Overall this was a very interesting and informative read. I really appreciated that the author spent time discussing hysterectomies in several contexts and broadening the discussion to include trans and non-white perspectives. This highlighted the inequity and double standard in health care based on race, gender, etc. Intersectionality is not always covered in books on medical history, and it is refreshing that the author put it at the forefront.

The book really took off after the first part, when first-hand accounts were brought into the narrative. The personal stories were incredibly insightful and were well-chosen to give a broad perspective. It's amazing that the inconsistencies in health care are allowed to persist in today's world. The framing of women's health almost solely on reproductive capacity, and ignoring it in almost every other context, is appalling.

A few (small) criticisms... there was a lot of repetition in the book, and I'm not sure if it is by design or due to lax editing. Also, one group of people NOT covered was women seeking hysterectomies for reasons other than treatment of a medical condition or for reasons related to gender identity. There are certainly women who do not have chronic pain/illness who seek hysterectomies as a method of birth control, because they know they never want children, or just to exercise control or agency over their own bodies. Those voices are absent.

Very well structured and written with different point of views, historical documentation, evidence, and political subplots. Very educational and a very quick read.

I thoroughly enjoyed Becker’s approach to writing about hysterectomy in this book. Though I am a UK historian of reproduction and the text was US-focused, it provided a really important insight into people’s experiences of hysterectomy. I particularly valued the trans and queer inclusion embedded in the foundations of this book - almost half of the hundred interviewees were trans or nonbinary, and there is significant discussion of the interplay between fertility and gender. As a historian, I would have loved more historical context, as the discussion at the start was brief, but I understand that is not the purpose of the book, and due mention was given to key figures in the field such as Alexandra Minna Stern. This book draws vital connections between biomedical approaches to health, the idea of technological and convenient solutions, and the ongoing ‘mystery’ (through lack of research) of conditions of the uterus. I have no doubt this will become a core text in teaching reproductive aspects of medical humanities and social sciences.

I was interested in the subject as I will have the procedure done in a few months.
The book is more into the political aspect of women's reproductive health from the United States. Though I can of course sympathize with each of the women's testimonies, I was hoping for a more global point of view.

Get It Out was a very introspective and important read on the history of hysterectomy restrictions. It was quite introspective, and I thought that the information was presented well and in a very consumable way. However, with that being said, this book reads somewhat like a very long college essay. The entire introduction spent a very long time just discussing what the book would later discuss. Furthermore, the sample group was primarily white- I was hoping for more diversity from a non-fiction work that strives on gender diversity/ inclusivity. 3/5 rating. Thank you, netgalley, for the ARC!

This was okay. I guess I thought I'd learn something new, but it was basically just a summary of things I already knew.

I wish this book went a little more in depth and had more of a balance in the race of people interviewed. The majority of the sample was white (as per the chart at the end of the book) and I feel like it's a disservice to have such a small POC sample size when it's even mentioned in the book how POC women are disproportionally affected.

I think the project and intent behind this book was good, I was just hoping for something a little more.

This was a really solid read. I did my masters thesis on IUDs and reproductive health and I often feel like I've read everything there is to read on the subject; it was refreshing to discover something new and different for the general public. I love that these kinds of books and the conversations they encourage are becoming more mainstream.

Hysterectomies are still so taboo, so it was great that Becker opened the book by explaining their origin story and their importance in the landscape of female health and women's liberation. The attention she gave to diverse storites - to women of colour, to trans people - was impressive as women-centered books tend to face criticism for being too singularly focused on white cis women. The five subsequent chapters take you through the step by step process of getting a hysterectomy, and I loved her focus on ethnographic data because it underscores just how personal reproductive health is, person to person.

Overall, a really strong book, and I'm glad it's being published - especially given the current US political climate.

Get It Out is a provocative deep dive into hysterectomy stories and desires of people in the US and Canada. Integrating medical history and political history to understand how race, gender, and class impact gynecological experiences. Everyone with a uterus and in the medical field will learn something.

The prose is accessible but has a lot of depth which is not alway achieved in books like this. I am in awe of the amount of research and care that went into the nuanced telling of these stories.

5/5 <3

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Get It Out is a captivating and insightful non-fiction book that tackles the complex subject of hysterectomies. What sets this book apart is not only its in-depth exploration of a medical procedure that is often shrouded in stigma but also its powerful focus on inclusivity and personal stories.

This reads like a long college essay. With the points on accessibility in different cultures and medical backgrounds, one would think this would be more easily accessible in way of reading. Really it's just a lot of long sentences repeating the same information a few times over. It's not hard words, just very very dense. I feel like I'm studying for a health history class rather than learning and reflecting on something for personal gain. All this in addition to the introduction been 17% of the book, which went into heavy detail on what each chapter would be about and how the book would conclude itself. Can we just get to the chapters already?

