Women are less likely than men to have positive treatment outcomes for chronic conditions.
When you go to the doctor, you expect they’ll listen to your concerns and help fix whatever problem you may be experiencing. But many women, especially those suffering with chronic pain conditions, find the opposite is true. This can make it difficult for women to get the treatment they need.
For instance, researchers who interviewed endometriosis sufferers on their experiences with healthcare practitioners found many struggled to get the support they needed. As one participant put it, “you need to try so hard that they believe you, because they don’t. You experience that immediately, that they don’t believe you.”
In the UK, a survey by the Wellbeing of Women charity (which invests in research on women’s health) found that over half of female respondents felt their pain had been dismissed or ignored by a healthcare professional at some point. Women in other parts of the world – including North America, Australia and Europe – report similar experiences.
There’s a clear gender gap when it comes to identifying and treating women’s pain compared to men’s. For instance, women are less likely than men to have positive treatment outcomes for chronic conditions such as angina and musculoskeletal pain.
Physicians are four times more likely to recommend a knee replacement for a man than a woman with the same knee injury. The poorer quality care women received compared to men after suffering a heart attack was to blame for 8,243 preventable deaths between 2003-2013 in England and Wales.
The dismissal of women’s pain also leads to long delays in diagnoses and treatment for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis.
The gender pain gap affects not only adults, but children and young people – with research showing young women are more likely to have their pain dismissed by physicians than young men.
The gender pain gap is even worse for black women, who are more likely than white women to have their pain dismissed and receive poorer pain treatment.
There also remains little research on pain treatment for gender diverse, transgender, non-binary and intersex patients which may mean these groups are even worse off when accessing treatment.
Gender pain gap Pervasive gender stereotypes are a key reason women’s pain is underestimated. These widely held stereotypes – held even by healthcare professionals – construct men as “stoic” and women as “emotionally expressive” when in pain.
Men are thought to be less likely to seek care for pain – so when they do, they are to be believed. In actuality, this is false, with research showing men are equally likely to go to the doctor when experiencing pain as women are.
Women are also believed to have a greater capacity to cope with pain because of the pain that accompanies menstruation and childbirth. These stereotypes mean women’s pain is viewed as “natural” and “normal” – and may not be taken as seriously by a practitioner.
One study, which had healthcare professionals watch videos of female and male patients experiencing chronic shoulder pain, found practitioners were more likely to underestimate women’s pain. They also reported the women, but not the men, would benefit from psychotherapy.
Other studies have shown healthcare practitioners are sometimes more likely to prescribe sedatives than pain medication to female patients experiencing pain.
Historically, women have been underrepresented in medical research and clinical trials. In the UK, only from 2024 will it be compulsory for new GPs to have training in women’s health.
This may somewhat explain the lack of knowledge practitioners have had in regards to women’s pain and their health concerns. And, women may be given medications and treatments that have only been trialled with men – despite female patients being more likely to experience side effects from new medications.
The gender pain gap cannot be addressed until disparities in medical research and funding are. Conditions which have a disproportional affect on women (such as migraines and endometriosis) receive “much less” funding relative to their severity and prevalence, while conditions which predominantly affect men (such as HIV) receive more funding – despite their lower prevalence.
Getting the right care Pain is never something you should accept and put up with. If you need to speak with a practitioner about your pain, there are many things you can do to ensure your voice is heard.
For example, telling your practitioner how pain affects your ability to function in your day-to-day can be more effective than trying to rate pain on a scale. Using an app or diary to track pain and related symptoms, and bringing it with you in the consultation room, can also be helpful.
If you’re comfortable, raise the issue of bias in pain care. Ask how your practitioner is ensuring you’re not part of the larger statistic of women feeling dismissed. Ask them to explain their diagnostic decision-making and how they’ve ruled out certain conditions. You can also ask them to note in your file why they haven’t made a referral for specialist care. This may be helpful if you return with the same symptoms later.
Bring a family member or friend to advocate for you if you don’t feel comfortable doing it alone. In the UK, you can also ask for a patient advocate, who will speak up for you and help you get the right care.
