Have your health issues not been taken seriously because you are a woman?
Hi Everyone
Thank you to Kitchenista for starting such an important group on such a topic! It's not something we have talked much on in Groups at all!
I think sexism in health is certainly not as rampant as it used to be but is likely still there.
If anyone has a story to share or input, we'd love to hear from you!
~Susan
Thanks for that perspective. I don't "understand" in the sense of having been in your shoes. However, there are men who are feminists, just as there are women who minimize women's suffering. Your journey to where you are now will no doubt be an inspiration and guiding light to many women who have gone through, or are going through, struggles like yours.
April 18, 2012 - 8:42amThis Comment
Dr. Heller,
I'm a bit taken aback. When I first read this thread, I didn't realize you were a man. I thought it was a female physician who wrote the post.
To be completely honest, as much as I want to believe that you really understand what women go through, I am a bit suspicious.
To give you a little context, with the exception of one relationship, I have been in one abusive relationship after another my entire life. My first marriage was a raging, physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic.
My second marriage has been 15 years of misogynistic, passive-aggressive abuse that has been completely emotional and manipulative.
I am now getting a divorce and standing up for myself. Claiming some power and walking away from the coward. My father was abusive to me. I've been sexually harassed on EVERY SINGLE JOB I've ever had where I wasn't working for myself. EVERY. SINGLE. JOB.
My track record with men has not been healthy. So, I bring ALL of that history and experience to the table. I would like very much to believe that you really "get it" and understand what women put up with, but I am having a hard time really accepting it.
I'm 55 years old.......that's a lot of years of dealing with unhealthy men.
Magnolia
April 17, 2012 - 4:32pmThis Comment
This Comment
Thanks Magnolia. It is amazing that 42 years after the genesis of modern feminism, this is still an issue. And, it is so revealing that (and I understand why!) you feel the need to defend yourself as not a "feminazi" in making a simple and true statement - women don't get treated the same as men.
Here's a blog post on this topic: http://j.mp/x5WXew
Dr. Daniel Heller
PMS Comfort
This Comment
Great topic! Yes, I've experienced it, and I write about it regularly. The main reason I decided to pursue my graduate work in healthcare consumer advocacy is because of the treatment I received when I was in perimenopause, and the treatment so many of my readers receive as well.
We are so often patronized and treated as if we are mental cases, "unstable" and just a wee bit off-kilter. It makes me nuts!
I'm not much on being a feminist Nazi, but I REALLY get sick of being dismissed because of my internal plumbing. And yes, as Dr. Heller points out, healthcare providers are people with their biases too. We can't ever forget that.
Magnolia
March 21, 2012 - 6:19amThis Comment
Kitchenista and Susan, great topic. I think there is less sexism now than there used to be. However, for a woman sitting in her doctor's office experiencing sexism, in the form of being told that her symptoms are in her imagination, or not having tests ordered that might be ordered for a man (this still happens!), there is 100% sexism and gender bias, and it makes no difference if there is 20% less sexism in medicine than there used to be.
Given my focus on PMS and PMDD, I have to say that there is tremendous sexism remaining in medicine, because many doctors still mistakenly believe - despite volumes of scientific research to the contrary - that these conditions are in women's imaginations. Really! (Here is one small example of a woman who experienced this: http://www.pmscomfort.com/pms-stories/pms-irritability-bloating-headaches.aspx )
Doctors and health care practitioners are people, and have the same prejudices and preconceptions that all people have. In an ideal world, it might not be this way, but many women will have to assert themselves much more, and be much more of an advocate for their own cause, in order to get the same level of medical care.
Dr. Daniel Heller
PMS Comfort
In spite of my negative life experiences with the opposite sex, I do (and have always) believe there are good men in this world.
I am a hopeful personal by nature who has had a few blows and hard knocks. But, I see how important it is personally to not allow myself to be embittered.
I do appreciate your perspective and I hope I didn't come across too harsh toward you.
Magnolia
April 21, 2012 - 10:57amThis Comment