we hear a lot about systemic and structural issues – such as sexism – as we try to explain and wrestle with the world as it presents itself to us every day. but issues this ingrained in society have a history. one of the most useful things we can do to fight these pervasive problems is to unpack them, along with all their historical baggage.
elinor cleghorn had her own personal reasons for diving deep into the history of medical misogyny, but she was kind enough to take her readers along for the ride in ‘unwell women’, where she traces the history of medicine and the female body from ancient greece to today.
while the narrative starts off all light and fun (yes, i’m being sarcastic) with greek physicians diagnosing uteri that supposedly fly around the female body causing any and all symptoms women experience, i still found cleghorn’s writing to be entertaining.
however, the closer this time travel through medical history inched towards the present, the more that feeling of entertainment was replaced with dread and disbelief. and that bitter, angry pit in my stomach, the one i always get when furthering my feminist literacy and education.
although millennia have passed and the understanding of the female body has leapt forward, women and their physical experiences are still not taken seriously. they are reduced to their reproductive functions or considered too similar to men, making additional research into the specifics of their bodies seem unnecessary.
inclusive of all genders, skin tones, age brackets, and skill levels, cleghorn’s prose is as intersectional as it is evidence-based. her training as a historian shows in the detailed way she balances science with what little is known about the lived experiences of the women who suffered from medical misogyny through the ages. this mix is one of the book’s strongest suits, as it breaks up the denser, more academic parts into one well-rounded read.
all in all, ‘unwell women’ is an important book that highlights what happens when the wellbeing and care of about half the population is anchored in knowledge and practices developed under the male gaze for the male body. as such, it is relevant for every person with a body who identifies as female.
