The health industry is androcentric

The extensive research carried out by this specialist gives visibility and recognition to the genealogy and feminist historical memory in health. But, above all, its content is intended to shake the public's conscience. "Many ideas we have today about women's health come from a historical process in which men, who were the ones with the power to elaborate concepts, considered women's health to be weak and labile by nature, because of our biology," she assures. This totally erroneous vision is still anchored in our society. As Nogueiras García argues, it is "a self-interested idea at the service of men that, after centuries of history, continues to crouch in health theories and practices under the cloak of objectivity, and also in each and every one of us, because it is part of the cultural baggage we have acquired". In fact, among many of the themes that surface in the book, readers will be surprised to see the relationship of health with systems of subordination and subjugation. From healers to contemporary feminism The text sheds light on the history of women healers, true forerunners and pioneers, and their expulsion from the practice of health care by men in the Middle Ages, who exclusively appropriated a professional field hitherto occupied by women. "We have to know that science and professional practice was built without women for centuries, that is why we say that science, and health sciences in particular, are androcentric and patriarchal, they have sexist, scientific and clinical biases," explains the author. At all times, Nogueiras García speaks with extensive knowledge of the cause. The researcher has actively participated in the women's health movement, as a professional she has worked in institutional spaces for equality and was also co-founder of the Espacio de Salud Entre Nosotras, created by the Asociación de Mujeres por la Salud in 1990. This book is the result of her celebrated thesis, a research carried out after her work experience at the Women's Health Observatory. In the first part of the publication, the author exposes the discourses, practices and vindications in the different periods of the development of feminist theory. In the second part, the critical feminist studies of the health sciences are collected, highlighting their androcentric perspective and supporting the need for feminist theory to be incorporated into health studies and disciplines, as well as into professional and clinical practices. At the end, Nogueiras García systematizes the contributions that have been developed in Spain from 1975 to the present. Betting on training in feminism for health professionals. "Let's remember that until 1975, women lacked rights, and with the arrival of democracy, a whole process of vindication and activism began, raising women's awareness, creating public health policies and training professionals," says the specialist. And it is the latter that the author also wants to focus on. "It is important for health professionals to be aware of the feminist critique of science so that they can develop critical thinking about the knowledge they have acquired," she remarks. For the author, "if professionals continue to lack a feminist perspective on health, they will not be able to understand where the ailments and illnesses that women bring to the healthcare system come from". In this way, specialists could relate the health of their patients to the violence they suffer in the couple or the overload of care, among other aspects, and thus avoid diagnoses that have nothing to do with reality or prescriptions for psychotropic drugs that will not help them. Although, in general, society lacks training in feminism and a certain amount of critical thinking in this regard, Nogueiras García is optimistic. "Feminism is transforming all areas of life and knowledge," she says. However, it would be useless to think that all progress has been made. For the researcher "it is important to continue creating spaces for awareness, training and reflection". Because there are still many challenges to achieve and milestones to celebrate.