Women (defined here as both female-identifying people, and people with wombs) have always found it much harder than men to have their bodies defined in the medical sphere. Given that histories are recorded and circumstances dictated by men, it’s not surprising that womanhood is ‘othered’ in our self-definition as a species – pushed to the boundaries of experience – but this sense of alienation is particularly prevalent when it comes to our physiognomy.

The female body has long been admired and feared by artists, writers, theologians, and scientists alike. For all recorded history we’ve been seen as boundaryless, apocryphal, excessive, and sinful; capable of divine acts of immaculate conception as well as wild and untameable; connected to the moon and the tide, bleeding and overflowing and seductive.

Though women have been menstruating since before homo sapiens were fully evolved as a species, it wasn’t until the 19th century that scientists linked periods to ovulation. Ancient societies associated periods with witchcraft, postulating that the blood could stop hailstorms, kill crop yields, and cure leprosy, if they wrote about menstruation at all. As late as the 1920s, medical professionals believed periods regulated women’s emotions and tempers, and were disconnected from them physiologically.

Narratives like this place the female form on a pedestal where it can be admired, suspected for its mysterious qualities, and kept in the shadow of ignorance. Centuries on, and the liminal nature of the female body has become so ingrained that even now we do not have a scientific grasp on them.

Many female specific ailments, like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and vaginismus are woefully under-researched, with their causes and treatments unknown. Women are constantly misdiagnosed and mistreated by both male and female physicians, and the lack of desire to curb this trend is yet another sign of the taboo around female bodies.

The gender health care gap is both a national and an international issue – whilst healthcare is administered locally, medical research is conducted globally. The problem is inherently one of discourse: as female issues continue to be swept under the rug, unconscious bias will continue to be part of medical training and practicing.

Read the full article about the gender health gap by Imogen Learmonth at Thred.