Is your MD a feminist? Try a DO

From Guest Blogger: Katie S.

There is general assumption in our culture that when a person needs to see a doctor, they go see a M.D. (medical doctor). Those two letters at the end of a name indicate full medical knowledge and the ability to heal. While this may be the case, there is actually another group of physicians. I’m not talking about chiropractors or psychiatrists. I’m talking about D.O.s; the letters stand for Doctor of Osteopathic medicine.

Osteopathic medicine was first created as an offshoot of traditional medical medicine, created by a student who came to the realization that they human body has an incredible capacity to self heal. Instead of researching different outside forces to promote healing, this person thought that the body itself should be understood more in order to enhance and support its own natural processes. While this might not seem quite revolutionary, it was. This concept was formed at a time when the medical community was developing one new medical procedure after the next, gaining fame and notability for their ideas. Unfortunately, the human body itself was vastly misunderstood and needed to be explored further, so that normal processes were not being treated as illnesses or diseases, but rather healthy functions supporting an overall physiology.

One of the hallmarks of this training is the whole body, holistic approach to treating a patient. It is not just the symptoms that are looked at and treated, but rather the whole person is examined and discussed with regard to lifestyles and other factors. Many who see a D.O. remark on the positive conversation and connection they feel with their doctor due to this time being taken. How often do people remark about a doctor actually taking the time to get to know them not just as a patient with a problem, but as a unique person? This approach creates a partnership between patient and physician, where they can work together to nurture and facilitate full wellbeing.

Preventative medicine is a vastly underappreciated aspect of patient care. It is often overlooked or ignored in traditional medicine circles. Thankfully, D.O.’s are taught the value of this and is used in their treatment. Their extensive, full body approach to caring for their patients aims to return the body to its natural, healthy state.

When thinking about this aspect of healthcare, it can be connected to the outside overall view of health that is shared by American culture in general. Industries thrive financially on treating people with what they feel is best for that person, creating dependence on needed to buy health rather than self actualize it. This is one of ways that has ended up placing osteopathic medicine in with natural remedy circles. Rest assured that D.O.’s receive a medical education that is just as rigorous as M.D.s and often go into specialty care. They are licensed in the same manner and are held to equal standards.

In the same vein as other society assumptions, D.O.’s tend to be misunderstood because they are not of the norm. Instead of doing what is best for a person, our culture will regulate what they feel the correct path is. With the parallels drawn, the relationship between osteopathic care and feminist thought can clearly be seen. Both work to step away from convention, focusing on what is right rather than expected. Feminism encourages the advocacy and equality of all, and in a similar endeavor so do D.O.’s with patients. They respect and honor the natural processes of the individual, healing with this at the forefront of their care.

So the next time you need to see a doctor, take the time to explore all your options. There might be more than you thought. Above all, find a physician that you feel comfortable with, who empowers you as an individual to own your health process. You deserve to be seen not simply as a patient, but a unique, valued individual.

http://www.osteopathic.org/pdf/Whatisa_DO.pdf

http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm

Breast Cancer, or Boobie Cancer?

As some of you may be aware, on Tuesday there was a breast cancer awareness campaign on Facebook that asked women to write where they put their purse as their status. An example: “I like it on the floor” or “I like it on the desk.” The people organizing this campaign probably weren’t stupid; it’s an overtly sexual innuendo. Using sex to sell an idea. Awareness is great and all, but what does where a woman puts her purse have anything to do with breast cancer? It’s silly and it’s cheap.

The tactics used to promote breast cancer awareness in general are sexualized and tactless. My least favorite is the “save the boobies!” campaign. Yes, boobs are a sexual part of the body, but that doesn’t mean breast cancer is or inherently has to be also. The “save the boobies” makes breast cancer more about the visual pleasure they bring to others, namely men. It’s a real problem when even a terminal illness is seen through the male gaze and thus sexualized.

Something as painful as cancer doesn’t need to be sexualized. Some may find jokes like that to be light hearted, but I find them to be invalidating. If a man had testicular cancer, I would never advocate a campaign called “Save the Balls!” That’s just tactless.

Growing up, it was hard to consider that your teacher had a life outside the classroom. In fact, when I was very young, I thought all the teachers lived in the school and the classroom had pull out beds somewhere. As we grew older, we came to realize that yes, our teachers had real lives, real families, real problems, and that they, in fact, did not live at the school.

So it is a bit unbelievable when you hear a grown man say things like “an unmarried woman who is sleeping with her boyfriend…shouldn’t be in the classroom”, just as Republican Senator Jim DeMint stated during a rally. Wow, really? From his statement one would think that teachers are "throwing down" or “getting down” during a spelling lesson. It just becomes extremely irritating when seemingly educated people make such idiotic statements. Teachers, like any professional person, know to keep their personal lives private from their work lives, especially when there are children involved.

DeMint also said this about LGBTQ teachers: “if they're openly homosexual, we can't let them near our children.” Honestly, I would feel worried about exposing my children to foolish, closed-minded declarations from politicians, as opposed to my child being taught by a competent teacher who happens to be LGBT. I would think parents are more worried about the teacher’s ability and skill, rather than who they are sleeping with. Perhaps that is wishful thinking though…

Masturbation

I was reading an article on change.org about a political candidate Christine O’Donnell regarding her views on Masturbation. She is extremely opposed to masturbation. This got me thinking about masturbation, and why it is such a contentious issue in our society.

Masturbation.

