Helen King

Helen King is a historian of medicine and the body, specialising in the history of obstetrics and gynaecology. Her recent book Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women’s Bodies (2024) explores how medicine and religion have shaped perceptions of women’s bodies, from ancient Greece to the modern day. Professor King is also an elected member of the General Synod and is involved in campaigns addressing discrimination on the grounds of gender and sexuality.

King is Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at The Open University. Trained in ancient history and social anthropology at University College London and having held research posts in Cambridge and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, she has also had visiting roles at Gustavus Adolphus College, MN; the Peninsula Medical School; and the universities of Vienna, Texas, Notre Dame and British Columbia. Her books include Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women’s Bodies (2024), Hippocrates Now (2019), The One-Sex Body on Trial: The Classical and Early Modern Evidence (2013); Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Changing Concepts of Physiology from Antiquity into Early Modern Europe (with Manfred Horstmanshoff and Claus Zittel, 2012); Midwifery, Obstetrics and the Rise of Gynaecology (2007) and The Disease of Virgins (2004). She has served on judging panels for funding and prizes with the Wellcome Trust, the Leverhulme Trust and the Marie Curie Foundation. Her work features in numerous podcasts and her radio appearances include In Our Time, Woman’s Hour, Start the Week and The Infinite Monkey Cage.