Addressing inadequate funding for conditions that affect women, improving training for practitioners and increased awareness of the gender pain gap, will all help ensure women in pain are no longer dismissed.
Yes, I found the participation rate argument very sound.
I wonder what else might be similarly biased?
Two examples come to mind:
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Medical test subjects are predominantly if not exclusively male. So any new medication on the market are tailored for the physis and metabolism of a male body while the same medication might have different effects (including side effects) when it comes to women.
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Scientific findings are often based on male bias, e.g. the remains of a high status person were declared being male. Only decades later with new technology was it possible to determine it was in fact a women. (See the Ivory man)
But this conversation would deserve its.owm thread. The OP post is regarding how women (cis and transgendered people) are treated in chess. The absurdity of backwards thinking and unfairness when it comes to treating women and men as assigned at birth. I'm not sure, if you missed the part where transgendered men are stripped of their titles when transitioning to male, while people transitioning to female are allowed to keep theirs.
This goes so much deeper. Like another commenter posted: "institutionalized patriarchy"
Equally interesting study comes to the conclusion: gender differences in chess go back on the overrepresentation of men in chess in general
Article on the research: Why Men Rank Higher than Women at Chess (It's Not Biological)
I don't have access to what seems to be the actual study, but maybe you do: Why are (the best) women so good at chess? Participation rates and gender differences in intellectual domains
This is a disturbing and insulting decision to both cis-women as well as transgender men and women.
Besides the decision itself, here are some additional "gems" that show its backwardness:
Transgender men who transition after winning women's titles would see those titles "abolished," the federation said, while holding out the possibility of a reinstatement "if the person changes the gender back to a woman."
"If a player has changed the gender from a man into a woman, all the previous titles remain eligible," the federation said.
And, if it wouldn't be so sad, this here would have me roling on the floor. It seems, FIDE has not reached 2023 yet.. (It also sadly shows that even some women are still stuck in the 1950's)
A top global chess official Friday called for more research into whether factors such as hormone levels and physical endurance might have an impact on players' abilities at the male-dominated game. Her comments came after the world chess federation was heavily criticized for its decision to block transgender women from official women's events. (...)
(...)"What is still not clear is if the hormonal levels do influence the competitiveness in chess," Reizniece-Ozola said by video from Latvia's capital, Riga. "There is no serious research or scientific analysis that would prove one or the other way. There are speculations, but no more than that."
One of the reasons why so few women play chess and the reality of what female chess players had and have to fight against:
UK MP Angela Eagle, who was a joint winner of the 1976 British Girls' Under-18 chess championship, said: "There is no physical advantage in chess unless you believe men are inherently more able to play than women - I spent my chess career being told women's brains were smaller than men's and we shouldn't even be playing."
"This ban is ridiculous and offensive to women," she added.
Edit: removed redundancy
The ruling by the International Chess Federation is drawing criticism from some players.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) says it is temporarily banning transgender women from competing in its women's events.
The FIDE said individual cases would require "further analysis" and that a decision could take up to two years.
The move has been criticised by some players and enthusiasts.
Many sports governing bodies have been working on policies towards transgender athletes, but chess does not involve comparable levels of physical activity.
More than 450 women from Afghanistan have escaped the country to study abroad.
AUW organised for 148 Afghan women to go on the last US hanger out of Kabul. (...)
(...)AUW hopes to help more women - the goal is 1,000 - to continue their education by offering scholarships and a safe exit from Afghanistan.
The article is well worth a read. I didn't want to copy & paste the whole article due to its length, but it goes into different reasons why women tend to have more migraines than men (e.g. estrogen/progesteron levels) and in which cases it might be a better strategy to avoid medication (e.g. birth control) with estrogen.
For women ages 18 to 49, migraines are the leading cause of disability throughout the world.
A migraine is far more than just a headache – it’s a debilitating disorder of the nervous system.
People who have migraines experience severe throbbing or pulsating pain, typically on one side of the head. The pain is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light or sound. An attack may last for hours or days, and to ease the suffering, some people spend time isolated in dark, quiet rooms.
