health

Angela

Went to the hospital in my wheelchair with my male friend pushing me. The male healthcare worker came out to get me, ignored me and said to my friend, “Can I take her now?” If I had been a young male in a wheelchair rather a woman, would I have been ignored? I suspect it is partially disableism but also sexism… I suspect the male healthcare worker saw my male friend as “in charge of me”, as I’m just a weak and delicate female obviously(!). We are very used to this sadly so my lovely friend always speaks up as a great advocate. So as well as hearing from him, the healthcare worker was also told by me to ask for the consent of the person in the wheelchair before grabbing them! He was not unpleasant but looked absolutely baffled by what I said.. In fact I had to tell him a second time before he understood what the issue was…

At The Doctor’s

“She – Waits He – Speaks & speak & speak & speak & speak & speak & transforming a girl becomes a shell where life is cut.” M.B. I wrote this poem just now, after being at the doctor’s in my hometown in Italy. Because I am a woman the doctor implied that I am “just stressed”, and I don’t need further tests for my symptoms. I have been at A&E 4 times in a week because of an allergic reaction. Today I supposed to have some test done. Why as a woman I can’t even speak of & for my own suffering body?

CC

Man flu when men come down with an ailment that women would shrug off and get on with life. Ok so why when men are reluctant to go to a doctor do the women say this is equally stupid. I have yet to hear a feminist complain that women have a longer life span. Breast cancer is rightly taken very seriously and woe betide any man who sniggers at the mere mention of breasts. Alternatively Testicular cancer is a well known cause of sniggering amongst women opften in the media . . . “oooh he said balls!” So onone hand men are to be sniggered at for taking their health more seriously but wimps for getting ill and dying earlier. mmmn!

Charlie

When you tell your dad you went to see a Doctor and he asks you what ‘he’ said. I told him SHE said I was okay.

Caro

Earlier this month I went to the Nairobi Women’s Hospital. I was looking forward to accessing healthcare at a clinic that tailors to women’s health concerns. I felt safe. The doctor I saw was a man, and I didn’t think anything of it. I figured he was well-versed in treating his patients with respect. I was bloated. I wanted him to address the issue. He asked if he could feel my stomach. I had a brief moment where I worried he would take advantage of me – it happens, after all. But I told myself I was being paranoid. “Let it go, Caro.” It was fine. He sent me to the lab to do some tests. I felt vulnerable. Scared. When I returned to his office with the test results – as instructed – he simply looked at them and laughed. Laughing at someone’s test results is not exactly the path to rapport-building. Finally, he looked up at me with a sardonic smile. “Everything’s fine.” Now, how much longer are you in Kenya for?” 2 months. “Does that mean I won’t be able to take you out for dinner or a coffee?” I wanted to spit in his face. To tell him he was being unprofessional. To storm out. But I froze. He was about to fill out a prescription for me and I worried that if I told him to fuck off, he would prescribe me something else – something completely useless, or harmful. Paranoid, perhaps. But you never know. Finally, I spoke. “I’m in a relationship.” “That doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’re a very beautiful women. It only makes sense that I would ask you.” I felt like puking. Just an hour earlier I had gone to this women’s clinic, excited to be in a place that purportedly caters to its patients needs, that respects them. This was clearly not the case. Had I known that he was so unprofessional, I wouldn’t have let him touch my stomach. I wouldn’t have even shaken his hand. I told the only woman staff member I saw on the way out. She said “I’m sorry.” I’m looking into who I can report this to.

Amy

When I was 16 I went to the doctors for the first time without my mum for the contraceptive pill. The doctor told me they were running an STI screening and whether I would like to get checked. At this point I had been with my boyfriend for just less than a year and we had only started having sex the month before. I informed her of this and she just raised her eyebrow and mmhmmed at me. Made me feel like I had to justify myself to her and with only being 16 thought it was quite inappropriate.

Donna

Last spring I went to see a doctor on campus about severe and debilitating hayfever I was suffering while doing several months of ecology fieldwork for my PhD. Right from the start he seemed pretty condescending and I got the sense that I wasn’t being taken seriously. At the back of my mind I was wondering whether if were a man I’d be having this much trouble making the seriousness of the issue clear but gave him the benefit of the doubt because who knows, maybe he’s like this with everyone. Well. During the appointment, I took the opportunity to mention that I was concerned about a patch of (stress-related) persistent and painful acne on my face which was bothering me and that I was worried about due to potential scarring. He dismissed my concerns, told me he “hadn’t even noticed your acne” and that “you’ve got a lovely face”. I felt so creeped out and infuriated that a doctor I was expressing a legitimate medical concern to would comment on my appearance in such a way, and proceed to use this as a reason to dismiss my concern. Because I was only in town for one day before returning to my fieldwork location, I didn’t have time to go to another doctor. The acne persisted for months and guess what – I now have a little patch of nasty scars on my face that won’t fade. I have read about women’s pain and symptoms not being taken as seriously as men’s in emergency departments and the like. My situation was not life-and-death. Maybe there wasn’t much the doctor could have done about my issue. However, I was not offered any suggestions or advice on how to fix or treat the problem, but simply told that the problem didn’t exist. Now I have to live with the consequences. Even though my problem was a relatively minor one, I feel like this is a perfect example of women’s health issues not being taken seriously – and if minor issues are not to be taken seriously, then this creates a dangerous precedent for major issues not to be taken seriously.