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In the latter part of the nineteenth century, women, who had hitherto been barred from medical schools, were gradually granted the freedom to study and practice medicine. Indeed, by 1900, over 7,000 female physicians were practicing in America. Women were sought after to fill the void in women's health care-a substantial one, thanks to Victorian mores-as well as to imbue the medical profession with dignity which only women, it was believed, could supply. Thus the stereotype of women as gentle, virtuous creatures, natural healers, worked in their favor, opening doors to a major profession.