About 800 million people worldwide get migraine headaches; in the U.S. alone, about 39 million, or approximately 12% of the population, have them regularly.
And most of these people are women. More than three times as many women as compared to men get migraines. For women ages 18 to 49, migraine is the leading cause of disability throughout the world. (...)
I had tried to participate one or two iterations ago. Each and every single pixel I tried to contribute was immediately turned into a red pixel by a bot. Took all the fun out of it.
The picture was there and it was clear where they were trying to get to, but the red dots completely destroyed it.
I had enough of it after that. It's not worth it having to wait five minutes to place one pixel just to have it instantly undone again.
I'm utterly horrified by what's going on there. Those poor women!
A woman may be most likely to give birth in her 30s and go through the menopause in her 50s, with these life events causing hormonal changes that may accelerate ageing
Women tend to experience accelerated ageing around the ages of 30 and 50, according to a study that analysed a wide range of molecular and physical markers. This may be due to hormonal changes that occur when some women give birth or go through the menopause.
In recent years, there has been growing recognition that ageing doesn’t always progress at the same pace and certain factors, such as stress and smoking, can speed it up. (...)
Researchers in Spain had previously assumed that the grave belonged to a high-status young man
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1207808
> In 2008, archaeologists in Valencina, Spain, discovered a stunningly ornate tomb. The single-occupancy grave, a rarity in itself for the time, contained a treasure trove of valuables: a rock crystal dagger, high-quality flint, ostrich eggshells and ivory, including the tusk of an African elephant. > > Dating to the Iberian Copper Age—some 5,000 years ago—it held an individual who likely died between the ages of 17 and 25. Assuming the tomb belonged to a wealthy, powerful leader, scientists called this individual the “Ivory Man.” But now, 15 years later, researchers have determined that the Ivory Man was actually an “Ivory Lady,” according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. > > To reach this conclusion, researchers used a new technique that can identify an individual’s sex based on tooth enamel. This process can be more effective than DNA analysis when studying remains in especially poor condition. > > This new research shows that women could hold high-status roles in Iberian society at the time—and that this particular woman may have even been the “highest-ranked person” during her lifetime, says study co-author Leonardo García Sanjuán, an archaeologist at the University of Seville in Spain, to Live Science’s Jennifer Nalewicki. He adds that the Ivory Lady’s wealth and social status were impressive even when compared against a database of approximately 2,000 Copper Age burials in the region. > > “The Ivory Lady totally stands out, head and shoulders above the rest, either male or female,” he tells Science’s Celina Zhao. > > Researchers think that the Ivory Lady may have been revered for several generations, reports CNN’s Katie Hunt. Other graves and artifacts around her tomb date to as late as 200 years after her death. > > Additionally, one nearby tomb—the only “comparably lavish” grave in the area, according to a statement announcing the new study—contains the remains of at least 15 women, suggesting that other women held leadership positions and high status during this period. (...)
I find this so fascinating and would love to know more about her life and why and how she came to such a high status in her lifetime.
Alas, as she lived in the bronze age, we probably will never learn the details. Hopefully, some old stories, legends or oral history similar to the Boudica have survived and can be connected to her. It would be so interesting to know more about her. That would be fantastic. I'm really stoked about this find
Researchers in Spain had previously assumed that the grave belonged to a high-status young man
In 2008, archaeologists in Valencina, Spain, discovered a stunningly ornate tomb. The single-occupancy grave, a rarity in itself for the time, contained a treasure trove of valuables: a rock crystal dagger, high-quality flint, ostrich eggshells and ivory, including the tusk of an African elephant.
Dating to the Iberian Copper Age—some 5,000 years ago—it held an individual who likely died between the ages of 17 and 25. Assuming the tomb belonged to a wealthy, powerful leader, scientists called this individual the “Ivory Man.” But now, 15 years later, researchers have determined that the Ivory Man was actually an “Ivory Lady,” according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
To reach this conclusion, researchers used a new technique that can identify an individual’s sex based on tooth enamel. This process can be more effective than DNA analysis when studying remains in especially poor condition.
