From Skirts To Scrubs

Tying tubes, hysterectomies, withholding medical care without proof of contraception use...these are just a few ways that forced sterilization has occurred in the United States. The history of forced sterilization is sewn into the fabric of US history, and has played an insidious role in this country. This episode, we learn about the eugenics movement, its impact on communities of color and how th...

It’s the 1800s and the realm of medicine hasn’t quite adjusted to modern thought quite yet. Physicians still believe that dirty air is what is causing that rash on your arm and that when you menstruate, your brain is too exhausted and confused to hold a job. That is at least until Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi comes along. Dr. Putnam Jacobi would work most of her life advocating for biochemically based m...

A little poke of a needle and a moment of pain in the name of what? Beauty? Wealth? Tradition? Maybe all of the above? The history of body piercings is a long one, dating back millennia and spanning many civilizations. In this week’s episode, we dive into why Egyptian pharaohs would execute anyone with a belly button ring and how in Ancient Mesoamerica, shamans would pierce their tongues as blood...

In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, killing 1 in 5. But how did we get here? Cardiology and heart disease is an extremely well-studied field, yet it still feels like women are being left behind as they die at alarming rates. Join us in this episode to talk about the history of heart disease, why there is a gaping hole in women’s heart research, and the stat...

Would you consider yourself a fiery person? Grounded? Dynamic? Maybe a combination of the three? If you looked at your health from the perspective of Ayurvedic medicine, it would probably be some combination of the three with one aspect being dominant. And this combination would be unique to you! But it would also have an impact on the way you receive medical care. Join us this week as we discuss...

In a time when most anatomy theories were based on animals, not humans, it's not surprising that ancient physicians may have gotten a fact or two wrong. But it is truly impressive how a single theory can incorrectly span the entire female anatomy. Gotta respect the hustle I guess. In this episode we are talking about ancient theories of female anatomy from general anatomy, to the breasts, to t...

The issue of trans women in sports is absolutely not a new one, but has recently been in the headlines of many news stories over the last couple of years. This week, we dive into the history of trans girls in sports, looking at the background of gender divisions in sports, how gender binaries have played into the dynamics that we see today and big changes that have occurred over the years that hav...

When you go to the doctor with a psychiatric concern, you would expect them to hear you out and find the treatment regimen that is right for you. But in 1800s Victorian America, this wasn’t exactly the case. Neurologist Dr. Mitchell created the “Rest Cure” for his patients that required women to lay completely still for almost two straight months. A patient undergoing this treatment wasn’t allowed...

What’s the ideal number of kids you would have, if any? Two? Ten? Well how about adopting thousands of grown men as your “sons”. That’s essentially what Dr. Margaret Chung did and it is one of the many reasons we are sharing her story in this episode. Dr. Chung was the first Asian-American female physician in the United States and she grew up during a time not so different from our present day, wh...

In today’s medical schools, half of the students are female. In surgical residencies, one-fourth of the residents are female. Of those female surgical residents, one-fourth of them will drop out from burnout. Women pursuing surgery today are faced with numerous challenges and obstacles, but yet they persist. And it was no different for the millennia of surgeons before them. From Agnodice fighting...

“On the rag” “lady business” “the red wedding.” These are just a few names we call that time of the month when the uterus sheds its lining and starts the cycle anew. Menstruation has long been a topic of mystery, intrigue, confusion, and just generally associated with a negative connotation. We discuss ideas of menstruation through the ages, ranging from Ancient Mayans believing that menstrual blo...

When a medical system can’t provide needed care for patients who are continuously left out or ignored, what happens? What does a community do when they are aching for help? Well in the case of access to safe abortions, underground abortion networks are created. In this episode, we will be talking about the emergence of illegal but safe abortion networks within the United States over the last 60 ye...

