The women's health movement

In the 1970s women’s health organizations began to spring up around the country, as an outgrowth of the feminist movement. The primary goal of the women’s health movement was to provide an alternative to profit-driven healthcare by demystifying the power and prestige of the medical establishment, thus empowering women to take charge of their own healthcare. Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center, founded in Philadelphia in 1975, was certainly one of the most highly respected of the feminist healthcare organizations. African-American feminists were increasingly convinced they needed separate organizations focusing on issues affecting women of color, especially organizations that focused on Black women’s health. Unlike many feminist service organizations that began with local efforts, the Black Women’s Health Project began as a national organization founded by Byllye Avery in 1983. As feminist social service agencies have struggled with the tension between providing high-quality services and working for social change, the tension has usually been resolved in favor of social services.