For years and years women have often faced systemic biases in healthcare, both as patients and as healthcare providers. Women, as patients, are often not taken seriously and their pain often goes ignored. Many women’s specific conditions, such as endometriosis, are so often underdiagnosed and untreated that some doctors fail to regard these conditions as deserving of serious attention or care. In gynecology, this dismissal of women’s pain is especially apparent in many routine procedures like IUD insertions, endometrial biopsies, or hysteroscopies which are often performed without anesthesia or adequate pain management, despite many women reporting significant pain. In contrast, studies show that men are often provided with more pain management for procedures that cause less or comparable amounts of pain and discomfort. Much of this stems from a historical belief that women should or are expected to bear the pain.
Additionally, these female-dominated fields are typically paid less, though some attribute this to coincidence rather than systemic bias which is arguable. And even when women pursue more so-called prestigious and demanding specialties like surgery they are frequently questioned about how they plan to balance having a family with their career even when they haven’t expressed a desire for one—questions rarely asked of their male counterparts.This reflects how, despite progress, women remain confined to societal expectations that assume caregiving is their primary role, regardless of their professional aspirations, confirming Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of immanence, where women are seen as existing solely within the limits of traditional roles.
This contrast in care for men and women also reflects a deeply ingrained gender bias where women’s words are seen as less than and worth half of a mans. As healthcare providers, women are often viewed as inferior to their male colleagues, facing doubts and bias at multiple levels. This bias manifests in subtle ways, such as patients assuming that all women in scrubs are nurses while all men in scrubs must be doctors. Along with that, medical specialties dominated by women such as pediatrics and family medicine are viewed as “softer” or less prestigious compared to male-dominated specialties like surgery or cardiology.
Unruly Bodies 
I think the concept of misogyny in healthcare can go even further into encompassing mental health and neurodiversity. On top of doctors not taking women seriously to begin with, those assigned female at birth, especially when they are people of color, are extremely underdiagnosed with neurodivergencies such as ADHD and autism. Those assigned female at birth are instead taught to mask their traits, leading to them suffering years down the line for easily treatable symptoms that would have been managed quickly had they not been expected to act a certain way.
I completely agree with you that women’s pain is often not taken seriously and gets ignored, especially in gynecology. Although I haven’t had an IUD, I’ve come across TikTok videos where people described the intense pain of the procedure and how they were only advised to take Advil to manage it. Reddit discussions also highlight the significant pain experienced during both IUD insertions and removals. It’s disappointing that not all clinics in the U.S. consider it standard practice to administer anesthetics for IUD insertions. Unlike in some other countries like Australia, where all IUD insertions are done under intravenous sedation.
I can relate to your reflection on how support systems shapes us especially when it some to healthcare. Recently my partner went through the painful process of getting an IUD, and I had to plead with the OBGYN for any kind of pain relief. It was shocking to me how dismissive the medical staff were toward her pain, like they expected her to just “deal with it.” It really opened my eyes to how much women, particularly women of color, are neglected in healthcare.