although this has been on my tbr for a while, the main reason i picked this up is because of the recent release of a report about women’s health in the uk, and the not-so shocking statistics that show how much women’s pain has been dismissed and ignored. reading this extensive research on how the health of women (mainly reproductive health) has been viewed from the roots of history shows just how systemic it is. the notions surmised by majority white male doctors of history are entrenched in misogyny and racism. the fact that women allegedly have weaker bodies, and yet every claim to illness is related to hysteria or their emotions seems hypocritical. 

reading about the ways ethnically diverse women have been exploited through gruesome experiments, all in the aim to benefit their white, richer female counterparts or the population as a whole was shocking and upsetting. the fact that this bias still permeates healthcare today just shows how little science has moved forward from these historic beliefs. 

the book itself was very US/UK centered, which i get as it was already a lengthy book. the first parts that recorded advancements from ancient history seemed repetitive and less informative compared to the modern timeline, but i can excuse that with lack of material from that time period. i think its a great launchpad into summarising how far back the stigma of unwell women goes, and encourages more reading on this topic.