The Perception of Female Pain

According to US News Health, the second most painful experience known to humans is the intense experience that is unmediated childbirth. Despite this, many people still continue to routinely underestimate the pain of female patients when compared to the pain males experience. Rooted in this gendered bias lie centuries-old gender stereotypes that depict men and women in different lights, painting men as composed and women as more “emotionally responsive”.

An accurate estimation of the pain women experience is incredibly important in clinical and everyday settings. A 2021 study found that the average person generally underestimated women's pain relative to actual self-reported pain while overestimating men's pain relative to self-report (Zhang et. al) Because of this, female concerns of pain are often seen as diminutive. These discrepancies may lead to delayed diagnosis and insufficient pain treatment amongst many more negatives. However, it would be remiss to think that the damage this underestimation causes is limited to a clinical setting.

The pain women experience is oftentimes made to be “normalized” and seen as “natural”--perhaps due to the nature of events like menstruation and childbirth. From a very early age, I recall urging my mother that my pain due to cramps was just too unbearable. It would keep me awake at night, hinder my social activities, and affect my academic progress. When this pain was reported to my primary care physician, they urged me to continue taking the same over-the-counter medicines I was on, seemingly glossing over my pain. It wasn’t until I had to visit a specialist, that professionals were able to recognize that the typical remedies were not working and not effective and that I needed stronger pain treatment. During this process, I could not help but think how minuscule my situation was. The idea of hundreds – if not thousands – of women dismissed and voiceless when they choose to be vulnerable and seek out care, proved difficult for me to comprehend. Perhaps due to the disproportionate amount of underfunding in women’s health research, or underrepresentation of women in most clinical trials, the pain and medical realities women experience are often deemed as “secondary” to other highly prevalent chronic diseases. Although these too affect many women, the women require unique health sequelae that should not be glossed over. The result of this would inevitably be that many more women stand to dwell in their pain in silence, without accessing adequate treatments for proper relief.

Addressing underfunding for medical conditions that affect women and increasing awareness of the gender pain gap will all help ensure the pain women report is met with a sense of priority and urgency. This gendered pain bias not only puts female patients at a higher risk of receiving inadequate care, but undermines the voice of our daughters, sisters, friends, and mothers, which makes this concern of importance to all of us. 

References: 

Zhang, L., Reynolds Losin, E. A., Ashar, Y. K., Koban, L., & Wager, T. D. (2021). Gender Biases in Estimation of Others’ Pain. The Journal of Pain, 22(9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2021.03.001

Weckesser, A. (2023, September 12). Women’s pain is often not believed – here’s how to make your voice heard when seeking help. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/womens-pain-is-often-not-believed-heres-how-to-make-your-voice-heard-when-seeking-help-207866#:~:text=Pervasive%20gender%20stereotypes%20are%20a