Bodily Autonomy
Medical Abuse / Informed Consent
When you go to the doctor or have a medical emergency, you hope that those providing care have your best interests at heart, take your pain seriously, and respect the decisions you make. However, particularly for women and people of color, this is not always the case. Throughout history, systemic racism and sexism have empowered those in the medical profession to disregard the bodily autonomy of marginalized people.
Under a 1970 law, about 25% of Native American women of childbearing age were sterilized, often under duress. The broader history includes forced relocations and assimilation efforts, with ongoing consequences for Native communities.
Black women are more than twice as likely to experience severe pregnancy-related complications and face maternal mortality rates almost three times as high as white women, and this gap has doubled in the last two decades, according to a study in JAMA. Despite national tracking of maternal mortality since the1930s, the increased risk for Black women has persisted.
The “HeLa” line of human cells have played a remarkable role in medical research. Originally obtained during Henrietta Lack’s treatment for cancer in 1951, they were used for decades without consent.
From 1932 to 1972, the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, conducted by the United States Public. Health Service, exploited hundreds of poor Black men in Alabama by withholding treatment for syphilis under the guise of medical disease research. Even after the availability of antibiotics, the men were left untreated, exposing their families and leaving a lasting impact on Black Americans’ perceptions of healthcare.
Anti-fatness
Weight stigma is another way that we police bodies,and the impacts fall hardest on women, and women of color in particular. According to TIME magazine, patients with a higher weight received fewer referrals to specialists and experienced shorter appointments, fewer comprehensive exams, and longer wait times for surgery. Systemic racism continues to inform our ideas about aesthetics and health as well as the impact that anti-fatness has had on generations of Americans.
In the murders of Eric Garner (a Black man) and Michael Brown (a Black teenager), police officers used their physical size as a justification for the violence inflicted on them. Their stories illustrate the links between systemic racism, fatphobia, and violence against larger Black bodies.
Deep connections exist between the culture of food shaming, anti-fatness, and anti-Blackness in America — factors that intersect with policing and the U.S. court system. For instance, prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois developed a game called the “Two Ton Contest” in the 1980s and 1990s, whereby prosecutors fought to be the first to convict a slate of men and women weighing two tons.
Within the Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, anti-fatness varies between cultures. Myths such as the “model minority myth,” and cultural norms such as the fetishization of Asian bodies, an acceptance of body shaming, and an urge toward assimilation mean that the experiences of the AAPI community have been missing from conversations.
Abortion Access
All across the country, legislation is being passed that prevents women and others who are able to become pregnant from making their own reproductive decisions by limiting or banning access to abortion. Reproductive choice empowers individuals to invest in their futures — through education, training, vocation, career, and everything in between. Abortion bans push people out of the workplace and limit their educational opportunities and careers, with lifelong consequences that can and will impact their health, economic stability, and opportunities for themselves and their families. For people of color, those consequences are more severe due to existing systemic racial inequities.
Abortion bans force people to travel long distances; since Dobbs, travel times to abortion clinics have more than tripled.
People with disabilities, who are disproportionately low income or living in poverty and who are less likely to have job stability than their non-disabled counterparts, experience the negative impacts of abortion bans even more acutely.
Within the broader struggle for abortion rights, Black women in particular have struggled for reproductive autonomy. A disproportionate percentage of the women who obtain abortions are Black, which can be tied to racial and ethnic disparities across health indicators — such as difficulty accessing their chosen method of birth control and increased rates of severe pregnancy-related complications and maternal mortality — as well as historical and present-day societal concerns such as slavery, forced pregnancy, and family separation.
A recent survey showed that 47% of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) survey respondents were unsure about where to access medication abortion. Cultural stigma and a lack of in-language resources contribute to the inadequate access to abortion information among Asian Americans.
Hair
Hair holds great significance across various cultures and personal identities. However, there is a widespread problem of hair discrimination, where societal norms and biases affect people of color, especially Black individuals, as well as Native and Muslim individuals. Acknowledging and challenging this are key steps in creating an environment that appreciates and respects personal expression through hair without judgment.
Women who choose to wear a hijab, too often misunderstood as a symbol of gender oppression, face the disproportionate impact of Islamophobia. This can include harassment, violence, and being denied access to services. For many women around the world, covering their hair represents empowerment, assertiveness, and agency.
Despite increasing awareness of the health risks associated with hair relaxers, many Black women continue to use them due to personal preference, tradition, and societal pressure. A recent study revealed that women using chemical straighteners face double the risk of uterine cancer, prompting some individuals to file lawsuits against the manufacturers of these products.
Trans Health Care
For many transgender and non-binary people, accessing gender-affirming care is a crucial aspect of realizing their authentic selves. Gender-affirming care encompasses various medical and non-medical interventions and looks different for children, teens, and adults. Despite how critical this care is to trans and nonbinary people’s mental and physical health, gender-affirming care has become increasingly restricted and too often misunderstood. Supporting bodily autonomy for trans people not only acknowledges their fundamental human rights but also promotes inclusivity and empathy, fostering a society that respects and values the diversity of gender experiences.
As of March 2024, legislators across the U.S. have introduced approximately 300 bills targeting transgender Americans, with more than 100 of these bills specifically aiming to restrict doctors and healthcare providers from offering transition-related care for minors.
A study by API Equality Northern California reveals alarming disparities faced by transgender and gender- nonconforming Asian Pacific Islanders in the San Francisco Bay Area, including housing discrimination (1 in 5), discomfort with healthcare access (43%), and high rates of mental health challenges (71% seriously considering suicide).
Transgender young people pay steep social, physical, emotional, and psychological costs when denied access to medical care such as puberty blockers, which have been available for over 50 years.
