Dr. Pepper told me i just need to lose some weight
#medicalmisogyny — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #medicalmisogyny, aggregated by home.social.
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Data behind the gender health gap:
Women with same health conditions as men ‘less likely to be offered active treatment’
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/16/women-with-same-health-conditions-as-men-less-likely-to-be-offered-active-treatment?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
Privilege and luck play a huge role in whether you survive our healthcare system.
Bias, racism and misogyny are rampant and frequently cost people their lives.
A surgical complication almost killed me when I was 24.
Luck, privilege and a 22 year old boy saved my life.
No one’s survival should be based on luck or how much privilege they have.
People should have a reasonable expectation of safety in a hospital.
They should be treated the same regardless of their skin colour, marital status, sexual orientation or insurance status.
Sadly that’s not how things work.
I had a hysterectomy when I was 24. Doctors expected me to “sail through” recovery because I was young and fit.
Unfortunately they were wrong. My body wasn’t recovering, it was decompensating.
I had many abdominal surgeries before the hysterectomy. I knew the difference between normal post op pain and something being “wrong”.
After surgery I felt like I was dying.
My pain worsened every day.
I became more fatigued. I couldn’t eat or sleep.
But no one believed me.
The surgeon discharged me.
I returned to the ER and told them something was wrong.
They dismissed me and sent me home.
I went back multiple times and each time was treated like a nuisance.
I was gaslit and told my pain was “normal”.
No one even ran basic tests.
Even people in my life started to doubt me.
Told me I should just rest and stop bothering the folks at the ER.
I KNEW something was wrong but I was rapidly losing the ability to self advocate as I became too weak to speak or even sit up.
My 22 year old boyfriend came to check on me and instantly realized things were dire.
He called a coworker to take us back to the hospital.
He caused a scene to ensure a doctor saw me and I wasn’t sent home again.
They threatened to call the police but he refused to back down.
He was right.
I had a massive internal bleed and an infected abscess.
I was immediately evacuated to a larger hospital for emergency surgery and only given a 50/50 chance of survival.
I spent nearly a month in the hospital recovering.
I didn’t even want to go back to the ER that day.
I was thoroughly beaten down.
Being dismissed and mistreated so many times left me feeling hopeless and like I would rather die in my own bed than be disrespected in the hospital AGAIN.
No one should face these types of decisions.
No one should have to fight that hard for care.
Had my boyfriend not believed me, I would have died.
Had he told me to stop bothering ER staff, I would have died.
Had he not come to check on me that night, I would have died.
He wasn’t prepared to handle such an intense life or death situation… but he stepped up because no one else did.
He saw the danger and fought like hell to protect me.
That’s privilege.
The fact that he wasn’t arrested? Privilege and luck.
I’m grateful to him for being willing to risk his own safety to ensure I got the care I needed, but I hate that it took a man causing a scene to get the healthcare system to pay attention.
I hate that others have died simply because they didn’t have someone to fight for them.
We must do better.
We must call out the bias in medicine and ensure everyone is equally protected.
We must establish networks of community care so that no one ever has to face the ER alone.
We must tell our stories so people know they aren’t alone.
We must amplify the stories of those without platforms so their voices are heard too.
If you’ve been mistreated, know that it’s not your fault.
The system needs to change, and we will keep fighting until it does.
#ableism #racism #misogyny #chronicillness #disability #medicalmisogyny
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Australia’s healthcare system still weighted towards male experience, women’s health experts say
Heidi* was pregnant with her second child, extremely nauseous and struggling with “unusual” skin symptoms when she sought…
#NewsBeep #News #Healthcare #CA #Canada #endo #endometriosis #Health #hospital #LGH #medicalmisogyny #NWRH #pain #RHH #tasmania
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/776772/ -
https://www.europesays.com/uk/1065064/ Australia’s healthcare system still weighted towards male experience, women’s health experts say #endo #endometriosis #Health #Healthcare #Hospital #LGH #MedicalMisogyny #NWRH #pain #RHH #Tasmania #UK #UnitedKingdom
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Australia’s healthcare system still weighted towards male experience, women’s health experts say
Heidi* was pregnant with her second child, extremely nauseous and struggling with “unusual” skin symptoms when she sought…
#NewsBeep #News #Healthcare #endo #endometriosis #Health #healthcare #Hospital #LGH #medicalmisogyny #NWRH #pain #RHH #tasmania #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/670901/ -
Australia’s healthcare system still weighted towards male experience, women’s health experts say
Heidi* was pregnant with her second child, extremely nauseous and struggling with “unusual” skin symptoms when she sought…
#NewsBeep #News #Health #AU #Australia #endo #endometriosis #Healthcare #Hospital #lgh #medicalmisogyny #NWRH #Pain #rhh #Tasmania
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/775042/ -
48 female patients came forward against Kitchener neurologist Jeffrey Sloka.
