Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC)

Background

The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC) was formed in 1970 following the publication of the book Our Bodies Ourselves that discusses health risks and concerns faced by women and transgender individuals. The book has gone through nine editions and revisions, with the last update being in 2011. According to a 2018 article by NPR, BWHBC claims it will no longer update the book, and its focus will be to collaborate with similar “feminist advocacy” groups. ³

BWHBC is a project of the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights and maintains independent nonprofit status. The Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights is a research program and part of Suffolk University. ¹

BWHBC claims to provide information on health concerns for women and transgender individuals including abortion, breast cancer, contraception, gender-based violence, mental health, pregnancy, sexual anatomies and sexual health, as well as sexualities, gender, and relationships. ²

The BWHBC website contains links to materials, reports, and written articles submitted by similar left-of-center organizations as well as strategies on advocating for abortion access. These include Access Reproductive Justice, Jane’s Due Process, Planned Parenthood, Reproductive Freedom For All, Trust Women, URGE: Unite for Reproductive Gender Equity, Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, and Women Help Women. ^{4 5}

The group’s executive director, Amy Agigian, claims the group is “defending our democracy through educating about health sexuality for women, girls, and gender-expansive people.” ⁶

Activities

The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective’s (BWHBC) primary activity is publishing materials on its website on issues around women and transgender individuals’ health, such as abortion, contraception, and sexual anatomies and health. ²

In December 2022, BWHBC published article on its website titled “Roe Is Gone. What Happens for Trans Men?” which argued that “men do become pregnant. Real men become pregnant. Real men with vaginas and uteruses become pregnant. Pregnancy for trans men is not impossible, nor is it wholly abnormal.” ⁷

On its website, the BWHBC has also advocated for a government-controlled single-payer health care system. ²

On its website, BWHBC has claimed the sex industry can be exploitative but supports the freedom of those to practice it, claiming that the group is “proud to have current and former sex workers among our content experts. We honor sex workers and former sex-workers as part of our community.” ⁸

Funding

In 2024, the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC) had $52,961 in revenue, $184,491 in expenses, and $101,549 in net assets. ⁹

In 2023, the Kates Foundation gave $5,000 to BWHBC. ¹⁰

In 2021, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo gave $50,000 to BWHBC. ¹¹

In 2017, the Fife Foundation gave $5,000 to BWHBC. ¹²

In 2016, the Avenir Foundation gave $10,000 to BWHBC. ¹³

In 2015, the Ms. Foundation for Women gave $10,000 to BWHBC. ¹⁴

In 2013, Ipas gave $30,000 to BWHBC. ¹⁵

In 2011, the Ford Foundation gave $50,000 to BWHBC in support of the group’s 40^th Anniversary Symposium and for a “post-symposium strategic planning meeting.” ¹⁶

People

Amy Agigian is the executive director of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC). Agigian is an associate professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Suffolk University, and the founding director of the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University. Previously, she was a teaching fellow in Women’s Studies at Harvard University. She has authored a book, titled Baby Steps: How Lesbian Alternative Insemination is Changing the World. ^{17 6}

Laura Prieto is the program director of BWHBC. Prieto is a scholar-in-residence at the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University. She is also a co-director at the Mary Eliza Project, an effort to transcribe the names of the 50,000 women in Boston who registered to vote following passage of the 19^th Amendment into an online database. Previously, she worked as the director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Simmons University and as a visiting professor at the Harvard Divinity School’s Women’s Studies in Religion program. Prior to that, she worked at the Massachusetts Historical Society as a Ruth R. and Alyson R. Miller Fellow in Women’s History. ^{18 19}

As of 2025, BWHBC claimed to have over 100 contributors, maintaining teams of content experts on issues such as abortion, contraception, and gender-based violence. Additionally, the group maintains a global projects committee. ^{1 20}