This new research shows that women could hold high-status roles in Iberian society at the time—and that this particular woman may have even been the “highest-ranked person” during her lifetime, says study co-author Leonardo García Sanjuán, an archaeologist at the University of Seville in Spain, to Live Science’s Jennifer Nalewicki. He adds that the Ivory Lady’s wealth and social status were impressive even when compared against a database of approximately 2,000 Copper Age burials in the region.
“The Ivory Lady totally stands out, head and shoulders above the rest, either male or female,” he tells Science’s Celina Zhao.
Researchers think that the Ivory Lady may have been revered for several generations, reports CNN’s Katie Hunt. Other graves and artifacts around her tomb date to as late as 200 years after her death.
Additionally, one nearby tomb—the only “comparably lavish” grave in the area, according to a statement announcing the new study—contains the remains of at least 15 women, suggesting that other women held leadership positions and high status during this period. (...)
The number of people dying in the U.S. from pregnancy-related causes has more than doubled in the last 20 years, according to a new study, published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
And while the study found mortality rates remain "unacceptably high among all racial and ethnic groups across the U.S.," the worst outcomes were among Black women, Native American and Alaska Native people.
The study looks at state-by-state data from 2009 to 2019. Co-author Dr. Allison Bryant, an obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says maternal death rates in the U.S. just keep getting worse. (...)
New research shatters another piece of the ‘hunter gatherer myth’ that persists in enforcing gender roles.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/790099
> Shattering the myth of men as hunters and women as gatherers > > The team found that regardless of their maternal status, women hunt in 79 percent of the societies they studied. Over 70 percent of female hunting also appears to be intentional, instead of opportunistic killing of animals encountered while doing other activities. Women’s intentional hunting appears to target game of all sizes, but was most often large game
New research shatters another piece of the ‘hunter gatherer myth’ that persists in enforcing gender roles.
Shattering the myth of men as hunters and women as gatherers
The team found that regardless of their maternal status, women hunt in 79 percent of the societies they studied. Over 70 percent of female hunting also appears to be intentional, instead of opportunistic killing of animals encountered while doing other activities. Women’s intentional hunting appears to target game of all sizes, but was most often large game
And TikTok. They've listed that one, too.
TikTok? Really Google?!
The incident highlights ongoing struggles with gender parity in Japan—which ranks lowest among G7 member states on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index.
Representatives from each of the Group of Seven (G7) nations gathered in the Japanese city of Nikko, 70 miles north of Tokyo, this weekend for a two-day summit on gender equality and women’s empowerment, where they discussed everything from sexual violence to LGBT rights to economic imbalances—vowing to reduce the wage gap and boost women’s representation in executive and managerial positions.
But the summit also made for an awkward photo-op, highlighting Japan’s ongoing struggles with gender: with the country hosting the G7 this year, Japan’s representative to the gender equality meeting, Masanobu Ogura, served as its chair—he also was its only man.
As a history nerd I find this painting extremely interesting. Growing up and learning about European history there was no talk about heterogeneous societies in middle Europe (short of the Moors in Spain).
This is painting is another example how far people used to travel and settle in different societies even back then. At least for me it means to revisit what I thought I knew about Europeans in the Middle Age and earlier.
A highly unique 17th-century portrait of a Black and white woman shown side-by-side as companions has been saved for the public in the U.K.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/509396
> A painting has been saved for the UK in recognition of its “outstanding significance” for the study of race and gender in 17th-century Britain, it will be announced on Friday. > > The anonymous artist’s portrait of two women – one black and one white, depicted as companions and equals with similar dress, hair and jewellery – has been bought by Compton Verney, an award-winning gallery in Warwickshire. > > Titled Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, the work, part of the English school dating to about 1650, appears to be a moralising picture, criticising the use of cosmetics in altering a person’s natural appearance. > > Their faces are covered in curious beauty patches that were fashionable at the time and which the painting’s inscription condemns as a sin of pride, a widespread opinion in the 17th century. > > Wearers of such patches or spots – made of silk or velvet – risked provoking the wrath of God. Part of the purpose of the patches was to hide imperfections or signs of disease. The white sitter wears black patches of various shapes and the black sitter has white ones. > > The painting was at risk of permanently leaving the UK after being auctioned in Shropshire in 2021. A temporary stop to allow a UK institution to acquire it was placed by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. > > The independent body, serviced by the Arts Council, advises the secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object intended for export is of national importance under specified criteria. > > Noting that its departure from the UK would be a “misfortune”, the committee’s report stated: “The depiction of a black female sitter in a 1650s painting was highly unusual … inviting important debate about race and gender during the period.” > > It added: “It visualises in a way that no other painting of the period does the early modern debates concerning the morality of cosmetics use; discourses on ideal beauty and blackness; issues concerning gender hierarchy and female agency; as well as attitudes to race and ethnicity, especially so in an age that witnessed increasing global contact through trade and colonial expansion.”