They alleged he performed unnecessary pelvic & breast exams.
The college took his license.
The crown pressed charges.
The male judge let him walk.
Judge Craig Parry ignored 48 women and sided with the predator.
He ignored the expert testimony of Dr Vera Bril, a female neurologist at the top of her field.
He decided the male doctor knew better than all the women who were assaulted.
This is rape culture.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/article/what-happened-during-the-acquittal-of-jeffrey-sloka/
#misogyny #medicalmisogyny #sexualassault #healthcare #ableism
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Latest consumer item in a long line of things that won't fit in most women's hands:
Breast cancer medication.
Read that again.
Breast. Cancer. Medication. now comes in a blister pack too large for most women to access the blisters with our thumbs while containing the package in our palms. So every day, the pills are likely to fall into the sink (maybe wet) or onto the floor (real fun for immune suppressing medication).
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About time. Now everyone else do it! Victoria to establish new 'women's pain standard' as it releases landmark report into women's pain #MedicalMisogyny
“While 91 per cent of women said they had sought assistance for their pain, the vast majority said they had also experienced dismissal by healthcare professionals. A massive 71 per cent of women had experienced this dismissal.”
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#GreatestMEdicalScandal #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #PwME #MECFS #MedicalMisogyny #InternationalMEawarenessDay
Written by my mum then digitised by me, as she struggles with computerised devices.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis- Valerie B’s Story, originally written on September 2024
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I’ve lost count of how many times I was dismissed with very serious issues because I was ‘too young’ and/or a woman.
My Dysautonomia was missed for years because ‘you’re too young for heart problems’
My EDS wasn’t diagnosed until my late thirties because ‘you’re young and otherwise healthy so the pain is in your head’
After my hysterectomy, I bled into my belly for two weeks while the ER repeatedly sent me home saying I was ‘too young’ to be having a serious post operative complication.
Misogyny, discrimination and bias in medicine kills. It disables. It traumatizes.
I was lucky to survive my experiences, but I don’t want any of us to survive based on luck.
We deserve the same level of care as men, and I will keep fighting until we get it.
#canpoli #misogyny #healthcare #publichealth #cancer #medicalmisogyny #ableism #bias
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In my twenties, I was denied a medically necessary hysterectomy because I “might meet a man who wants kids”
I fought for years to get the surgery, spending weeks out of every month stuck in a hospital bed needing iron and blood transfusions. Too disabled to work. Fainting almost daily. In constant pain.
No matter how sick I got, the hypothetical future husband and baby came before my health. What these imaginary beings might want was more important than what I needed.
When I finally had the surgery, I had a severe post operative complication. The surgeon didn’t believe me. She sent me home.
I had to go to the ER four times before they found the life threatening internal bleed. Each time dismissing me as “attention seeking” or accusing me of not understanding some pain was to be expected.
My then boyfriend saved my life. He got loud and refused to take me home, saying he was convinced I would die.
It turns out, he was right. I had a giant bleed in my belly and an infected abscess that had been growing for weeks while they gaslit and ignored me.
It was a hell of a crash course in medical misogyny, as well as the need to always have an advocate in healthcare settings:
#misogyny #disability #chronicillness #patriarchy #womenshealth #disability #obgyn #hysterectomy #childfree #medicalmisogyny #disabilityjustice
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Me at ER for cardiac issues
Dr: “Could you be pregnant?”
Me: “No I had a hysterectomy”
Dr: “You look too young for that? Are you sure?”
Me: “I’m confident”
Dr: “I think you might be confused. Maybe it was your appendix.”
Proceeds to order pregnancy test
I’ve had this interaction more times than I can count
Healthcare workers think I’m “too young” to have had a hysterectomy and automatically assume I’m confusing my womb with another organ.
