Our Girls

Published in the late 19th century, this pioneering health guide argued that girls deserved more than corsets and confinement. Dio Lewis, a physician and reformer, drew from his clinical experience and years teaching at a girls' school to challenge the restrictive practices that limited women's physical development. The book tackles footwear, posture, dress, exercise, and education with concrete advice and lively classroom anecdotes, including a memorable scene where students debate shoe sizes and discover how cramped shoes deform growing feet. Lewis understood that bodily health directly enabled intellectual and moral strength; a girl who could not breathe freely or walk properly could not thrive. While some recommendations now seem dated, the underlying argument remains radical: society's expectations of women were literally making them sick, and change was possible. For readers interested in women's history, the evolution of health science, or the long struggle for female bodily autonomy, this text offers a window into the debates that shaped generations of women.