Palabras clave
escritura femenina
maternidad
naturopatía
ginecología
Cómo citar
Resumen
Este artículo propone examinar redefiniciones no-normativas de la maternidad en literatura espiritista escrita por mujeres en el siglo diecinueve. Se centra en manuales de naturopatía publicados por curanderas conectadas con el renacimiento ocultista del momento, observando representaciones del embarazo, el parto, la contracepción y otros temas silenciados culturalmente. Aunque las técnicas de sanación espiritista ya han sido exploradas por historiadoras feministas desde el ámbito de los estudios victorianos, dichas investigaciones se centran más en los aspectos socio-culturales del activismo político espiritista, en lugar de comentar sobre la evidencia literaria de la participación femenina en la obstétrica ocultista y la ginecología natural. Sin embargo, un análisis comparativo de diversos textos espiritistas escritos por médiums arrojaría luz sobre la historia de los derechos reproductivos en la Inglaterra y los Estados Unidos decimonónicos.
Para ello, este estudio ofrecerá, primero, una descripción de actitudes espiritistas con respecto a la maternidad voluntaria, centrándose en debates sobre el consentimiento sexual y la contracepción en la prensa ocultista de la época. Esta sección es seguida de una introducción a los conflictos entre las curanderas espiritistas y las instituciones médicas dominadas por el hombre, que a menudo imponían criterios patriarcales en la ginecología y los cuidados perinatales. Estas observaciones proporcionan una contextualización para la sección principal de este artículo, la cual inspecciona reconsideraciones emancipatorias de la experiencia materna en textos literarios escritos por tres médiums espiritistas, prestando atención a cómo las autoras usaron sus creencias esotéricas como estrategias de resistencia ante la patologización masculina del embarazo y el parto en la medicine victoriana. Tal y como pretende demostrar este análisis, la literatura espiritista contribuyó a la mejora de las condiciones maternas, ofreciendo consejos accesibles y documentados sobre la salud sexual y reproductiva de las mujeres.
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