and little. goofy knowledge sure uh I listen to. nearly 10 episodes today alone wow there.

will be plenty more rushing through my. ear holes so I wanted to say thank you. for helping me through a worrisome time. I loved the Seattle show that is from. Isaac Isaac buddy glad we're there for. you hang in there be safe uh wash your. hands and the fact that you use the word. ear holes means that you're the coolest. kid I know yeah you're pretty cool Isaac. we appreciate that I wonder what video. game he's playing Chuck I don't know I. just finished Red Dead Redemption and. now I'm on to a new one I've been gaming.

a bit lately I heard that Red Dead. Redemption is like one of the most. amazing games ever but it's just so good. and and high brow like a Jason wman film. that it's it's boring unlike a Jason. wman film I didn't have you heard that. well I I played part two I did not get. the first one although I might go back I. think it was part two that I'm talking. about I enjoyed it okay good good I'm. glad to hear that cuz I like to think. that things that are well done aren't. born you know yeah I had to learn to. shoot animals and which was not fun but.

hunting is a part of it really yeah I. never shot a bunny though maybe you had. to like put them out of the misery or. something cuz they were rabid oh that. too if you have a if you crash your. horse you might have to do the right. thing you know what I mean is that right. you have to strangle it yeah it's very. sad cuz you get very attached to these. horses I'll bet do you name them yeah. you name them like you actually name. them for fun or like they come with. names or they like the game makes you. name your horse when you go to a stable. you can upgrade your horse in a lot of. ways with the Saddles and stuff and then.

you can also you can also name your. horse when you go to a stable and type. it in and then your horse name is up. there did you name any Josh I did not I. feel bad now I had three or four horses. and I name the all variations of my wife. and daughter's names but tell you what. buddy you'll be next I appreciate that. but you'll be like oh yeah Josh turned. lame I guess I have to put him out of. his misery yeah Josh got run over by a. train me know how Josh turns out okay in. video game I will okay uh and Isaac.

thanks again for writing in and like. Chuck said stay safe stay smart uh and. uh wash your hands and don't panic. doesn't sound like you are uh if you're. like Isaac and you're hanging out. listening to stuff you should know we. want to hear from you you can send us an. email wrap it up spank it on the bottom. and send it off to stuff podcast at. iheartradio.com. stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart radio for more podcast my heart. radio visit the iHeart Radio app Apple. podcasts or wherever you listen to your.

favorite shows. [Music].