They ask endless questions, only to end up doing a pregnancy test anyways
Perhaps there are patients who confuse their uterus for their appendix, but I would imagine that’s exceedingly rare
The battle I went through to get my hysterectomy was long and arduous. It involved many physicians lecturing me about how I would never be able to have children
Asking insensitive questions like:
“Don’t you want to be a Mom?”
“You might want biological children, many women do”
“What happens if you meet your dream man and he leaves you for being barren?”
You don’t have to endure this type of insulting and misogynistic third degree to get your appendix or gallbladder removed.
They inform you of the surgical risks, you consent, the end.
There’s simply no plausible way to confuse the removal of a WOMB with an appendix
Despite these obvious facts, I’ve had countless doctors assume I’m wrong. That I couldn’t possibly have lost my uterus and it must have been something less important.
I’ve even had “patient CLAIMS hysterectomy”’written in my chart.
Why someone would lie about something so easy to prove or disprove is beyond me.
The end result is always a delay in care while we argue and then wait for an unnecessary pregnancy test which always comes back negative.
Surely we can do better?
I understand that doctors must have a degree of skepticism, and that the price of missing a pregnancy can be incredibly high.
I’m not opposed to them running a pregnancy test if that’s what they feel they need to do.
I am opposed to the delays and gaslighting
It was traumatic to lose my uterus at a young age. The healthcare workers who inundated me with misogynistic questions & put a hypothetical man before me and my health? They didn’t make it any easier.
I feel that trauma all over again whenever I’m questioned about pregnancy
I wish we could endeavour to either TRUST our patient, or just run the pregnancy test without all the unnecessary and (often) rude comments.
I don’t object to the test, I object to the way I’m treated leading up to the test.
Patients know their body best. We know the difference between a womb and an appendix. We know when we’re being talked down to and mistreated.
It causes trauma. Makes us less likely to trust the provider and far less likely to seek care in the future
Please treat your patients with the dignity they deserve. Don’t judge them on how they look, the chronic illness or disability they have or their gender or sexual orientation. Listen to them. Work with them. Let them be a partner in their care.
We can do better together /end
After the hysterectomy I also had a post op complication that was ignored by the ER three times. I had a life threatening internal bleed, but was sent home without tests because they thought I was “exaggerating”.We MUST listen to patients. I only survived because my accidental advocate stepped up
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/my-most-dangerous-er-experience-and
#misogyny #medicalmisogyny #womenshealth #obgyn #ableism #disability #endometriosis #hysterectomy #discrimination #mybodymychoice
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Gisele Pelicot’s trial has rocked the world and served as a powerful example of why “not all men” can ring hollow.
Today - her former husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison and the 50 other men charged alongside him were ALL found guilty.
Shame HAS changed sides.
For more on Gisele Pelicot, “not all men” and the role medical misogyny played in her abuse - my full article is below.
Many people don’t know that she sought medical help - and was led to believe she had Alzheimer’s by her husband AND doctors:
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/gisele-pelicot-medical-misogyny-and
#giselepelicot #shamemustchangesides #metoo #abuse #rape #NotAllMenbuttoomanymen #patriarchy #misogyny #medicalmisogyny
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CW: Rape, abuse, Gisele Pelicot
The verdicts are expected tomorrow in the Gisele Pelicot trial - a horrific case which has shaken most of us to our core.
Its served as a painful reminder of how much damage misogyny, patriarchy and rape culture can do.
The case is a stunning example of why “not all men” rings hollow and why women are angry, fed up and scared.
Gisele was betrayed by those she trusted the most. Her husband of fifty years spent a decade drugging her and inviting men to their home to rape her while she was unconscious.
There's certainly no lack of villains in this story. From the 80+ men who assaulted her, to the husband and his disgusting betrayal, to the unknown number of men who declined to assault her but also neglected to get her help.
My article focuses on a piece of the story that hasn't received as much attention as I feel it deserves - the role her medical team played in what happened to her.
The way in which medical misogyny can and does harm us and the various ways in which disabled individuals are at increased risk.
We should all be outraged at what happened to Gisele - and what happens to many women every single day. Shame must change sides.
I hope tomorrow's verdict sees justice done - but if it doesn't - I ask everyone to raise their voice in opposition and ensure that the world knows we will not be silent any longer.
Abuse thrives in the dark... let's be committed to bringing it into the light and forcing those who harm others to take responsibility for their actions once and for all.
