How progressive practices and the advocates that support them can improve the care of women in America.
This is one of the major problems when it comes to the subject of women’s health: either men are too involved in it or they’re not involved enough.
The former is seen when men seek to control women; they don’t bear children—for example—yet they see themselves qualified to push for laws and standards that govern those who do. Then you have the latter which sees men–who dominate the medical field–not looking into women enough. Either they dismiss their concerns or simply don’t consider them enough when seeking advancements in the field. Both have caused numerous problems.
For women, navigating the healthcare system can feel frustrating. It’s 2024 but discrimination and misogyny are still among the problems that they deal with. Physicians, for starters, have a history of dismissing or misdiagnosing women’s symptoms. Studies show that women have to see multiple doctors and advocate strongly for themselves to get an accurate diagnosis and treatment. Men don’t often have to deal with that.
Women also face discrimination in clinical drug trials. Historically, drug studies have focused on participants who are men. Ergo, there is a lack of knowledge concerning how some drugs can affect women and they end up experiencing adverse reactions.
Then there are the usual subjects related to women’s health and legislation: the struggle to access birth control, abortion services, and quality prenatal and postnatal care. Women of color and those with low incomes are especially impacted by these. At the same time, the maternal mortality rate—even in supposedly advanced, first world countries like the United States—continues to climb, especially among black people.
But while women struggle with such realities, progress has been made through genuine feminism. For years, people from various walks of life have pushed for practices and principles that improved women’s health care and cleared the way for changes that have saved many lives.
True; throughout the years there were men–and women–who either did too much or too little for women. But there were also those who did–and continue to do–right by them. And many started simply by not dismissing their concerns.
Listening to Women’s Voices and Experiences
For too long, the healthcare system disregarded or downplayed women’s voices and experiences.
This changed, however, through a number of woman-friendly practices pushed by advocates of women’s rights. Chief among them is recognizing a woman’s pain. In the past, many doctors did not take women’s reports of pain seriously. Conditions like endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and chronic migraines were frequently misdiagnosed. Feminist advocates fought to recognize these as legitimate medical issues that deserved treatment. Now, women’s pain reports are more likely to be believed and properly diagnosed.
Another cause of change was providing better focus on issues that generally affected women. Women have unique health needs. For example, pregnancy, gynecological care, and menopause. The feminist movement pushed for more research on women’s health issues and development of specializations like obstetrics and gynecology. Women now have access to healthcare providers specifically focused on their needs.
It also helped that medical practitioners began to recognize the impact of gender. This being seen as a major factor in diagnosis has vastly improved the treatment of women. But if healthcare for women is to truly progress, people must also learn to recognize more than a woman’s gender; they must also take into account her circumstances.
Incorporating Intersectional Feminism
For too long, mainstream feminism has focused on the concerns of white, middle-class, heterosexual women.
An intersectional feminist perspective in healthcare seeks to understand how a woman’s overlapping identities—not just her gender—impact her experience.
Intersectionality as a whole is an important concept. Coined by Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1898, the publication Vox said that it was used to describe how race, class, gender, and other individual characteristics “intersect” with one another and overlap. To recognize this reality is to be in a better position to truly help someone. It also aids movements.
Let us paint you a picture. Let’s say that there is a pandemic caused by a virus that does not care about the color of your skin or who you find attractive. Now, let’s pretend that only people of a certain profile are receiving proper treatment and prevention for this. How will the privileged few be completely free from the virus and its ramifications if it continues to exist and run rampant among those who aren’t as privileged? How will the problem really be solved if the solutions to it are shallow?
An intersectional mindset is necessary because biases do exist within the healthcare system. A CDC report from August 2023 revealed that 30% of Black women, 29% of Hispanic women, and 27% of multiracial women reported mistreatment during maternity care. This happened when they did not receive responses to their requests for help or were shouted at or scolded because of it.
Furthermore, women have varying health concerns and needs based on factors outside their gender. These include race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. For example, lesbian and bisexual women may need more frequent screenings for certain cancers. Transgender women require health services specific to their transition and identity. Immigrant and refugee women often struggle with a lack of insurance, language barriers, and unfamiliarity with the U.S. healthcare system. An intersectional feminist lens demands that the healthcare industry make an effort to understand and meet the needs of all women.
Furthermore, an intersectional feminist approach also means including women—especially marginalized women—in conversations about their own health and healthcare priorities. Their voices and experiences should help guide research, shape policy, and determine best practices.
Overall, applying an intersectional feminist perspective to health care means providing inclusive, unbiased, culturally competent care that respects and values all women. And this is important if it is to succeed against the forces that seek to oppress all women not just through their gender. For example, those who wish to control their bodies.
Centering Reproductive Justice
Reproductive rights have long been a cornerstone of feminist activism, but the movement has evolved to embrace the broader concept of reproductive justice. This recognizes that the ability to control your own body and reproductive choices is intricately tied to social, political and economic factors.
Reproductive justice means all people have the right to choose if and when they have children, and to parent the children they have in safe and sustainable communities. This includes access to safe and legal abortion, birth control, and prenatal and pregnancy care. However, abortion restrictions and lack of insurance coverage for contraception continue to limit choice and access for many. Feminist healthcare advocates are working to dismantle these barriers.
