Medicalizing, Demonizing Women’s Health
From the time we’re born, till the time we die, we are seen as Eve’s child by a system that is based on the Christian Bible and culture. The girl spawn is discarded; the pubescent is shamed for her body changes; the fertile woman is hidden while she goes thru natural processes, like a swelling body in pregnancy and breastfeeding and the menopausal woman is shamed again for no longer being fertile.
Women are more likely to be seen as mentally ill than men. But men are more likely to be seen as a criminal than women.
And we take these social stigmas onto ourselves, as if we are indeed the sinner or the hysteric for being a woman. And we take these on as markers of our ugliness, instead of being a beautiful woman, in her glory and full power. Of being part of the Goddess.
We are meant to support each other thru our changes, but often end up being jealous and mean to each other. We end up being catty. Instead of women caring for our own needs as our ancients used to do, we go to a paternalistic system of men who shame us for being unlike them. And are poked and prodded, instead of valued by our own.
We are forced to be science experiments where our parts are lopped off or added to, piecemeal, in the name of beauty and health, instead of cared for as whole beings.
Where we are compared to men and found wanting, by the fields of psychiatry and psychology.
Where young women and teens are hypersexualized, then blamed for bearing the consequences. And social services separate them from their child by slut-shaming them. Instead of blaming society and the men who had their favours. Creating many generations of broken families.
Creating a pink ghetto in the work force and demonizing the labour that women do for each other, ie midwives and doulas.
Blaming and shaming women who try to create our own styles of being, support and leadership of ourselves. And leaving us no seats at the tables of influence and power in the institutions of the world.
Doing everything they can to divide us, so they can continue to control our reproductive forces. Making death our solution, rather than life.
In this system, how do we care for ourselves and our mothers, sisters and daughters? When we don’t have the wealth or resources men (even within our class) do?
How can we rid ourselves of the stigma of being Eve’s child in a Christian health and legal system that demonizes us? How can we take back the models of our ancient mothers and sisters and still live in today?
Maybe you have answers, but I don’t. So I’m asking.