The most surprising part of this week’s readings and the film had to be the stigma surrounding menstruation in India. In Period: End Of Sentence, the part that floored me was that some, if not most of these women, had to drop out of their education journey because of the challenges and complications of menstruating without having the proper supplies. It is not right that having access to affordable menstrual products is considered a luxury. In my opinion, these products should be supplied at no cost, and there should also be nothing taboo about a woman’s period. There is a part of the documentary where they mention that women who are menstruating can’t enter the temples because they are believed to be dirty. They don’t even pray to any gods. In 12 Reasons It Should Be Illegal For Doctors Not To Treat Trans People by Diana Tourjée, what shocked me and will always shock me is how anyone can believe that a human being doesn’t deserve medical care. Regardless of how a person identifies, it is still a human right, or at least it should be. In A Birth Story, written by Dr. Dana-Ain Davis, what surprised me the most was that Leconté had to walk anywhere just a few hours after giving birth. Not just walking but pushing her newborn and her IV down the hall, and no wheelchair was offered while her husband carried all their belongings.

The connection between all three readings/film is how these people have experienced discrimination when it comes to healthcare. In the film a woman states, “The thing is when there is patriarchy, it takes time to talk about something related to women.” Menstruation is natural, and women shouldn’t be treated poorly because of it; men can’t just decide periods are a problem. In the reading by Diana Tourjée, Simon Chartrand writes, “I am a transgender person with a disability, and the proposed rule will compromise my unalienable rights. … I need constant access to healthcare, and I have experienced discrimination many times in the past”. I can’t wrap my head around the hatred people project toward others. If a person requires medical attention, there shouldn’t be a reason to deprive them of it, especially if they are disabled and need it more often. In the reading by Dr. Dana-Ain Davis, she writes, “Annoyed that he had to come down to the labor and delivery unit, he commented to one of the doctors, in front of LeConté and everyone in the room, “Why don’t you just give her a C-section? I am not coming down here again.” LeConté felt invisible and disrespected” about the anesthesiologist who administered too much epidural, causing her to feel dizzy. If the patient were not a black woman, she would not have been treated the way LeConté was.

The format in which the stories are shared impacts my understanding of medical oppression. The stories felt very personal, and I felt as though I’ve gotten to know these people and how they’ve been medically oppressed. The film showed me how different these women live and their struggles with something that naturally happens, such as menstruation. The clips where they were very obviously uncomfortable talking about it helped me grasp just how taboo the topic is to them. At one point during the film, it is mentioned that it isn’t a conversation between mother and daughter nor husband and wife.