Medical Sexism
As women, we are dismissed all too often, considered hysterical rather than concerned, oversensitive rather than justified, dismissed rather than taken seriously. This happens to women everywhere but I want to specifically talk about sexism in the healthcare system. As a young girl with a disability going through the NHS’s system, the words used dismissively are internalised which can be so damaging. Rather than having my symptoms taken seriously, I was told it was because of stress, it was emotional, I was overreacting, I needed to control myself. This is medical sexism. In order to get through to a doctor rather than being passed from secretary to secretary, department to department, hospital to hospital for hours on end in search of help or an appointment, I have to put my dad on the phone, because only a male voiced is listened to. I have only just started to address the fact that my first thought when I partially dislocate is ‘you deserve this because you're a liar.’
This is the result of medical gaslighting, and it nearly cost me my life.
The medical concepts of most diseases are based on male physiology, to the extent that women are dying because some doctors treat women like men.
Kayla Webley Adler, Marie Claire
There is one thing that would save the lives of so many with conditions like Endometriosis: Listening to female patients.
When I was diagnosed with endometriosis I was told it had been growing for up to 8 years. I had debilitating periods my whole life, to the point where I couldn’t attend school, couldn’t move from bed, every month. I was told that Ehlers Danlos Syndrome makes period pain worse, so thought I just had to deal with it like every other symptom. Due to gaslighting from doctors and teachers, I did not take my pain seriously. Constant pain is my normal, so I couldn’t tell the difference between my normal, and fatal. Please don’t make the same mistake I did. Endometriosis is extremely serious, and many people don’t realise they have it.
If you have endometriosis or any other chronic condition I want you to know this. You are not overreacting. You are not weak. You are not lazy. You are coping incredibly well with something that makes it nearly impossible to get out of bed each day and choose to continue living.
Whilst fat phobia, racism, classism, poverty, and more, all contribute to terrible injustices in the healthcare system, when it comes to the medical sphere, sexism is perhaps the most predominant form of discrimination. Not just for patients, as discussed above, but also for the professionals who work in healthcare:
9 in 10 female doctors in the UK have experienced sexism at work, and women are paid 18.9% less than men in medical fields.
British Medical Association
Dismantling isms that are often ingrained in our systems begins with acknowledging them. We do not need equality, being treated the same as men can be fatal. What we need is equity, which means being treated fairly. Being given what we need. This applies to all minority groups. In order to earn a fair income, not be discriminated against, and be believed when we express pain, we first need others to acknowledge that we are being discriminated against, so when it happens we can all spot it, we can all call it out, we can all stop it.
The words 'Part of being a woman and dealing with reproductive health is being treated like you're not human. Is being treated like you're a robot, and you're supposed to wake up every day and get over it - Halsey at the 2018 Blossom Ball' next to a drawing of Halsey with pink hair in a white shirt and black bowtie.
