Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn

5 reviews

a_violentfemme's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this has I hadn't read much about it apart from the blurb but I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting an overly "white feminist" take on the subject however, the author does a great job at acknowledging the issues of systemic racism in the medical field. 
I found the middle of the book most interesting and in particular the legacy of eugenics and birth control. 
I would however liked to have seen more on LGBTQ+ women and bodies but I suspect that is entirely its own study. As a sufferer of endometriosis, I am too familiar with the gender bias in medicine and found this to be a must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical trauma, and Racism

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

chronically_theo's review against another edition

emotional informative sad

3.75

This book was incredibly hard to read. Reading about how people like you have been violated and dismissed never gets easier. It is interesting though if you are in the right headspace 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Xenophobia, Rape, Racism, Misogyny, Ableism, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Classism, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Cancer

radfordmanor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Abortion, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Sexual content, Drug use, and Miscarriage

beatriks's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

I listened to the german Audiobook version that is available on Spotify and I loved it. 
The history is of misogyny and discrimination and mistreatment goes beyond what I knew and is far more shocking than I thought. I'm planning to give the book as a present to some women around me. 

Highly recommended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Violence

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Unwell Women is a sweeping historical look at how women have suffered as patients at the hands of Western medicine, from ancient Greece to present. Peppered with historical case studies and the author's own heart-wrenching journey to a lupus diagnosis, the voices of women rise up through the narrative to be heard where they are so frequently suppressed.

Cleghorn's dry humor was much appreciated throughout this journey to balance the horrific nature of the trends and stories she shares. I found the ancient history amusing, with the Greek concept of "the wandering womb" especially hilarious. But the lived realities of these experiences are far from funny. Seeing medical knowledge peeled back to reveal the insidious tentacles of patriarchy creeping through everything was somehow both liberating and disheartening. Women have survived some horrible shit, sometimes with no help from doctors, and others in spite of the very medical attention meant to cure their ills.

Of the many topics covered, here are just a few that will stay with me:

 • hysteria, hormones, and the other excuses to dismiss women's pain altogether or root it in psychology
 • abortion, forced sterilization, birth control, eugenics, and all the ways women's reproduction is more valued than her own well-being and decided by the medical apparatus
 • the way medical knowledge has been accrued without female input or consent in so many cases -- I was especially horrified by accounts of research done on enslaved Black American women and the more recent trials of The Pill on Puerto Rican women without knowledge of the risks
 • the lack of knowledge, empathy, and support for women with chronic pain conditions

This is far from a complete history, but I don't think that's feasible for one book, anyway. It's largely focused on the US and UK, but I was relieved that the author addresses race, class, and gender identity as intersectional factors in women's health. I will carry these thoughts into my own experiences as a patient, and I want to learn even more about this topic and advocacy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Abortion, Cancer, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Torture