"I found more cookbooks in the instructor's resource library and, with them, two copies of Our Bodies, Ourselves. I put them on the table and one woman said, Oh, those are like. . . dirty books." Eventually another woman picked one up. She commented on one page with photos of live births. The conversation took off from there. We talked about our own birth experiences. A woman who is usually shy surprised me with her openness and leading role in discussing the book.

The conversation flowed naturally as we flipped through the book, looking at pictures and talking about everything from IUDs to STDs. The, section about how our bodies look inside was quite interesting. The drawings of the male anatomy caused lots of laughter, especially the erect penis. I don't think the laughter was out of nervousness alone. I just remember how much they laughed at that part.

At the end I suggested we ask a nurse to class next week to talk more about our bodies and ourselves. They agreed.

Karen Bergman-Illnik, "Charting the woman-positive ripples - A journal of discovery"