A highly unique 17th-century portrait of a Black and white woman shown side-by-side as companions has been saved for the public in the U.K.
A painting has been saved for the UK in recognition of its “outstanding significance” for the study of race and gender in 17th-century Britain, it will be announced on Friday.
The anonymous artist’s portrait of two women – one black and one white, depicted as companions and equals with similar dress, hair and jewellery – has been bought by Compton Verney, an award-winning gallery in Warwickshire.
Titled Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, the work, part of the English school dating to about 1650, appears to be a moralising picture, criticising the use of cosmetics in altering a person’s natural appearance.
Their faces are covered in curious beauty patches that were fashionable at the time and which the painting’s inscription condemns as a sin of pride, a widespread opinion in the 17th century.
Wearers of such patches or spots – made of silk or velvet – risked provoking the wrath of God. Part of the purpose of the patches was to hide imperfections or signs of disease. The white sitter wears black patches of various shapes and the black sitter has white ones.
The painting was at risk of permanently leaving the UK after being auctioned in Shropshire in 2021. A temporary stop to allow a UK institution to acquire it was placed by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.
The independent body, serviced by the Arts Council, advises the secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object intended for export is of national importance under specified criteria.
Noting that its departure from the UK would be a “misfortune”, the committee’s report stated: “The depiction of a black female sitter in a 1650s painting was highly unusual … inviting important debate about race and gender during the period.”
It added: “It visualises in a way that no other painting of the period does the early modern debates concerning the morality of cosmetics use; discourses on ideal beauty and blackness; issues concerning gender hierarchy and female agency; as well as attitudes to race and ethnicity, especially so in an age that witnessed increasing global contact through trade and colonial expansion.”
I agree, there's just not enough research or knowledge out there about such an important time in a women's life. There should be more conversation about Menopause.
The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a medication called fezolinetant for the alleviation of vasomotor symptoms, the medical term for hot flushes or flashes
(...) A new family of nonhormonal drugs that work directly on the body’s internal thermostat is offering hope for women who can't or don't want to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Last month, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved a medication called fezolinetant for the alleviation of vasomotor symptoms, the medical term for hot flushes or flashes. The pill, sold under the brand name Veozah, is the first neurokinin-3 (NK3) receptor agonist approved by the U.S. regulator to reduce vasomotor symptoms caused by menopause.
Unlike HRT, which replaces the estrogen and progesterone women lose as their fertility wanes, NK3 receptor agonists block neural activity in an area of the brain that helps regulate body temperature. That internal control centre tends to malfunction when the brain is deprived of estrogen.
For menopausal women who can’t or won’t take HRT – many still fear the treatment because of an influential 2002 study that exaggerated the risks to women under 60 – the options for relief have been limited. The same is true for the minority of women for whom HRT doesn’t work.
Fezolinetant “could be a real game-changer,” said Wendy Wolfman, director of the menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency clinics at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. She is eager to have something new to offer cancer survivors who’ve been suffering through hot flashes and night sweats for as long as a decade. “Their life is hell,” Dr. Wolfman said.
It’s not clear when fezolinetant will be available in Canada. The drug’s Japanese maker, Astellas Pharma, has applied for approval in the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil and Israel, but has yet to submit an application to Health Canada. (The company said in an e-mail that it doesn’t have any details about a Canadian application to share at this time.)
