EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “Chasing the Wandering Womb: Art, Medicine, and the Myth of Female Incompetence” 
Presented by Dr. Laurinda Dixon
with Additional Commentary by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Throughout history, women have been characterized as weak, sickly, and stupid, qualities that marked them inexorably from birth. The ancient Greeks blamed the uterus.  Their writings, which formed the basis of early medical curricula, characterized the womb as an animal with a mind of its own.  No woman was spared the antics of this troublesome creature which, if not properly fed and entertained, could detach itself from its abdominal moorings.  Hungry and bored, it wandered throughout the body in search of food and fun, bumping into organs, displacing them, and wreaking havoc in its wake. Hippocrates named this uniquely female phenomenon “hysteria,” a term derived from the Greek word for the uterus.  The symptoms– anorexia, fainting, pallor, hallucinations, and even death – were devastating and widespread.  Unmarried and childless women – and those who otherwise challenged societal norms – suffered the most.

Belief in hysteria was a fixture of medical knowledge from the ancient Egyptians onward, but interest peaked in the 17th century.  At that time there was an epidemic of “difficult” women, who wanted to cut their hair, wear comfortable clothes (borrowed from their husbands’ closets), delay marriage, read Latin, do mathematics, and have a job beyond that of wife and mother.  Their wombs fled in panic.  The medical faculty at Leiden University (a secular school and the most liberal in Europe) responded by inventing the discipline of “gynecology,” which supported the quest to manage the fickle womb. Dutch artists of the Leiden School, led by Jan Steen, reinforced this effort by inventing a new genre subject – the female sickroom.  These popular and accessible paintings, sold on the open market, communicated the symptoms and causes of hysteria and reinforced ideals of female behavior. They hang today in museums all over the world, bearing retroactively assigned titles like “The Lovesick Maiden” and “The Doctor’s visit”.

Even though science has debunked the theory of the wandering womb, echoes of the myth persist, as society and mass media continue to define and reinforce the roles and expectations of women.

The webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.

Please note:

• Your participation is confirmed once you have purchased your ticket. You will receive the Zoom link to join the presentation circa 30 minutes before the start time.
• VIDEO RECORDING of the webinar will be available for unlimited streaming at your convenience for 7 days after the event.

Laurinda Dixon is a specialist in northern European Renaissance art. Currently retired, she served as the William F. Tolley Distinguished Professor of Teaching in the Humanities at Syracuse University for many years. Her scholarship considers the intersection of art and science – particularly alchemy, medicine, astrology, and music – from the fifteenth though the nineteenth centuries. She has lectured widely in both the USA and Europe, and is the author of many articles, reviews, and eleven books, including Perilous Chastity: Women and Illness in Pre-Enlightenment Art and Medicine (1995), Bosch (2003), and The Dark Side of Genius: The Melancholic Persona in Art, ca. 1500-1700 (2013). Laurinda holds a Ph.D. in art history from Boston University, as well as a degree in piano performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.