Author Maya Dusenbery, executive editor of Feministing, brings forth a slew of modern-day proof that suspicion of women by scientists and medical practitioners is still alive. And though today’s sexist diagnoses may not be as outright as the concept of hysteria, misdiagnoses are prominent as ever, diluting the life-ruining effects of chronic pain and fatigue, autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia, and endometriosis, just to name a few. Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick is a fearless account of the incompetence of our culture when it comes to treating women properly. Dusenbery writes about the institutional systems that are against women—from philosophy to pharmacy to popular culture—in an accessible, engaging, and organized narrative.
These aren’t tales from the dark ages of medicine. They are ordinary modern realities documented in Maya Dusenbery’s well researched, wonderfully truculent new book, Doing Harm, one of a cluster of new investigations into gender bias in medical treatment that also includes Ask Me About My Uterus, by Abby Norman, and 'Invisible,' by Michele Lent Hirsch. To put it kindly: These books are a mixed bag. Dusenbery, the editor of the website Feministing, is the most capable writer of the bunch, and Doing Harm is an orderly blizzard of studies and statistics examining sexism at every level in medicine, from medical school admissions on up.
In this medical manifesto, Dusenbery, editorial director of Feministing.com, empowers women, telling them to trust their instincts, get second opinions, and refuse to settle for one-size-fits-all health care ... Good advice that may be easier said than done.
A sturdy account of how sexism in medicine is hobbling women’s health care ... Within an organized, well-balanced combination of scientific and social research and moving personal stories, Dusenbery makes a convincing case for the need for drastic industry reform and clinical refinement. She also addresses larger issues of gender equality and how to confront a culture of sexism and rampant sexual harassment against women. A final clipped section on solutions, unfortunately, feels insufficient and begs for pages of elaboration. An intensive, timely spotlight on the gender disparities within the modern health care system that falls short on solutions.
Dusenbery, editor of the website Feministing, presents a canny and candid analysis of how modern medicine treats women in pain. She skillfully interweaves history, medical studies, current literature, and hard data to produce damning evidence that women wait longer for diagnoses, receive inadequate pain management, and are often told they are imagining symptoms that are taken seriously in men ... Dusenbery’s excellent book makes the sexism plaguing women’s health care hard to ignore.
