The Gender Bias in Medicine

A repost from my the Undiagnosed Warrior Facebook Page, but felt it needed to be shared here as well since it is such an important topic for women living with chronic illness, particularly the undiagnosed. Really, though, it hurts all of us in one way or another.This is in response to an article entitled How Doctors Take Woman’s Pain Less Seriously.

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“Women are likely to be treated less aggressively until they prove that they are just as sick as male patients.”

Sadly, this woman’s story isn’t abnormal. And it’s not just a one-off or one bad hospital either. It happens every day, in multiple hospitals and doctor’s offices, to women all over the country.

“From an early age we’re taught to observe basic social codes: Be polite. Ask nicely. Wait your turn. But during an emergency, established codes evaporate—this is why ambulances can run red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road.”

“…he’d never checked back after his initial visit. He was that sure. As far as he was concerned, his job was done.”

Gender bias is everywhere in the field of medicine and it’s essentially killing millions of woman everywhere.

“Everyone we encountered worked to assure me this was not an emergency.”

Remember, though, this isn’t just a problem that affects women with chronic or invisible illness. This affects all woman. Your daughter. Your mother. Your grandmother. Your friends. Your boss. Your co-workers. Anybody.

Don’t believe me?

Read Is Medicine’s Gender Bias Killing Young Woman

“In training, we were taught to be on the lookout for hysterical females who come to the emergency room.”

These articles are just two of the many that are out there in the world.  Look it up – do some research. Ask any female that has a chronic illness. They spend more time with doctors than almost anybody.I promise that they know about this all too well, given the amount of time they spend in medical facilities.

“The presence of stress, the researchers explained, sparked a “meaning shift” in which women’s physical symptoms were reinterpreted as psychological, while “men’s symptoms were perceived as organic whether or not stressors were present.”

So why aren’t all the extremist, feminists, or politicians out fighting for this cause? For this equality? If you believe strongly in woman’s rights, educate yourself. There are bigger things to fight for than free birth control.