What thoughts does this word elicit? Everyone thinks it is such a dirty word, especially for women. We rarely talk about it, and if we do it is usually awkward and uncomfortable. Few like to admit that they actually do it. Why is everyone so ashamed of something that really doesn’t seem like that big of a deal? After all, when a man masturbates we label it as natural. So, here are some statistics to take some of the fear away from your own gear.

Masturbation

• In a study of undergraduate college students, 98% of men and 44% of women reported having ever masturbated (Pinkerton, Bogart, Cecil, & Abramson, 2002).


• Among undergraduate students, men reported masturbating an average of 12 times per month, while women reported an average of 4.7 times per month (Pinkerton, Bogart, Cecil, & Abramson, 2002).


• In a study of African-American women aged 15 to 64, 62% reported that they had masturbated at some point during their lives (Robinson, Bockting, & Harrell, 2002).


• About 60% of men and 40% of women reported masturbating in the past year (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).


• Nearly 85% of men and 45% of women who were living with a sexual partner reported masturbating in the past year (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).


• 35% of American men aged 18-39 do not masturbate while 37% masturbate sometimes, and 28% one or more times per week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).


• 53% of men and 25% of women masturbated for the first time by ages 11 to 13 (Janus & Janus, 1993).


• 5% of men and 11% of women have never masturbated (Janus & Janus, 1993).
  

Orgasm

• Women are much more likely to be nearly always or always orgasmic when alone than with a partner. However, among women currently in a partnered relationship, 62% say they are very satisfied with the frequency/consistency of orgasm (Davis, Blank, Hung-Yu, & Bonillas, 1996


• Many women express that their most satisfying sexual experiences entail being connected to someone, rather than solely basing satisfaction on orgasm (Bridges, Lease, & Ellison, 2004).


• 75% of men and 29% of women always have orgasms with their partner (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
  http://www.iub.edu/~kinsey/resources/FAQ.html#Laumann

"Man Up!"

I was at home this past weekend and I came across a Newsweek sitting on my parent’s coffee table and found some serious inspiration (which is usually what ends up happening when I go home). The cover article that caught my eye was titled Man Up: Why We Need to Reimagine Masculinity.

Upon begging my mom to let me keep the copy of Newsweek (that’s right, I’m not ashamed of admitting that I still mooch off my mama), I returned to school and actually sat down and read the article which can be found here: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/20/why-we-need-to-reimagine-masculinity.html.

What I found in the article was an argument for the rethinking of masculine roles in the workplace and at home. Now, I (thankfully) am perfectly comfortable in my masculinity to fully accept the need for me to do things like changing diapers and cooking meals for my loved ones if I end up having children. The article was a stark reminder for me the unfortunate restrictions that gender roles play in society because I, long ago (we’re talking like 11 or 12 years old), accepted the aforementioned tasks as a part of every father’s life.

The other main topic addressed in the article is the fact that if men are serious about being successful in the work place, it’s time to rethink the stereotypes that surround certain jobs. As construction work and other “manly” types of work shrink, the need for nurses and other “girly” jobs are on the rise. The issue here is whether or not we as a society are able to help convert the norms of masculinity from industrial work to the social services.

I’m on board with the reimagining of what it means to be masculine. Now the question: How do we get others to that point as well?

What's the Color of Your Neighborhood?

I happened across an article at Gawker about aerial photos of major US cities, but instead of images of the landscape, they were of the racial make-up and divides of the cities. Each pixel represents 25 people and the color of the dot signifies the race: red=white, blue=black, orange=Hispanic, yellow=Asian. If you scroll over the map, boxes appear that define different neighborhoods within the city.

The artist is Eric Fischer, and he started this project after he found a similar photo of Chicago by Bill Rankin. Fischer expanded the project to cover forty major US cities. All of the photos are available for viewing on his flikr.

While no map is a complete blend of all the differently colored dots, and thus all races, some of the photos are hopeful for what all cities might look like in the future. For instance, the maps of Riverside, CA; San Jose, CA; San Bernado, CA all have a lot of blending and no stark borders.

However, other cities get failing grades. For instance, looking at the Detroit map, you can literally see the racial divide of Eight Mile Road. It’s so stark and well-defined, you would think there was literally a physical border or constraint that restricted movement between the north and south side of the street. Washington D.C. displays so clearly its East/West divide and lack of racial integration. New York City also has extremely homogenous pockets dependent upon the neighborhood.

It’s doubtful I would pick a city to reside in based solely upon this data, but it certainly gives me something to think about. I want to live in a city that measures up to the “melting pot” label the US gets, and I want it to be accurate.

Childbirth Robot....WHY???

So I stumbled across this video today. It’s a robot designed to help med student learn how to birth babies without having to practice on an actual human being.

WARNING: This video is potentially disturbing and may not be suitable for all viewers.

I am all about med students getting the training that they need in order to practice medicine. I mean, who really wants to go to a doctor who says, “I’ve never actually done this before.” I’m pretty sure that I can speak for most people when I say NOT ME. However, this robot is creeptastic. What’s with the freaky robot noise? I feel like I could record a better sound effect on my phone... The design of this robot was with good intentions, but the execution of it just comes off awkward and weird. Especially since the robot isn’t even a full female body, merely the necessary parts to practice childbirth. This is once again reducing women to their ability to reproduce and the body parts that are necessary to do so. Maybe I’m reading too much into this…what are your thoughts on the matter?