First, “Medical anthropologist”—what a fascinating field of study! I feel like we need more of these people!
Second, a heartbreaking read. Nowhere is institutional racism more evidently harmful than it is in the institution of medicine. It’s shocking and disappointing that with the mountains of evidence that this is happening, nothing is being done.
Follow-up thought, regarding your comment about faces: as a mother, I always wonder what the impact is on children of having a mother who is sometimes allowed to move about freely/uncovered, and other times is completely covered. To cover someone’s face even to their own children. That’s something.
Yes, all of this…you’ve put an interesting thought in my head, re: a blank slate for others to project on. I’m a “movie person” and love watching on a projector/screen. Obviously people project onto others all the time in a figurative sense, but it’s a pretty poignant remark to note that completely covered women could literally be projected onto. The level of erasure is pretty stunning, but the idea that you could not only erase but literally protect anything you wanted onto these women. Wow.
I need some really talented artist to create an art installation where different things are being projected onto covered women.
Looks like it is compromised once again? It was fine for me and just a minute ago went back to “Israel” and porn.
This is a movie I could really get behind!
How fun to wonder about her story…so so long ago.
This kind of information makes me simultaneously so happy that I have had all the children I will have…and terrified at the fact that three of my four children are girls.
The USA has been fully revealed at this point to be a shareholder value driven state. Human lives, human happiness, human understanding do not matter here…only the bottom line for shareholders.
The ways in which shareholder capitalism impact medical care are tragic and deeply systemic at this point. We need a complete shakeup from the culture up in medicine and science (and finance, and education, and and and…etc).
Yeah, rogue police officers taking it upon themselves to start acting like overseers tasked with capturing women seeking healthcare in other states is a huge problem. Women’s Healthcare destination states need to start cracking down on that kind of behavior very hard.
Right? I’ve had my kids and am now horrified to watch them (three of them girls) growing up in this new, terrifying world.
I’ve been so proud of the state of Washington in all of this. Thank you.
Indeed :( they’re a nightmare.
The world would be such a different place if the only children born were passionately wanted by thoughtful, kind people by you.
I am a mom of four who deeply wanted her children…and I think parenthood is probably not for everyone. Think of any other demanding job that lasts for a lifetime that we would say “everyone should do it!” That’s absurd!
I believe we must normalize making the decision not to have children. Life is so full, there are so many ways in which to impact the lives of children.
Thanks for this dude it’s really good
I agree completely. Thriving instead of surviving is where we need to be focused across the board. Most people are hanging on by a thread in at least one area of their lives…medically, mentally, in terms of balance/workload, in their relationships, financially. For many women, Menopause becomes a foundational health crisis for this reason.
It wouldn’t be SO bad if you could….stop working, had the money to drastically change your diet and eat what you need to, could easily get the help of professionals dedicated to women’s health issues, weren’t struggling with the cultural phenomenon of “Women’s Guilt” and all the ways that effects how we asses and address our medical experiences, had the support you need to focus on your health without your home and family management machine (you, in many cases) breaking down…and on and on.
It’s a societal issue rooted just as much in culture/patriarchy/etc as it is in a lack of medical research. A more holistic approach to understanding this phase of life is going to be so critical…and, I fear, is very far away.
I think this is another one of those things where, if you chase the reasons “why not?” back to the root, the actual reason we can’t have more funded studies into women’s health issues (holistically or otherwise) is the same reason, increasingly, that we can’t have anything nice.
Shareholder capitalism has a stranglehold on our culture and systems (of governance, scientific discovery, etc). Until we move past this way of living, humanity will continue to struggle with things like funding important research, the masses not having the support and medical interventions they need, etc.
When we eventually move beyond a system that is built to satisfy shareholders, and start prioritizing the human experience and putting everything we’ve got behind improving it, we’ll be able to take a more holistic look at what could become a truly incredible phase of life for all women: beyond child bearing years, turned more to self, wiser, ready to create in a new way.
I don’t know that I will see this future, but I am happy to think about it existing at some point. Humanity is ready to move past our biological imperative “produce more people until you’re old, then die.” With the right methodology and incentives in place, our medical and technological advances could be put to the service of human kind to such delightful ends.
100% correct. Incentives matter. Advertising delights no one and skews incentives hard.
I actually don’t know that the Suns will seed that high. I like this though…the west is going to be wild, that’s for sure.
I love this! Thank you for posting!