Strange Country Ep. 66: Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
Nov 8, 2018
Lydia Pinkham was one of the most recognizable women of the 1800's. Her visage peered from the boxes of Vegetable Compound she created to cure female troubles. She was also one of the first women to experience the trolling of men who took great pains to criticize her hair, her smile, her existence. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss patent medicines, advertising's impact on women's roles and the joys of premenopausal life.
Theme music: Resting Place by A Cast of Thousands.
Cite your sources:
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Barry, Rebecca Rego. “Was Lydia E. Pinkham the Queen of Quackery?” JSTOR Daily, 22 Nov. 2017, daily.jstor.org/was-lydia-e-pinkham-the-queen-of-quackery/.
Danna, Sammy R. Lydia Pinkham: The Face That Launched a Thousand Ads. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Google Books, books.google.com/ books?id=eOg1CgAAQBAJ&dq=Lydia+Pinkham:+The+Face+That+Launched+a+Thousand+Ads&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
Fulton, R.E. “‘I Would Just Want To Fly’: Lydia Pinkham, Women's Medicine, and Social Networks.” Nursing Clio, 15 July 2015, nursingclio.org/2015/07/15/i-would-just-want-to-fly/.
Giaimo, Cara. “The First Woman to Put Her Face on Packaging Got Trolled Like Crazy.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 22 Feb. 2017, www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-first-woman-to-put-her-face-on-packaging-got-trolled-like-crazy.
Horwitz, Rainey. “The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.” Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound (1873-1906) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 20 May 2017, embryo.asu.edu/pages/lydia-pinkhams-vegetable-compound-1873-1906.
Kang, Lydia, and Nate Pedersen. Quackery: a brief history of the worst ways to cure everything. Workman Publishing, 2017.
Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Lydia Pinkham: Famous for Her Patent Medicine and Its Marketing.” ThoughtCo, 1 May 2017, www.thoughtco.com/lydia-pinkham-biography-3529532.
“Life Root Uses, Benefits & Dosage - Drugs.com Herbal Database.” Drugs.com, Drugs.com, www.drugs.com/npp/life-root.html.
MacPhee, Katrin. “Lydia E. Pinkham: Life and Legacy.” Museum of Health Care Blog, 9 June 2014, museumofhealthcare.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/lydia-e-pinkham-life-and-legacy/.
“Office of Dietary Supplements - Black Cohosh.” NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 30 Aug. 2018, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/BlackCohosh-HealthProfessional/.
“Quack Cures and Self-Remedies: Patent Medicine.” Women's Health and Household Hints | DPLA, dp.la/exhibitions/patent-medicine/women-health-household-hints/.
Shields, Jesslyn. “Unicorn Root Resurrects Itself After 130 Years.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 30 Aug. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany/unicorn-root-comes-back-after-130-years.htm.
Wu, Brianna. “Rape and Death Threats Are Terrorizing Female Gamers. Why Haven't Men in Tech Spoken out?” The Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/10/20/rape-and-death-threats-are-terrorizing-female-gamers-why-havent-men-in-tech-spoken-out/?utm_term=.568a578d0169.