According to studies, women suffer from pain more often than men – and yet it is more often dismissed. You can find out what this has to do with the gender pain gap here.
We often hear that women tolerate pain better than men. With questionable pain simulators that men strap on in television shows, contractions or period pains are simulated and the men groan: “Wow, you have to go through that every month?” they say. “I couldn’t do that.” At the same time, however, women are considered hysterical and sensitive – also when it comes to their sensitivity to pain. Funny. Because both assumptions contradict each other. They only have one thing in common: namely, that they can have dire consequences for the health of women – and all other groups of people who are not white cis men.*
The gender pain gap
Gender pay gap, gender health gap, gender pain gap. Quite a few gaps. They all describe an existing imbalance between men and women, in which women lose out. The gender pain gap refers to the phenomenon that pain is less understood and treated in women compared to men due to research gaps and biases. Many women have certainly had their experiences with this in everyday life. Just by asking around among my friends and acquaintances, the stories are enough to fill a book.
As a teenager, one of my closest friends regularly suffered from period cramps and bleeding so severe that she would repeatedly pass out. This severe pain was dismissed by her gynecologist as “normal” period symptoms. She was left alone for five years until a doctor took care of the matter and my friend finally received the appropriate diagnosis and treatment. A colleague recently said that her migraine suffering was repeatedly blamed on stress and a hormonal imbalance. She also felt like she wasn’t being taken seriously.
So much unnecessary suffering
Women are often dismissed if their symptoms do not have an immediately obvious, clear cause and are dismissed as such certain symptoms should be accepted as typically female and therefore do not require treatment. Dr. Marieke Bigg, sociologist and author of the book “This Won’t Hurt: How Medicine Fails Women”, confirms this assumption and explains that medical professionals consistently mistakenly attribute women’s symptoms to stress or hormones. Men, on the other hand, would be more likely to be sent for a medical examination – even if they complain of the same type of pain.
In addition, it has long been assumed in medicine that Overall, women tolerate pain better, because her body is designed for all the painful things like pregnancies, births and the like. In fact, that is not the case. Women are even more sensitive to pain and their level of pain often fluctuates depending on their cycle. Over the years, these misperceptions have led to women’s pain often being ignored, women waiting longer for a diagnosis and not receiving the support they need in the process.
Medicine wears male glasses
The causes of the gender pain gap are complex, diverse and go back far into the past. However, it is not surprising that we are where we are today, considering that women have only been allowed to participate in clinical trials since 1993. Until then, an FDA directive from 1977 prohibited women of childbearing age from participating in drug studies. Until 1993, medical studies, observations and interventions performed exclusively on men. Of course, the fact that the female body has only been studied in more detail for about 100 years means that we have a lot of catching up to do. The massive gap in knowledge about health care among women will not close on its own.
The fact that research still predominantly assumes a “male standard” also means that less is known about pain conditions that increasingly affect women, or about how these conditions affect women compared to men. The likelihood of a woman being misdiagnosed with a heart attack is, according to one study 50 percent higher. Medications are dosed incorrectly because they were only tested on male bodies and so on. The danger to women that arises from the gap is correspondingly great. Given that more than 50 percent of the world’s population is female, this is quite problematic.
The image of the hysterical woman
It’s not just the male standard in medicine that is a problem that contributes to the gender pain gap Unfortunately, misogynistic stereotypes and role models still shape the perception of our society – including those of doctors. If a woman suffers from diffuse pain and the treating doctor cannot immediately identify a clear cause (such as a broken leg), then it is more common for women to be advised psychological treatment. Your pain is more often dismissed or taken less seriously than that of men.
This happens unconsciously, but is based on sexist prejudices that are still firmly anchored in our society. When women suffer, they are more likely to be seen as hysterical and emotional, while men are seen as brave. This in turn leads to: “male” pain is attributed more seriousness. Dr. Elizabeth Losin, the director of the Social and Cultural Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Miami, explains: “Our data suggests that people unconsciously discount women’s reports of pain because of widespread cultural stereotypes.”
To end with some good news: Pain research in women is still far from being at full speed, but at least it is moving in the right direction, for example for migraine patients. One Study by the Berlin Charité has discovered that the inflammatory messenger released during migraines is particularly high during periods. In addition, women are three times more likely to suffer from migraines than men. Such research results give hope that the gender pain gap may soon become smaller.
*Note: I am referring to women in this article due to historical bias. Nevertheless, people who do not identify as female are also affected by the gender pain gap. Woman can be consistently replaced here with the acronym FLINTA* Person (women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans and agender people).
Sources used: sciencefocus.com, sciencedirect.com, journals.sagepub.com, gov.uk, zeit.de, wellbeingofwomen.org.uk, charite.de, telegraph.co.uk, apotheken-umschau.de