Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn

6 reviews

gl00p's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

This book is mostly sad and dark but also contains some optimistic content and speaks of those (of any gender) having advanced the state of things. Avoid if you don't want a depressing read.

beatriks's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

I listened to the german Audiobook version that is available on Spotify and I loved it. 
The history is of misogyny and discrimination and mistreatment goes beyond what I knew and is far more shocking than I thought. I'm planning to give the book as a present to some women around me. 

Highly recommended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

thania's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

Very good and informative book. It was clearly written with reference to much research and the way the information was presented was coherent. I was able to witness throug this book the horrors of medical misogyny and get frustrated over the repeat offences on women’s rights that just kept happening for the same convoluted reasons. Other than that, I wish she put in headers for each new disease though or didn’t jump through years so much. I understand that in most cases it is necessary but it can get quite confusing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

dragnfary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5

I think every person  with a uterus should read/listen to this. It's very interesting how historically women have been viewed in the medical field and how that has prohibited medical knowledge.  I also belive that this book would help you know that you aren't alone when the docs don't listen to you, and the importance of advocating for yourself and your health.  

It was very interesting learning how we have gotten to where we are todaymedi

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

tetedump's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Colonisation

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Unwell Women is a sweeping historical look at how women have suffered as patients at the hands of Western medicine, from ancient Greece to present. Peppered with historical case studies and the author's own heart-wrenching journey to a lupus diagnosis, the voices of women rise up through the narrative to be heard where they are so frequently suppressed.

Cleghorn's dry humor was much appreciated throughout this journey to balance the horrific nature of the trends and stories she shares. I found the ancient history amusing, with the Greek concept of "the wandering womb" especially hilarious. But the lived realities of these experiences are far from funny. Seeing medical knowledge peeled back to reveal the insidious tentacles of patriarchy creeping through everything was somehow both liberating and disheartening. Women have survived some horrible shit, sometimes with no help from doctors, and others in spite of the very medical attention meant to cure their ills.

Of the many topics covered, here are just a few that will stay with me:

 • hysteria, hormones, and the other excuses to dismiss women's pain altogether or root it in psychology
 • abortion, forced sterilization, birth control, eugenics, and all the ways women's reproduction is more valued than her own well-being and decided by the medical apparatus
 • the way medical knowledge has been accrued without female input or consent in so many cases -- I was especially horrified by accounts of research done on enslaved Black American women and the more recent trials of The Pill on Puerto Rican women without knowledge of the risks
 • the lack of knowledge, empathy, and support for women with chronic pain conditions

This is far from a complete history, but I don't think that's feasible for one book, anyway. It's largely focused on the US and UK, but I was relieved that the author addresses race, class, and gender identity as intersectional factors in women's health. I will carry these thoughts into my own experiences as a patient, and I want to learn even more about this topic and advocacy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment