Reproductive Rites, Sophie Saint Thomas
Reproductive Rites, Sophie Saint Thomas
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Reproductive Rites
The Real-Life Witches and Witch Hunts in the Centuries-Long Fight for Abortion

Author: Sophie Saint Thomas

Narrator: Hayden Bishop, Sophie Saint Thomas

Unabridged: 8 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/15/2024


Synopsis

A provocative pop history that explores the witches—and witch hunts—in the untold story of abortion, from the days of Socrates through the Salem Witch Trials and the 1980s Satanic Panic, all the way to our fraught post-Roe present.

For millennia, across cultures and continents, women and people who experience pregnancy, as well as midwives and those who assist them, have been persecuted as witches (whether they actually practiced the craft or not). In this dauntless, voice-driven reassessment of that history, journalist Sophie Saint Thomas follows the tangled threads of witches and reproductive rights through the ages.

Through it all, she maintains an intersectional eye toward the communities most affected by reproductive oppression (including Native Americans, enslaved Black women, and trans people) and a scathing look at the hypocrisy of anti-choice crusaders (from eugenicists in the Church of Satan to an astrology-following Republican First Lady). With heart, humor, and deeply researched insights, Reproductive Rites brings new context to the urgency of our present moment as we fight for our rights in a post-Roe v. Wade America.

About Sophie Saint Thomas

Sophie Saint Thomas is an acclaimed queer sex writer and witch living in Brooklyn, and originally from the Virgin Islands. She has been a columnist for VICE, a producer at MTV Networks, and is currently a full-time freelance writer. She has contributed to GQ, Allure, Glamour, VICE, Marie Claire, PRIDE, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Playboy, Noisey, Broadly, High Times, Refinery29, Mic, Nylon, and Gawker (RIP), among others. She is the witchcraft columnist for "Queer Sex Coven" with Autostraddle. In July of 2019, Saint Thomas became the resident astrologer at Allure.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kelli on October 21, 2024

A provocative pop history that explores the witches—and witch hunts—in the untold story of abortion, from the days of Socrates through the Salem Witch Trials and the 1980s Satanic Panic, all the way to our fraught present. Thank you Running Press for making this book available as a Read Now book on N......more

Goodreads review by Ophelia on December 22, 2024

Book Review: Reproductive Rites – The Real-Life Witches & Witch Hunts in the Centuries-Long Fight for Abortion* by Sophie Saint Thomas Publisher: Running Press Release Date: 15th October, 2024 About the Author Sophie Saint Thomas lives in Manhattan with her fiance and orange tabby Major Tom Cat. She is......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on April 17, 2025

Fabulous overview of two subjects all people could (and should) know more about. Tone is casual, like speaking to a friend over a coffee or glass of wine. Which for most of the time was engaging, accessible and entertaining. Although, sometimes it felt like a long ADHD train of thought word-associat......more

Goodreads review by Robin on October 14, 2024

Sophie Saint Thomas’ latest book tackles reproductive rights, systemic injustices, and lack of bodily autonomy issues for women throughout the ages. According to an old medical papyrus, she writes, it’s been proven that ancient Egyptians used birth control and emmenagogues or abortifacients. Through......more

Goodreads review by Mette on March 21, 2025

Som den abortnerden eg er så vart eg nyfiken på historia kring heksejakt og abort. Gjennomgåande kan vi seie at menn og samfunnet har mistrudd kvinner når det gjeld fertilitet og abort. Abort har eksistert til alle tider og har i varierande grad vore straffa og forsøkt kontrollert. Det er først i mo......more


Quotes

“An exciting, racy, angry, and well-informed survey, which ranges across a wide span of history in order to make points of tremendous relevance to the present.” —Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

“Through a cross-cultural lens, Saint Thomas offers us a fascinating exploration into the socio-psychological dynamics which underscore the practice of witch persecution and the ongoing oppression of women’s reproductive rights. Her work is an incisive critique of human prejudice and its historical consequences.” —Alan Kilpatrick, author of The Night Has a Naked Soul: Witchcraft and Sorcery among the Western Cherokee