Review_NONFICTION
62 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ AUGUST 5, 2019
Review_NONFICTION
vulva and vagina at specific times of life—
menstruation, pregnancy and birth, and
menopause. Gunter is at her most vehe-
ment when advising her readers to leave
healthy vaginas alone, reassuring them
that yearly pelvic exams are not necessary,
while also taking on nonevidence -based
“natural” practices like vaginal steaming
and Internet-propagated misinformation
in general. Most valuably, she uses her
expertise to clearly describe what to expect
during healthcare sessions, giving excellent
advice about effectively communicating
with medical professionals. Gunter
approachably, respectfully, and even
playfully presents a huge amount of
reproductive and sexual health education
information to women, with the assurance
that they can use it. (Sept.)Hobbies & Crafts
Elemental Knits:
A Perennial Knitwear Collection
Courtney Spainhower. Interweave, $27.99
(160p) ISBN 978-1-63250-653-5
Knitwear designer Spainhower (Family-
Friendly Knits) applies the concept of a
timeless wardrobe to this appealing if
inconsistent book of seasonally themed
knitwear patterns. Displaying expertise in
and knowledge about yarn, she provides
plenty of helpful advice explaining where
and when to use certain types of yarns and
how to substitute one for another, when
necessary. Praising the material for its
versatility, she comments, “I find comfort
in knowing I can unravel any garment or
accessory... to make something more
current and useful” and urges readers to
invest in quality garments that can be
reused or repurposed over time. Her own
choices in earth tones, however, don’t
always photograph well (a brown yarn
named “ginger root” comes off particularly
unfortunately), and the excessive use of
variegated yarns can be distracting in
patterns where it is important to pick up
on details and elements of fit. A tendency
to combine textures and techniques in
one pattern also make the designs more
challenging and potentially less accessible
to neophytes. Nevertheless, longtime
knitting enthusiasts should appreciate the
useful explanations and creative patterns
displayed throughout Spainhower’s well-
stocked compilation of designs. (Oct.)Why did you feel a need to write this
book?
People come in with false ideas about
how things work, or what’s normal. If
you don’t have accurate information,
you can’t ask the right questions. It’s
like having a map with all the destina-
tions written incorrectly. I got very
obsessed with the idea of creating an
accessible textbook for women. If I am
going to change the
patriarchy, information
is the way to do it. I
want women to know
that if somebody tells
them something nasty
about their body, it’s
that other person that
has the problem. Maybe
if women know the truth,
they’ll be immunized
against those words.What does a doctor’s
visit with an informed
patient look like, and
how does that help them
access better care?
It’s so amazing. Every appointment is
a fixed amount of time, so if you’re
spending all that time undoing misin-
formation, then you may never even
get to why that person was there in the
first place. When someone comes in
with good quality information, you
can move on to other health concerns,
or you can spend additional time
giving them information that they
didn’t even think they might need.You warn your readers about messages
coming from Big Pharma, but also
from what you call Big Natural. Howare they damaging?
They’re both selling products. I don’t
see any difference really, except that
Pharma at least has to do something to
get a drug approved through the FDA.
It’s fascinating that people will believe
all this stuff about supplements, washes,
and douches. They’ll say Big Pharma is
just trying to make a buck. But that’s
what Big Natural is doing, too, and
they’re gaming
the system even
more.What would you
say is the most
persistent myth
about vaginal
health?
That the vagina
is dirty. A close
second is that the
vulva is in this
near state of
catastrophe.
How could you
not think that
when you walk
into a drugstore, and there are literally
shelves of products?So should people be talking to their
friends about their vaginas?
Yeah. I think one of the big issues with
the reproductive tract is that we don’t
talk about it in nonsophomoric ways,
and that adds another layer of shame
and another difficulty around accessing
information. The more that we talk
about vaginas and vulvas and orgasms
and lubrication in adult ways, the more
that’s going to help.
—Vicki Borah Bloom[Q&A]
PW Talks with Jen Gunter
A Map With All the Destinations
In The Vagina Bible (Citadel, Sept.; reviewed on p. 61),
ob-gyn Gunter shares facts and dispels fallacies about women’s
sexual and reproductive health.©j
ason^ lecras