Preface

In 1970, a group of women who would later be known as the Boston Women’s Health Collective came together to publish a revolutionary book for women, by women. The book, originally titled Women and Their Bodies, later came to be known as Our Bodies, Ourselves, a title that signified women’s ownership over their own bodies and the feminist movement. Drawing on the women’s own experiences, the book was unlike any other in that it aimed to change the way that women were taught to think about their bodies, and it encouraged knowledge of sexual and reproductive health, a taboo topic even today, though less so. The process of drafting the Spanish-language translation of the book, Nuestras Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas, began in the 1980s and continued until its official publication in 2000. In this nearly 20-year long journey, the creators gathered input and feedback from many different stakeholder groups. They kept detailed notes on every step of the translation process and show how they were able to create a version of the book that was not only linguistically accessible but also culturally competent, expanding the book’s impact and the ripples of a revolution.