History & The Arts
World-Changing Women: Emily Davies
...studying that it posed a risk to their mental and physical well-being. Excessive mental activity in women, especially during menstruation, was believed to cause acute weakness and weight loss, a condition described as ‘anorexia scolastica’. Emily Davies was born on 22 April 1830, the daughter of a clergyman. She spent most of her youth in Gateshead, Co. Durham, where...