Medical Herstory is on a mission to eliminate sexism, shame and stigma from health experiences. We are dedicated to advancing gender health equity through patient advocacy, medical education, and undoing stigma.
Our Why
Despite popular beliefs that medicine is value-neutral and objective, gender bias infiltrates medical care and causes harm. Health conditions that disproportionately, or differently, affect people assigned female at birth are chronically underfunded and under-researched. Further, evidence shows that women and gender diverse people are more likely to be misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and mistreated in medical settings.
Our How
Our services include educating and empowering patients, doctors, researchers, and the public through storytelling, skills-based workshops, researching overlooked conditions, and leading advocacy campaigns. As a not-for-profit, our core activities include:
Collecting and publishing patient stories and health experiences
Delivering skills-based workshops in medical schools, patient groups, and universities
Developing curriculum and support DEI initiatives for student doctors and researchers
Partnering on research studies and running the Gender Health Equity Collective at the University of Oxford
Hosting monthly storytelling to undo stigma events and the annual Feminist Health Conference showcasing cutting-edge research
Promoting health literacy and empowerment through social media campaigns
Publishing insightful and useful educational resources based on evidence and experience
Speaking up about gender health inequity and taboo topics in the press
Supervising student doctors who are actively improving healthcare
Supporting hundreds of volunteers in becoming gender health advocates
Our Values
Medical Herstory is trans and non-binary inclusive and built on principles of anti-sexism, anti-racism and anti-ableism. We believe that stories matter, and that they have the potential to change the future of health experiences.
A Word from Our Team
Medical Herstorytm began in 2018, when I took the risk of bearing the messy, leaky, and painful parts of myself publicly as a call to action for more compassionate and comprehensive medical care. Writing publicly about my experience helped remove the burden of shame I had been carrying and work towards healing. After sharing my own story, I quickly found out I was not alone and hearing others’ stories inspired me to launch this platform.
I am grateful for all those who have shared their stories with me in private, and for those who here share them publicly. These stories are not always easily composed with a beginning, middle, and end, but continue to be lived long after writing the final sentence. These stories are lived within systems of sexism, ableism, racism, and ageism – structures that involve all of us. My hope is that you read these stories, and you find community, education, or encouragement to share your own. I hope our stories inspire you to join our movement for gender health equity.