The number of times we’ve turned to a medication to relieve our pain or cure our sickness is uncountable. We’ve been searching for ways to restore our health for ages, but today, modern drug development involves jumping through many hoops before a drug can come out the other end and be made available for public use. In this episode, we go from beginning to end of the process of discovering, making...

In a time with no understanding of the womb, female anatomy, or germs, a complicated childbirth was the last thing you wanted. The options to save yourself or save your baby were slim, and there was rarely an option to save you both. The development of the C-section changed that, well kinda. As medicine evolved over a thousand years, so did this procedure as it developed with the times. However, I...

As diseases like typhoid, diphtheria and tuberculosis ran rampant through Antebellum America, it was the enslaved Black women that carried out most of the sickcare on plantations in the South. This week, we dive into plantation sickcare and the women that made it possible. From the last rung of the social totem pole in which they diligently worked, to the remarkable care and treatment they provide...

Surprise! We are back with another bonus episode for you all! A couple of weeks ago we sat down with Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Stephanie Faubion and Peter & Caleb from Leading the Rounds to talk about Dr. Faubion's research, work, and roles as a female in medicine. In this episode we discuss menopause and sexual function in aging women. We answer questions like: How are women who experience menopa...

From the fall of nursing in the 1800s (reference episode 1 for more info!!) to now, the profession has done a full 180. Nurses today are some of the most respected and valued healthcare workers in the field. This shift in the profession wasn’t random or a chance of luck. It was because of Florence Nightingale, the Mother of Nursing. In this episode you will learn about an incredible woman who play...

There are some parts of medicine that have been around for so long we sometimes forget that they were new at some point, and the vaccine is one of those things. But with the COVID vaccine at the forefront of media and conversations these days, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the history of vaccines and of course, highlight the role of female-identifying individuals in the...

Imagine you're relaxed, music is playing, the room is warm and smells good, your qi is flowing as needles are being stuck into you… wait, what is happening? Well, a lot is actually happening but to put it simply, acupuncture! But what even is acupuncture? I mean more than the laying on the table with needles in your back. You may be surprised by how much there is to learn about acupuncture and...

Imagine smearing white lead poison on your skin and lips as a way to be more beautiful. Sound crazy? Well this was an actual practice in the ancient world and is not that far off from what we do to ourselves today, in many ways. Welcome back for seasons 2 of From Skirts To Scrubs! We’re starting off our second season by talking about beauty standards of the past and present, covering Ancient Egypt...

When you think of careers like being a teacher, firefighter, secretary or engineer, what gender do you envision those people? Many careers are associated with particular genders, and the same goes for medicine. We explore this idea in our first ever live show, where we sit down with two highly specialized female-identifying physicians and have an honest conversation about a recently published acad...

We’re living in a COVID world, that’s just a fact. But we’ve been here before in a way: in 1918 when a Flu virus took over the world. This week, for the final episode of our first season, we take a look at how a simple strain of the Flu killed 5% of the world’s population. Find out where the Spanish Flu got its name, why the virus seemed to affect mostly young men and the revolutionary impact it h...

The symbol of the breast is well known throughout society. Breasts symbolize sexuality, motherhood, femininity, and more. But what do breasts mean to women who lose them? In this episode, we explore the history of the surgical procedure of breast removal, the mastectomy, in the context of breast cancer. After discussing how this procedure came about, we discuss the difficult decisions that women f...

Chances are you’ve probably heard of the “ little blue pill” that gives men erections almost like magic. But have you ever heard of Flibanserin? This “female Viagra” is the topic of this week’s episode, where we start with a little science and biology but of course get into some history, learning about Erectile Dysfunction, Female Sexual Dysfunction and how their histories differ so vastly. Rangin...

Have you ever had someone take something from you without asking? Bet it was pretty annoying huh? Now, have you ever had anyone take cells from your cervix without your consent? Probably not. But Henrietta Lacks has. In 1951, Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer and her cells were taken without consent to create the first immortal cell line. From these cells, numerous medical discoveries w...