Unveiling Hysteria: Deconstructing Gender Biases in Medicine

This dissertation investigates the pattern of dismissal and neglect that women face in healthcare and the presence of gender biases towards women in medicine. This work presents an historical overview of the perception of women in medicine, including a discussion on the relationship between medicine and women’s social role, an analysis of the concept of hysteria in Ancient Greece, the figures of witches in the Middle Ages, the hysterical woman in psychoanalysis and the normalisation of women’s pain. Moreover, this work investigates the gender pain gap by gathering present research and studies that analyse gender biases and gender discriminations in healthcare. Particularly, this dissertation analyses the underrepresentation of women in medical textbooks and in clinical trials, the Yentl syndrome at play in heart disease and autism, and a comparison between the endometriosis discourse and the hysteria discourse. The methods of research include the analysis of existing literature and secondary data, particularly taken from books, papers, and articles. This dissertation aims to shed light on the dismissal and neglect that women face in healthcare, whose existence is confirmed by the studies discussed in this dissertation, in hope to contribute to the advancement of research and to see more positive medical experiences, regardless of one’s sex or gender.