
Doing Harm
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Narrated by:
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Dara Rosenberg
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By:
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Maya Dusenbery
In this shocking, hard-hitting exposé in the tradition of Naomi Klein and Barbara Ehrenreich, the editorial director of Feministing.com reveals how inadequate, inappropriate, and even dangerous treatment threatens women’s lives and well-being.
Editor of the award-winning site Feministing.com, Maya Dusenbery brings together scientific and sociological research, interviews with experts within and outside the medical establishment, and personal stories from women across the country to provide the first comprehensive, accessible look at how sexism in medicine harms women today.
Dusenbery reveals how conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as autoimmune diseases, chronic pain conditions, and Alzheimer’s disease, are neglected and woefully under-researched. “Contested” diseases, such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, that are 70 to 80 percent female-dominated, are so poorly understood that they have not yet been fully accepted as “real” conditions by the whole of the profession. Meanwhile, despite a wealth of evidence showing the impact of biological difference between the sexes in everything from drug responses to symptoms to risk factors for various diseases - even the symptoms of a heart attack - medicine continues to take a one-size-fits-all approach: that of a 155-pound white man.
In addition, women are negatively impacted by the biases and stereotypes that dismiss them as “chronic complainers”, leading to long delays - often years long - to get diagnosed. The consequences are catastrophic. Offering a clear-eyed explanation of the root causes of this insidious and entrenched bias and laying out its effects, Doing Harm will change the way we look at health care for women.
©2018 Maya Dusenbery (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















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A must read for women and those who love women
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Powerful
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An important read
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I have no particular notes on the performance of the audiobook. The reader did a solid job, but I generally find non-fiction audiobooks a little dry. This was consistent with what I would anticipate considering my personal preferences: very professional, but the reading didn't seem to breathe life into the work beyond what I would attribute to the author's spectacular reporting.
Essential Reading
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Driven narration of a very revealing book
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There is a lot of technical jargon, so I gave a lower score. Some of it is harder to through; however, all the work presented seems necessary and in harmony with the story. Also, the reader is a bit robotic in her cadence. I fixed that by slightly increasing the speed. All in all, very worth it.
Validates everything I empirically know
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The one that got me the most was her chapter on heart attacks and chest pains. I could not believe how many women get turned away IN THE MIDDLE OF A HEART ATTACK because they don’t exhibit male symptoms. Like I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to go to a doctor, get turned away, and then get told later “oh yeah, you had a heart attack earlier.” Like what the hell?!
It makes me angry how doctors and researchers are letting their egos get in the way of helping women. The fact that doctors would rather chalk it up to “hysteria” or “somatoform disorders” than actually looking into finding the cause of their pain or issue is astounding. It was interesting to hear Dusenbery talk about how few doctors will admit or even know that they’re wrong. She brings up an example where less than 1% of the doctors in this conference say they’ve ever misdiagnosed someone. It’s typically because they never find out that the person they diagnosed with a somatoform disorder rather than the real disorder never comes back. Which frankly, if it was me, I’d be busting into that doctor’s office with my diagnosed and yelling about how much he sucks lol.
It was also surprising to me how many female nurses are referenced as shaming other women. Like I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but like, support other women y’all!?! There’s one example where when a doctor gives a diagnose, the patient asks if it could be something else. The doctor says no and leaves basically. But then the female nurse is like “You shouldn’t question him. He doesn’t like that.” I would’ve been like “I don’t a f*ck what he likes.” But that’s the privilege of being a male I guess. It would never happen to me like that.
The piece on how the internet has changed the game for women was also eye opening. I’m always a fan of the internet (and yes, I know there’s some parts that aren’t great) but the fact that women could do some research online and find others like them, and finally feel like they aren’t alone is so touching. And I like that Dusenbery brings this up, but also points out that the fact is we shouldn’t need it to be this way.
I will say while the stats are important, it made it a little dry at times because of how statistic heavy it is. There were also a couple times that I felt she kept repeating the same thing. I also felt she could’ve discussed fatphobia and transphobia a little more. I know it’s the main point of the book, and I like that she’s very upfront about that in the beginning. But I think this idea of how no matter what is wrong with you, it’s going to be blamed on your weight or your trans-ness. Like even a broken arm is the example she gives. I would’ve loved to talk more about that.
But I greatly appreciate how often she talks about how the issues are impacting women of color but they are often even more stigmatized in the medical system. Such an incredibly needed discussion. Overall, I think every medical school in the country needs to make a course on bias in medicine and this book should be on the curriculum. Definitely pick it up. Also it was great on audio.
Incredibly informative and a must read
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A book for all those with chronic illnesses
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Excellent evidence-based assessment of women’s health gaps
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One of the most important books ever written
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