Furthermore, such advocates also call for care that is respectful, culturally sensitive, and tailored to each patient’s needs. This means practitioners listen to understand a patient’s priorities and concerns, rather than make assumptions based on gender, race or background. It also considers how factors like trauma, intimate partner violence and socioeconomic status can impact health, and works to mitigate them.
Advocating for Trauma-Informed Care
For years, the healthcare system failed to recognize how trauma can have long-lasting effects on health and well-being. Traumatic events like abuse, violence, neglect, and loss can be severely damaging, especially for women. When seeking medical care, trauma survivors often feel unheard or dismissed. Their physical symptoms are treated, but the root cause or the lingering aches—like their trauma—is ignored.
Trauma-informed care aims to change that by training providers to recognize signs of trauma and respond with empathy and understanding. Caregivers learn how to make meaningful connections, focus on empowerment, and provide choices when possible. They understand that certain procedures or interactions could be triggering and work to avoid re-traumatization.
This compassionate approach can make a world of difference for women. Feeling heard, respected, and in control of decisions about their own care can start to rebuild trust and safety. Over time, the healthcare experience itself becomes less traumatic, allowing women to discuss their needs and concerns openly without fear of judgment.
Trauma-informed care also takes an integrated view of health. Mental, emotional, and physical well-being are deeply connected, so all aspects are addressed. Screenings for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety help to identify unmet needs. Referrals may be made for counseling or other support services.
While some healthcare organizations have made great strides, trauma-informed care is not yet the norm. Ongoing advocacy and policy changes are needed to make this approach a standard practice. Healthcare workers require extensive training to develop an understanding of trauma and how to implement appropriate changes.
The benefits of trauma-informed care could be life-changing for women. But achieving a healthcare system in which all people feel heard, respected, and supported will require a massive cultural shift. And this shift may end up seeing healthcare less as a business and more as a service.
Improving Access and Affordability
Healthcare should be accessible and affordable for all, regardless of gender or socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, for many women, high costs and lack of insurance coverage remain barriers to getting necessary care.
If you’re uninsured or underinsured, don’t lose hope. There are resources that can help make healthcare more affordable and accessible. Community health centers provide low-cost care based on your ability to pay. Planned Parenthood offers free or low-cost services like birth control, STD testing, and cancer screenings. Medicaid provides coverage for those with limited income. Some private clinics and hospitals offer sliding-scale payments and payment plans. And these exist because of advocacy.
Advocating for policy changes helps. And there is more that can be done. For example, supporting legislation to expand Medicaid coverage in your state would provide insurance for more low-income women. Backing proposals to make birth control and contraceptives available without a prescription and co-pay could significantly reduce costs for women.
Providers should aim to minimize barriers to care within the healthcare system itself. Offering extended hours, walk-in availability, and telehealth services makes it easier for women to get care when needed. Providing information and paperwork in multiple languages ensures that language is not an obstacle. Training staff on sensitivity and inclusiveness creates an environment where all women feel respected.
Promoting a feminist perspective in healthcare means demanding a system that serves the needs of all women. While there is still much work to be done, progress is happening. Women’s health and well-being can be prioritized by taking advantage of available resources, advocating for change, and supporting a more inclusive system. The goal of accessible, mindful and affordable care for all is within our reach. For a time, however, that didn’t seem to be the case—especially for women.
The HERStory of Women’s Healthcare
For centuries, women’s healthcare depended heavily on men.
Doctors dismissed women’s pain and health concerns as “hysteria,” and treatments often did more harm than good. Times have changed, however. In the United States, this is partly because of pioneers like Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the U.S. to earn a medical degree.
From the get-go, it seemed that Blackwell was meant to be revolutionary. Born near Bristol, England on February 3, 1821, she was the third of the nine children of Hannah Lane and Samuel Blackwell, an anti-slavery activist. Within her family are other people deemed progressive at that time. Her brother Henry, for example, was an abolitionist and a famous supporter of women’s suffrage. He was also married to Lucy Stone, also a champion of women’s rights.
In 1832, their family moved to Ohio. And later, Blackwell was inspired to pursue medicine by a dying friend who stated that her situation would’ve been better had she been cared for by a female physician. Ultimately, this urged Blackwell to pursue a path in medicine and was admitted to Geneva College in New York—even though her acceptance letter was meant to be a practical joke.
She was quite serious, though, and it showed. In school, she faced discrimination. Professors forced her to distance herself during lectures, she was excluded from lab work and people shunned her for violating long-established gender roles. Nevertheless, she graduated first in her class back in 1849. And, even as her discrimination continued when she pursued further studies in Europe, she still managed to shine by putting a focus on preventative care and personal hygiene. This came about after she realized that male doctors have the tendency to cause epidemics simply by failing to wash their hands between patients.
After Blackwell, however, the medical field remained greatly dominated by men in the U.S. But, this shifted dramatically because of the women’s health movement of the 1960s and 1970s. During this period, women started to really advocate for their needs. They demanded research on conditions like breast cancer and access to birth control. Slowly but surely, the medical establishments began listening.
Today, women make up over one-third of physicians in the U.S. While disparities still exist, the state of women’s healthcare has improved tremendously and it will continue to do so if we normalize the practices mentioned above.
When looking at the challenges women face in the field of healthcare, it becomes clear that they are many and complicated. It also becomes clear that in solving many of these problems, certain sacrifices have to be made: lessons must be learned, time must be invested and effort must be given.
But they can be worth it. At least that’s what the “herstory” of healthcare in the United States suggests.
