On Healthcare's Dismissal of Women's Pain

Abstract

This thesis will be establishing that there is a greater dismissal of pain for women compared to men by medical practitioners. It will also be defining what constitutes pain in two topics: psychological/emotional pain and pain in endometriosis. It will cover the influence culture and societal views have on views of pain, the dismissal of women's pain as mental rather than biological, and the dismissal of women's pain as overdramatized and exaggerated. It will then discuss measures already in place against bias-influenced pain dismissal within the medical field and medical schools, as well as further measures that can be taken, with an argument for requiring more logic and reason rather than empathy and emotion. In conclusion, there is a need for a more holistic approach to medicine that considers and acknowledges cultural and social influences and the effects bias creates to inhibit proper treatment of patients in the medical field.