Stories of Stigma Against Women in the Medical World: 7 Books You Must Read
In 2018, BBC Future launched a series called The Health Gap: How Women Experience the Medical System, covering the experiences of women seeking health services while dealing with different health conditions. This collection includes 18 journalistic reports featuring accounts from diverse women grappling with issues like menstrual discomfort, mental health challenges, contraceptive problems, chronic illnesses, and more.
This series of reports serves as a crucial reminder for health providers and all of us about the persistent issue of medical gaslighting faced by women every day. They highlight the fact that women expressing pain are frequently dismissed or labeled as ‘overreacting’ by medical professionals. Among numerous confessions, diaries, and documentaries, this series is one of the most important reading materials on the stigma and gaslighting that many women encounter when seeking healthcare.
Women’s experiences in the medical world have also been extensively documented in numerous books, featuring diverse perspectives and a wide array of health issues. Check out this list of recommendations.
Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women’s Pain (Abby Norman)
Abby Norman, the author of this book, shares her journey as an endometriosis survivor, including the challenges she encountered while seeking treatment. Despite facing disbelief from many doctors who dismissed her pain as merely psychosomatic, Abby Norman shares her personal narrative, and also many historical accounts of women seeking help in the medical field.
Pain and Prejudice: How the Medical System Ignores Women―And What We Can Do About It (Gabrielle Jackson)
Similar to Abby Norman’s book, Pain and Prejudice is Gabrielle Jackson’s memoir about her journey as an endometriosis survivor. However, the two books are different. Jackson digs deeper into the experiences of women with pain, highlighting the disparity in pain research, which has historically focused more on male subjects despite the greater prevalence of chronic pain among women. Jackson also explores the gender bias inherent in our perception of pain.
Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine And Myth in a Man-Made World (Elinor Cleghorn)
Cultural historian Elinor Cleghorn writes about the patriarchal norms that have marginalized women throughout ancient and modern history. Across civilizations, women afflicted with specific ailments have frequently faced stigma or been labeled as ‘crazy’. Unfortunately, this stigma persists in contemporary society, perpetuated by a medical establishment that remains inherently ‘androcentric’.
Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick (Maya Dusenbery)
Maya Dusenbery argues in her book that a pervasive culture within the medical community has led to the dismissal of women’s complaints, resulting in underdiagnosis and inadequate treatment for many female patients. She presents data illustrating the cultural sexism across various hierarchical levels within the medical field, beginning from the time young students start registering for medical school.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (Caroline Criado Perez)
This book presents a multitude of data on the research disparities between women and men across various domains of life. Caroline Criado Perez examines not only the gaps within the medical field but also the gaps in product research concerning women’s comfort and safety. Additionally, she addresses women’s heightened vulnerability to violence in everyday life.
Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine (Michele Lent Hirsch)
At work, young women with chronic illnesses often feel pressured to maintain a facade to ‘look fine’. Michele Lent Hirsch, the author of this book, recalls severe medical challenges in her early twenties, including thyroid cancer, pelvic surgery, Lyme disease, and a condition called mast-cell activation syndrome that led to anaphylactic shock. Hirsch also brings up the fact that autoimmune diseases are mostly under-researched, despite predominantly affecting women.
The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women (Anushay Hossain)
Anushay Hossain writes about her childhood in Bangladesh, where she observed the poor healthcare system in the country. However, when she relocated to the United States, she discovered that even in the so-called developed nations, healthcare systems remained unequal and exhibited discrimination against women and people of color. Hossain shares her near-death experience during childbirth and further compiles the experiences of women worldwide who face multiple layers of discrimination while seeking healthcare due to racism and socioeconomic disparities.
These books showcase diverse narratives of women from various backgrounds, all confronting similar obstacles in healthcare. Despite being frequently regarded as secondary status in society, women’s experiences have been extensively documented yet often overlooked. Through the many reports and literature like these books, we are hoping for increased awareness and collective action toward achieving a more equitable society and healthcare system.