It is also not clear how the new drug stacks up against HRT when it comes to alleviating hot flashes. Fezolinetant hasn’t been tested in a head-to-head trial against hormone therapy, said Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health and medical director of the North American Menopause Society.
“It appears that it’s probably not going to be as effective as hormone therapy based on the phase three trials,” Dr. Faubion said. “But it is effective.”
Maybe the linked comments suggestion is really the way to go. At least until they might (or might not) extend the character limits
BORU was my favourite sub. It would be awesome to see a Lemmy version of it flourish here :)
Edit Wording
That's absolutely horrifying and showcases how little women's health is worth to law makers.
Absolutely disgusting! I feel for the women in Kentucky.
Women taking the least profitable outcome was overproportional, so men came out top by not volunteering for the office household tasks and making more money in the experiment.
Without the gender bias, you'd expect a similar outcome for men and women to volunteer.
The authors conducted additional experiments with same gender groups. It appears, they measured the time it took someone to volunteer and there were no differences in women-only and men-only test groups, so in the mixed groups, men seemed to hold back to volunteer, while women felt more obligated to step up.
Edit Shortened answer by taking out quote from the aricle
Listen to women from across the Administration tell the stories of their personal heroes across the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
They were leaders in building the early foundation of modern programming and unveiled the structure of DNA.
Their work inspired environmental movements and led to the discovery of new genes. They broke the sound barrier — and gender barriers along the way.
And inspiring more young women to pursue careers in science starts with simply sharing their stories.
Listen to women from across the (Obama) Administration tell the stories of their personal heroes across the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Planning parties, ordering food and taking notes in meetings are just a few of the thankless tasks that women more often shoulder at work. Here's how to avoid them.
Planning parties, ordering food and taking notes in meetings are just a few of the thankless tasks that women more often shoulder at work. Often called “office housework,” these responsibilities contribute to the smooth operation of the workplace but go unnoticed when it comes to promotions or pay raises. Fortunately, there are strategies to help you avoid getting stuck with these obligations
Redditor for 15 years, mostly lurker. I've never used the app and only used old.reddit. I've moved on the first black out day and so far, I'm not missing it. I prefer the vibe on Lemmy and hope, the conversations here stay as friendly as the communities grow :)
Thanks for creating the community.
You might also want to look at !women created by makeitso.
That sub had been created in response to threads that were looking for a community with a more inclusive sounding name that’s not connected with DNA :)
(Full disclosure: I’m not the creator or mod of that sub. I just want to promote it as it (still) has a less recognizable name for folks coming from r/Twox such as myself).
Yes there is:
The consensus of previous similar threads looking for something akin to r/Twoxchromosomes was to move away from DNA related names to sound more inclusive and welcoming transgender and non-binary folks. 🙂
Have a look at
🙂
The overall consensus in some other threads was to use a more inclusive name than the the DNA connected name from Reddit.
In this thread from some days ago are some great suggestions, worth a look at:
Lemmings of Ask Lemmy, what should our official logo and masthead be?
The question mark is great. Personally lI like the suggestions that stick closer to the official Lemmy logo. Maybe with some more colour?
Yes, there is:
There were a couple of threads a few days ago regarding naming a community Twoxchromosomes like on Reddit. The overall consensus was to move away from DNA connected names and go with a different name that is more inclusive and welcoming for transgendered or female identifying people 🙂
Edit Made my comment more inclusive
You might (or might not) have had a New Year's resolution, but what's your summer resolution?
Mine: Going for more hikes, camping & kayaking. And of course, staying away from reddit.
Caroline Hampton and the forgotten origins of the first personal protective equipment.
However obvious it seems today that protective gear can prevent infections, that hasn’t always been the case. Historically, even simple measures, such as doctors wearing gloves during surgery, were met with fierce resistance.
And while doctors’ lore usually credits a famous surgeon named William Halsted with introducing gloves to the surgical theater, this is a case where the lore is wrong. It wasn’t Halsted who introduced gloves but his now-forgotten assistants.