Pink Collar Workers: Miriam Lee

Miriam Lee (1926-2009) was one of the pioneering acupuncturists in America, responsible for acupuncture being legalized in California.

This month, we’re bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed! We’ll be talking about Pink Collar Workers: women who revolutionized jobs that have traditionally been called "women's work." Through their lives, they created a more just and humane world for us today.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This August, we're bringing back some of our
favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. All month, we'll
be talking about pink collar workers. These women revolutionized jobs
that have traditionally been called women's work. Through their lives,
they created a more just and humane world for us today.

(00:21):
With that, here's one of our favorite episodes. Hello from
Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica.
Today we're talking about one of the first licensed acupuncturists
in America. She traveled across the world, learning new skills

(00:41):
and techniques to pass on to future generations, and she
led the campaign to popularize and legalize acupuncture in California.
Let's talk about Miriam Lee. Miriam Lee was born on
December eighth, nineteen twenty six, in Shandong Province, China. Little
is known about her child childhood, but as a teenager,

(01:01):
she studied to become a nurse and midwife. She practiced
these professions in China before leaving the country in nineteen
forty nine, when Miriam was twenty seven, she moved to Singapore,
where she found work as a bank teller. It was
during that time that she became interested in acupuncture. Miriam
attended the Chinese Acupuncture Medicine General College. In nineteen sixty six,

(01:23):
she graduated and joined the staff as an acupuncturist. Three
years later, Miriam immigrated to the United States. When she
settled in Palo Alto, California, Miriam found a job as
an assembly line worker at a Hewlett Packard factory. At
the time, the practice of acupuncture was illegal in California,

(01:43):
but Miriam was distressed by the disease and bodily aches
she witnessed in her coworkers and community members. She suspected
that she could treat these symptoms in a way that
the dominant Western medical approach had not. Miriam decided to
covertly treat patients out of her home. One of her
first patients was a friend's son who had been paralyzed

(02:04):
during surgery. After several acupuncture treatments, he was reportedly able
to walk again. Miriam also treated coworkers complaining of shoulder
and neck pain. As words spread about Miriam's practice, she
attracted more and more patients. In nineteen seventy three, a
doctor Harry Oxenhandler allowed Miriam to use his office during

(02:26):
his off hours. With a larger and more professional space,
Miriam was able to increase business. She saw about seventy
five to eighty patients per day between the hours of
five am and one pm. Because of the variety of
ailments her patients came in with. Miriam began to research
the causes and solutions for the health challenges faced by

(02:47):
America's stressed, depressed, and overworked population, but she had such
a high volume of patients that she didn't have time
to do the comprehensive diagnosis she was trained to give
each patient. This lack of capacity, but desire to help,
led Miriam to one of her most significant contributions to
the world of acupuncture. She developed the ten point protocol

(03:09):
called one combination of points can treat many diseases. This
method allowed Miriam to treat a bodily issue despite not
fully understanding its root cause. In nineteen seventy three, Miriam
traveled to Taiwan to learn from Master Tung Ching Cheng.
His method of acupuncture involved very few needles, but results

(03:29):
were miraculous and almost immediate. Under his guidance, Miriam learned
his technique called Master Tongue's Magic Points and introduced it
to Western acupuncture when she returned to the United States
the following year. In nineteen seventy four, then Governor Ronald
Reagan vetoed a bill that would have legalized acupuncture in California.

(03:50):
Shortly after the veto, on April sixteenth, nineteen seventy four,
Miriam was arrested for practicing acupuncture without a medical license.
When it came to time one for her hearing, Miriam's
patience packed the courthouse and showed up day after day
in protest of her arrest. The public outcry persuaded the
state legislature to understand acupuncture as an issue of social

(04:12):
and cultural importance as well as a medical issue. In response,
Governor Reagan legally made acupuncture an experimental procedure. Following this win,
Miriam opened an acupuncture practice in Palo Alto. Business boomed
from the new location, and in nineteen seventy six, Governor
Jerry Brown officially legalized accupuncture in the state. Miriam continued

(04:36):
to be a pioneer in the field. She founded the
Acupuncture Association of America in July of nineteen eighty, and
she ran the organization until her retirement. The organization got
more acupuncturists licensed and secured primary care physician status with
insurance providers. In nineteen ninety two, Miriam published two popular books,

(05:00):
Master Tong's Acupuncture, An Ancient Alternative Style in Modern Clinical
Practice and Insights of a Senior Acupuncturist. After suffering a stroke,
Miriam retired and moved to southern California. She died on
June twenty fourth, two thousand and nine, at the age
of eighty two. Miriam Lee was not the first acupuncturist

(05:23):
in California, but she was undeniably influential in furthering the practice.
Her impact moved the needle forward for the entire profession
in America. Thanks for listening to this best of episodeable Manica.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wamanica Podcast Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister

(05:46):
and co creator. Join us tomorrow for another one of
our favorite episodes, honoring pink collar workers. Talk to you then,
m