Mary calderone planned parenthood

Home / Health, Lifestyle & Body Facts / Mary calderone planned parenthood

In 1971, Ladies Home Journal named her one of "America's 75 Most Important Women," and in 1975 she was listed among the Newspaper Enterprises Association's "50 Most Influential Women in the U.S."

Her efforts to equip young people with the confidence and knowledge to enjoy safe and healthy sex lives in adulthood were truly revolutionary. In 1964 she founded the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), to promote sex education for children and young adults.

Mary Steichen was born in Paris to American parents.

Dr. Calderone was the mother of three daughters, a grandmother of three and a great-grandmother of three. In 1953, however, Calderone combined her love of high drama and her belief in a scientific approach to sexuality by engaging in a public, full-throttle campaign for national sex education as the medical director of Planned Parenthood.

She passed away in October 1998. Calderone spearheaded a virtual revolution in liberalizing American attitudes toward sex education, and as a result, she became the target of extremist groups.

Although she remained in close contact with SIECUS, Calderone resigned from the presidency in May 1982. Planned Parenthood worked to satisfy public demands for advice on contraception and sexual health, and Calderone promoted sex as a healthy, normal part of life, worthy of public discussion.

In 1964, Dr.

Calderone left Planned Parenthood to set up the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), where she served as executive director until 1975, when she became president. She decided on a stage career, and did not return to medicine until she was thirty years old — after marrying, having two children, divorcing, and working in a department store to make ends meet.

He returned to America annually to exhibit and sell his photographs, and in 1914 the family moved back to the U.S. when World War I began. When friends and family encouraged her to return to medicine, she enrolled at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1935.

After graduation, Dr. Calderone completed a year's internship at Bellevue Hospital, but was reluctant to pursue the medical residencies necessary to launch her career.

She served as an adjunct professor in the human sexuality program at the University of New York between 1983 and 1988.

Use the menu on the left to view additional material related to this topic. 

Take Note

Many of our collections are stored offsite and/or have access restrictions. Her writings included: Questions and Answers About Sex and Love; Sexuality and Human Values; Manual of Family Planning and Contraceptive Practices; The Family Book About Sexuality, and Talking With Your Child About Sex.

She was noted in major publications such as 50 Most Influential Women in America and America's 75 Most Important Women.

During her years with SIECUS, she traveled thousands of miles, addressing high school and college students, parents, educators, religious leaders and professional groups. She was also listed in the World Almanac among the 200 Most Influential People in the World. Beginning in the 1950s, when public discussion of such issues was considered highly controversial, Dr.

Calderone flouted convention by speaking out in the first place, and as a woman broaching such a topic. After having two more children, she took a part-time job as a school physician.

She had received twelve honorary doctorates from such notable institutions as Columbia, Brandeis, Adelphi, Dickinson, Bucknell and Hofstra Universities.

She was former President of the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States, which she co-founded in 1954, and for which she was Executive Director and President until 1982.

She was an Adjunct Professor, Program in Human Sexuality, in the New York University Department of Health Education. She made the job her own, embracing new ideas on human sexuality and leading the movement to separate sex from reproduction.