What is Gender Medicine?

The Women’s Health Movement (WHM) in the U.S. emerged during the 1960s and 1970s to combat paternalistic doctor-patient relationships and the unnecessary medicalization of natural bodily processes for women.

The WHM aligns with feminism as both concepts seek equal rights and gender justice for all women in all spheres of daily life. When it comes to healthcare, this is gender medicine.

Gender medicine is the application of feminism to medical care, ensuring fair and equal treatment in this area, as in all others. This approach challenges systemic inequalities, such as the gender health gap, in which medical research and guidelines have historically centered on male bodies.

The WHM is predicated on challenging “traditional” doctor-patient relationships, the medicalization of childbirth, misogyny in the health care system, and ensuring women’s access to safe, well-tested medications.

As noted by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), women still face delayed diagnoses, misdiagnoses, and underrepresentation in clinical trials.

The Women’s Health Movement in the United States emerged during the 1960s and 1970s to combat paternalistic doctor-patient relationships and the unnecessary medicalization of natural bodily processes. Here are so areas in which healthcare practice and feminism intersect:

• Reproductive Autonomy – The battle for accessible contraception, abortion services, and maternal healthcare while dismantling reproductive practices that minimize choice for women.
• Reclaiming Medical Knowledge – This means supporting initiatives that empower women with current, valid information about all aspects of female health.
• Dismantling Clinical Bias – This is where we challenge the normalization of women’s pain and advocate for equal research into female-specific underfunded conditions.
• Ensuring Balanced, Holistic Care – We must advocate for  shared decision-making, access to information, and equitable provider-patient relationships.