By Girls, For Girls is an intensive two-week course taught during the Smith Summer Science and Engineering Program (SSEP) for high school students. On the first day of class, students work in a focus group to answer the question: “What do girls need to know to be healthy?” The course curriculum focuses on many of the responses that the girls come up with. The course content focuses on women’s health issues using biological, social, cultural, racial, political, economic, and international perspectives. Topics that are explored include female anatomy, menstruation, contraception, STIs, HIV/AIDS, childbirth in America, GYN exams, media literacy, healthy body images, and the representation of women. Students also study international perspectives on women’s health, discussing issues such as sex trafficking, obstetric fistula, and female genital mutilation. The class is primarily discussion-based, and also uses interactive lecture, film, hands-on activity, the book, Half the Sky, and additional resources including websites and supplemental readings. The class environment encourages students to be curious, to ask questions, and to speak up. By Girls, for Girls is meant to cultivate intellectual independence.
The course is taught by Dr. Leslie Jaffe, Director of Health Services at Smith College, and assisted by intern Analy Duong. Dr. Jaffe has been teaching By Girls, For Girls since 1997.