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Unwell Women

A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World

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Unwell Women

By: Elinor Cleghorn
Narrated by: Hanako Footman
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 Medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. Over centuries, women's bodies have been demonised and demeaned until we feared them, felt ashamed of them, were humiliated by them. But as doctors, researchers, campaigners and most of all as patients, women have continuously challenged medical orthodoxy. Medicine's history has always been, and is still being, rewritten by women's resistance, strength and incredible courage.

In this ground-breaking history Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women's bodies, illness and pain. From the 'wandering womb' of ancient Greece to today's shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation and menopause, Unwell Women is the revolutionary story of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical misogyny. Drawing on Elinor's own experience as an unwell woman, this is a powerful and timely exposé of the medical world and woman's place within it. Gender Studies History & Commentary Medicine & Health Care Industry Social Sciences Women Medicine

Critic Reviews

A searing, brilliant investigation, an intricate and urgent book on how women's health has constantly been misunderstood and miscast throughout history, how men invented theories that plunged women into misery, pain and even death - from Anne Greene hanged for a miscarriage to the 1940s housewives lobotomised or subject to other operations to treat their depression, from drugs intended to 'control' women's health that were rushed to market to women experimented upon in the name of science, the cruel differential treatment of women of colour. Cleghorn unmasks with devastating clarity how so much of 'women's health' has been tied into efforts to control women, inculcate what was proper feminine behaviour and slot them into patriarchal culture as happy reproductive units.
Unwell Women is one of the most important books of our generation. I read it in a rage, and recognised myself in its pages.
If doctors have ever misdiagnosed you, disbelieved your symptoms, or discriminated against you, then Unwell Women is the holy grail of answers you have been waiting for. Elinor Cleghorn has written a decisive, comprehensive, well-researched, and fascinating book about the ways in which medicine has failed women, from the 19th century until now, and what that neglect has cost us-including our lives. I wish I'd had this book in 2018 when I was fighting with my gynecologist to remove my fibroids, but I am glad to have it as I navigate two chronic illnesses; as we continually negotiate power dynamics with doctors, Unwell Women will instantly become an invaluable addition to the arsenal of tools we need to fight for the care we deserve.
UNWELL WOMEN is a powerful and fascinating book that takes an unsparing look at how women's bodies have been misunderstood and misdiagnosed for centuries. From wandering wombs to demonic explanations of menopause, Elinor Cleghorn packs each page with disturbing historical details that will haunt your psyche for days and weeks to come.
Cultural historian Cleghorn's meticulous and wide-ranging debut examines the links between patriarchy, misogyny, and the mistreatment of women's health needs... After building a damning historical case against the medical field, Cleghorn shares the harrowing story of how her symptoms were "overlooked, ignored, and dismissed" for seven years before she was diagnosed with lupus. The result is a deeply informed and passionately argued call for change.
This book will make you angry. And so it should! Just like their brains, women's bodies have been treated as defective and deficient for centuries... Even in the 21st Century Cleghorn uncovers harsh truths about medicine's continuing biases, especially in the intersection between gender and race. Hopefully this book will be a wake-up call to a profession that can still refer dismissively to 'women's problems.'
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If you don't come away from reading this book, a feminist, I don't know what to say. This was a fantastic book. I learnt so much about how women's health has been viewed throughout history and have already recommended this to people.

Feminism 101

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An incredible, vital, and shocking yet not surprising truth of ingrained misogyny in the medical industry and social psyche.
As someone with trauma as a result of medical sexism, this book so aptly unveils the horrific history that had brought us to where we are today. Inspite the density of research in this book, it is so beautifully and creatively written that it never feels like a slog of information. I can't even fathom the amount of work this must have taken to research and write, but I thank Elinor from the bottom of my heart for doing the work to lay out the historical implications.
It is harrowing to hear how so many women have suffered, yet empowering to know that my experiences of a woman in the medical industry is mirrored through so many other stories. It is not in my head, I am not being sensitive.
The narration and pace is also just so engaging, ai adore Hanako, just an incredible book to listen to all round.
I highly recommend this book to absolutely everyone, anyone with a uterus or without.

Medical misogyny beautifully dissected

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As a medical student, and as a woman, this book is absolutely brilliant in understanding how women have been (and are still) treated (or not treated) in medicine. Beautifully written, and an empowering piece of literature.

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Elinor Cleghorn has done the work to succinctly outline the way the medical institution has failed and harmed women due to a world view that sees men as normal and women as somehow subversive.

Such an important work!

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Very insightful book about women and their symptom histories. Doctors egos being more important than truely listening to patients stories. The gaps still present in modern day medicine and research around women's health and wellbeing.

Medicine still has a long way to go towards equality

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