21 Real Examples of Medical Misogyny That Will Leave You Angry and Heartbroken

Earlier this month, user X @xevekiah asked, “What’s a clear example of medical misogyny you’ve witnessed or experienced?” and the request immediately went viral, with thousands of women coming forward to share their personal experience of having medical emergencies overlooked or denied.

X @xevekiah / CBS / Via Twitter: @xevekiah

Here are just 21 examples that are sure to leave you both angry and heartbroken:

Some posts have been edited for clarity.

1. “When I gave birth to my daughter, they had to keep me in the hospital for 10 days because I wasn’t walking well. Every time I tried to stand up, I passed out. At one point, according to my husband, I actually stopped breathing. He panicked and called a friend, a cardiologist who also worked at the same hospital. My husband was furious. He insisted that someone come and actually see what was going on. When he arrived resident, my husband said, “Just look.” He helped me up and I don’t remember anything after that. When I woke up, the room was full of panicked doctors. I stopped breathing again. That was the moment they realized it wasn’t ‘attention seeking’.” – @NeurologistMom

2. “My friend went to the doctor for over a year with stomach pains and bloating that was getting worse. He told her to calm down and try yoga, there was nothing wrong with her physically. She collapsed at work and was taken to A&E where they found stage 4 ovarian cancer.” — @StillDavy

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3. “I spent nine hours in A&E with a broken leg in several places and was told to walk between departments, while a man, also with a broken leg, was wheeled in and treated and discharged hours before me, even though I got there before him.” — @peddiepascal

4. “I was told I would be in ‘absolutely excruciating pain’ if bile leaked into my abdomen after my gallbladder was accidentally removed. Apparently about 1.5L of bile per day was leaking into my abdomen and I *was* in excruciating pain. They just didn’t believe me.” — @petiteJeanine

5. “A male gynecologist said that bleeding for a whole year without stopping was normal, and my period could be normalized after I had sex with a man. I WAS 15, MY MOTHER WAS ANGRY AT MY BABY.” — @basingsx

6. “Inflamed gall bladder, almost died, said it’s just acid reflux. Partner has acid reflux. They have a team of surgeons to check him out in case it’s the gall bladder.” — @Hereticalturf

7. “I have a LIST, but the most glaring one is how long it took me to be diagnosed with cancer. Being a 23-year-old woman with a history of mental illness, my inability to breathe properly was dismissed as anxiety for MONTHS until I finally had a CT scan.” — @theobites

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8. “When I was working at the prison we had a lady who had all the classic symptoms of a heart attack (staff reported it) but the warden said it was anxiety and told her to use her coping skills… the next morning they found her dead in solitary confinement.” — @xojayceelyn2xo

9. “My mom had cellulitis on her leg and screamed at the slightest touch, but the ER doctors told my dad she was psychosomatic and just looking for opioids. She went into sepsis and kidney failure, and we almost lost her before another doctor helped her and put her on antibiotics.” — @QueerHercules

10. “A friend of mine complained of severe, increasing headaches during pregnancy. The doctors dismissed it as hormone-related. The aneurysm ruptured and she died before she hit the floor.” — @MountainMcRae

11. “The only reason I was granted a hysterectomy was because I had life-threatening fibroids, PCOS, and endo. Previously, I was told I needed permission from a guardian or spouse and counseling sessions to be considered because I was still ‘of childbearing age.’ — @lenubienne.

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12. “A doctor told my daughter to go home, lose weight and start having babies. She died in less than a month from advanced cervical cancer.” — @lisarobel

13. “I was told for 18 months that my fractured spine was just period pain.” — @PCGirlCop

14. “I went to a male doctor telling me how much pain I was in, could hardly move, couldn’t eat/drink, throw up bile, etc. and he told me it was period cramps and I needed to take a pain reliever. Turns out I had a deformed kidney.” — @madisongrossman

15. “Procedures/uterine biopsies (that can only be described as medieval) with no pain relief.” — @EvaKatz_

16. “I knew someone who was told she couldn’t get her tubes tied even though she had four kids and was a widow because ‘what if you meet another guy and he wants to have ‘real kids’ which is both misogynistic and insulting to every family that isn’t biologically related!!” — @HollieP80216260

17. “When I had giant tumors that were killing me, they kept checking before every chemo or other treatment to see if I was pregnant. Basically, if I got pregnant. I wouldn’t get the life-saving treatments. And I would have been left to die.” — @BibiBlossoms

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18. “I’ve had heart problems, been to doctors, had many tests, only to have the test results chalked up to stress/”hysterical girl” and told to go for a walk and breathe. My boyfriend is now experiencing the exact same symptoms and not one doctor has even said the word “stress” to him. — @wascaleywabbit

19. “They gave the consent papers to my husband while I was sitting right there, fully conscious, not even in pain, very pregnant, but apparently not the one in labor.” — @abrar7596

20. “When my best friend had a medical emergency, the doctors wasted 30 minutes asking her if she was sure she wasn’t pregnant and telling her she was lying about her pain. They refused to take into account the results of the tests they did. They ended up telling my mom that if she waited another hour she would be dead. I believed him and healed her right away.” — @polobenne

21. And finally: “I had a friend with endometriosis. Her doctor’s advice was to learn how to deal with it quickly, so as not to burden her future husband.” — @LittlePark_uwu

Have you ever experienced medical misogyny? Let me know in the comments below or in this anonymous form.

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