Well done! This is an important topic that needs discussion. Given the politicization of women's bodies, this book addresses obstacles faced by women well. As someone with endometriosis, this book addressed so many barriers and the way you can get treated in a doctor's office depending on your age/SES/etc.

As a nonbinary person looking to get a hysterectomy in the future, this book was a fascinating read. And yet I also think than anyone with a uterus would benefit from such a read.

Becker opens the book with a introduction explaining the origins of hysterectomies, when they were first performed, why, and under what conditions. She also takes great care in underlining the different politics that come into play depending on your race or gender identity in getting this procedure and how the racist history of gynecological care impact BIPOC people to this day. She also highlights that around half of the people she interviews are women and around half fall under the transgender umbrella. I felt like this was a diverse study group.
I learned a lot reading this introduction and really appreciated all the caveats and notes given on how getting a hysterectomy differs from people to people.
The book is then divided into five chapters each dealing with a different aspect of the process of getting a hysterectomy. How hard or how easy it can be to get one, how endometriosis and other gyno issues affect the necessarity of the procedure, etc. She uses the interviews she conducted as a starting point for her arguments. She underlines all the different reasons why people might want this procedures, what steps they had to take in order to get it, and how the people who got it feel afterwards.

All in all a very informative book, even if it can feel a little repetitive at some points. It is a short but dense read that I would recomment to anyone interested in the subject, or not, as I feel it is important to learn more about reproductive health options and trans healthcare. As I learned in the book, 1 in 5 people with a uterus will get a hysterectomy before the age of 65, so it is a subject worth discussing.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. Find my reviews on Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and Fable.

Wow this is as such a profound and important read. Hysterectomy is truly a microcosm of all the ways healthcare fails individuals with uteruses and the power that healthcare choices bring.

From the origins of hysteria to the examination of the different sides of eugenics logic (the paternalistic gate keeping of healthcare to disregard for the well being of patients) - I learned so much. I read through this section at a sprint - I couldn’t believe what I was reading- and I had to know more.

The interviews in this book, while insightful, do drag it on, occasionally falling into repetition. But ultimately I wanted to read every word of their stories.

I greatly appreciated how thoroughly this author investigated the varied experiences with and feelings about hysterectomy.

I came away from this book with a better understanding of history, patriarchy in healthcare, and the current state of gynecological care. Highly recommend!

Rarely does a title grab my attention and simultaneously create an emotional connection. But I’m sure every woman or uterus-having person has thought once: get it out. For me, personally, I thought it and eventually did, in fact, have it “out.” So, I’ll state my bias upfront for loving this book for forging connection regarding an under-researched, underfunded, and under-cared for topic. The author drew powerful parallels between the shared histories and history we all inevitably share. It’s a book that will physically grace my shelves upon publishing.

Note: I appreciate NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by the author, publisher, or any third party. My reviews are voluntary and not sponsored in any way.

As a woman going through the process of getting a hysterectomy this was a wonderful to read others insight into the broken system with this procedure.

"Get It Out: On the Politics of Hysterectomy" by Andréa Becker focuses on the social dynamics that shape the battle for bodily and reproductive autonomy, as told by a diverse set of voices. Becker uses the stories and experiences of 100 people with uteruses (i.e., cisgender women, trans men, and non-binary people) to underscore a long history of hysterectomies. For people who would ask for a hysterectomy, there is so much pushback from the medical community that is often centered around the needs of others (including but not limited to concerns of hypothetical husbands and potential future children, whose imaginary lives are given precedent over the care and health concerns of the patient themselves. Futhermore, Becker takes a nuanced approach by directly discussing the differentiating impact that the intersection of identities can have on bodily autonomy, in the context of medical procedures like hysterectomies are concerned. Here, the history of hysterectomies as a form of eugenics is presented in a straightforward way.

As a social scientist and educator in a similar field, I found the writing in this book to be informative and poignant. While I don't do much qualitative work myself, I recognize that the data that Becker gathered here feels both rich and spans a number of perspectives that tend to be underrepresented. I feel that this book is an important (and accessible) read for anyone who has any interest in the study of bodily autonomy, especially in a political climate where freedom of choice regarding the uterus and the people who have them is increasingly shrinking, especially from both a historical and feminist perspective, and I would be happy to recommend this to any of my colleagues who do work in the areas of medical sociology and/or who focus on bodily autonomy in any form.

This is such an inclusive and informative guide to hysterectomies and the politics of the procedure - very insightful and an enlightening read.

I'm so glad this book exists. I've been there and done that and now I get to read about it! Thank you to Becker for creating this gem of a resource. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.