Also: vagina facials and secondhand garden shame
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‘You are worthy and deserving of help’: six practical ways to navigate medical misogyny | The Guardian

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Illustration of a doctor with a clipboard discussing with a female patient in a medical office

‘You are worthy and deserving of help’: six practical ways to navigate medical misogyny

Two-thirds of Australian women have experienced gender bias or discrimination when seeking healthcare – here’s how to advocate for yourself if a doctor dismisses your concerns

Madeleine Aggeler Madeleine Aggeler
 

If there’s one thing that gets tiring about being a woman, it’s how every facet of society is designed to support and empower us. Haha, just kidding! Quite the opposite – even when it comes to the basics.

This week, Grace Jennings-Edquist wrote about how to navigate medical misogyny. According to a 2024 survey by the Australian government, two-thirds of women “have experienced gender bias or discrimination when seeking healthcare”. Often, this presents as doctors dismissing women’s pain and concerns. This in turn leads to delays in diagnosis and treatment.

With some research and organization, it is possible to effectively advocate for oneself. Experts suggest that you:

• Get a second opinion. Or a third, or fourth. “If you can find a GP that takes you seriously, they are able to open the door to many other specialists,” says gynecologist Dr Pav Nanayakkara. Try asking friends for recommendations.
• Research your condition. Peer support groups and health promotion charities can be great sources of information. But health misinformation is rife online, so be careful to assess the reliability and accuracy of what you’re reading.
• Coordinate your specialists. Because the healthcare system is so compartmentalized, it may be difficult for one specialist to connect the dots when it comes to disparate information. Keep copies of all your medical records so you can send them to your other doctors or bring them to appointments.

Read the full story here.

Health & wellbeing

an illustration of fruits

Companies make money hand over fist by convincing us our bodies are disgusting. Last week, we covered the boom in full-body deodorants. This week, beauty columnist Jessica DeFino explored the dark world of “vaginal wellness” products. From brightening creams to “vagi facials” and invasive cosmetic procedures, the “feminine intimate care market” is valued at $7.8bn globally. Most of these products are useless, since the vagina is self-cleaning and vulvas should generally only be cleaned with gentle soap and water. And DeFino doesn’t think the rise of these products in our current political climate is a coincidence.

Read the full story here.

 

Betsy Reed

Editor, Guardian US

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Advice & perspectives

An illustration of a woman looking at another woman with her back to her

A reader tells advice columnist Annalisa Barbieri that she’s embarrassed by her nearly 50-year-old daughter’s messy garden and wants to say something: “We live three hours away, but always feel ashamed when we visit and push our way up the overgrown path.” Barbieri says she believes the writer’s main motivation is concern for her daughter, but adds that the letter is full of judgmental words. “Curiosity is always a better key into places than criticism,” Barbieri says. She suggests the woman’s curiosity be directed not only toward her daughter, but also herself – why is this bothering her so much?

Read the full story here.

Relationships

two people sit on grey sofa

The TV show Couples Therapy shows real couples working with esteemed New York psychoanalyst Orna Guralnik on relationship issues. The show is very popular, but for some of the couples, the results have been complicated. Boris Fishman wrote about the struggles and harassment he and his wife Jessica have experienced since appearing on season 4 this year. “The airing of the show, and the crude misrepresentations it has invited, have been a wrecking ball to our very fragile site of reconstruction,” he writes.

Read the full story here.