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/gisele-pelicot-medical-misogyny-and
#abuse #rape #misogyny #medicalmisogyny #notallmenbutenoughofthem #notallmen #metoo #GiselePelicot #shamemustchangesides #patriarchy #fuckthepatriarchy #disabilityrights #disabilityjustice
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Endometriosis affects one in 10 women in the UK, yet their GP frequently dismisses it as normal "period pain".
Women are enduring years of pain because their reproductive conditions are being dismissed due to “medical misogyny”
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CW: Rape, abuse, medical misogyny
Whenever I read a new detail about the Gisele Pelicot case - I find myself increasingly enraged.
“Not all men” but also so many men. Her husband, her neighbour, men from all walks of life in and around her village. She was violated repeatedly for TEN years - drugged and assaulted by men her husband INVITED over to harm her.
She was then violated again by the medical profession when she repeatedly sought care for STIs, vaginal bruising, confusion, forgetfulness etc… and was told she was simply ‘getting older’. They could have helped her. They could have believed her and possibly discovered the abuse sooner. But they dismissed her as they dismiss so many women - especially disabled and elderly women.
Finally - the male mayor of her small town made the most callous and ridiculous remark about how it wasn’t really ‘that bad’ because she wasn’t killed and there were no children involved.
Men - I beg of you - don’t tell a rape victim it wasn’t ‘that bad’. Don’t downplay something you can’t possibly understand. She was repeatedly assaulted by over 70 men for a decade - all arranged by her husband. You can’t just ‘rebuild’ from that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvpd7zyprdo
#rape #misogyny #patriarchy #fuckthepatriarchy #believewomen #giselepelicot #medicalmisogyny #gaslighting #ableism #discrimination #notallmen #metoo #safehealthcare
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Pregnancy Will Likely Kill You but You May Want Babies!
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/pregnancy-will-likely-kill-you-but
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Medical gaslighting: when conditions turn out not to be ‘all in the mind’
“Until a much greater part of society is included in that statistical reckoning, we can expect medical gaslighting to remain a part of our medical experiences. “
#MedicalMisogyny #misogyny -
More #MedicalMisogyny 🙄 "We don’t have kind of a gold standard treatment of Scad … because my understanding is a lot of the research is based on males, because they are the traditional heart attack patients,” Jen O’Neill said
Jen didn’t fit the profile for a heart attack – then she had three of them https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/27/jen-didnt-fit-the-profile-for-a-heart-attack-then-she-had-three-of-them
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Oh it might help if they actually used female cells to study 🙄: 4 out of 5 autoimmune diseases patients are women, and scientists want to know why
“For several [ever!] decades, we've used a male cell line as the standard of reference," Chan says
Here’s the study https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00002-3
#MedicalMisogynyhttps://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/02/02/autoimmune-diseases-women
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“Studies show women receive less pain medication after surgery compared to men. In fact, one study found while men were prescribed opioids after joint surgery, women were more likely to be prescribed antidepressants. In another study, women were more likely to receive sedatives for pain relief following surgery, while men were more likely to receive pain medication.”
#Auspol #VicPol #HealthCare #Pain #PainRelief #PainMedication
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Obstetrics researcher Marlena Fejzo was told by her doctor 2 decades ago that she was exaggerating her extreme morning sickness for attention (until it killed her baby) then she determined she’d find the cause. #MedicalMisogyny
Scientists Think They've Found The Cause of Morning Sickness https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-think-theyve-found-the-cause-of-morning-sickness
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Obviously a large part of it is the fact the symptoms tend to present more severely in women than in men and medical misogyny is unfortunately still common. And in case you're wondering, I've heard of several trans men who have had some symptoms improve upon hormonally transitioning. At least the more "visible" ones like hypermobility. It's hard to say how common this is or to what extent because if there's anything more neglected than women's health it's trans people. #misogyny #medicalmisogyny
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If you have ever wondered about #MedicalMisogyny, go onto #TikTok and search for #MedicalMisogyny.
Every.single.female in our support group has experienced it, but our members are not the only ones and the stories on TikTok are horrific -
A very positive step from the Australian government with the establishment of the National Women’s Health Advisory Council in addressing #MedicalMisogyny. This is worldwide issues and time for all governments to step up to the plate and address this issue.