I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard stories from other women in my life who have had this same exact experience. Doctor’s not taking our very real pain, especially when it comes to our menstruation or vagina’s, seriously. I once went to the doctor for throat pain and he told me it was anxiety and asked if I had recently gone through a breakup. I hadn’t. And even if I had, that doesn’t make my pain less valid. My emotions and vulnerability don’t make my pain less valid.
The women in this video share their brave stories of having to advocate for themselves for years on end to get the care that they deserved all along. A lot of the reasons why doctors are so apt to not believe women about our pain is because of the gender binary and the stereotypes of women it upholds. The patriarchy tells us that we’re weak, too emotional, our periods get in the way us being able to think clearly and so much more. I mean, I could list all the things society believes about women and our inherent “weakness” all day. The thing is though, women are strong as fuck. We bear children. We do free care work and have for decades. We are intelligent and powerful beings. And we are capable of knowing when something isn’t right in our bodies.
Listen to these women’s stories for empowerment and know that you deserve to be believed about the pain you experience. Both emotional and physical.
