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On Dr. Jen Gunter and the Vagisil menace:
I just articulated my thoughts on this to someone via DM and I’m going to reuse some of what I wrote there to explain why her hyper-fixation on Vagisil’s latest product really bothers me.
I just articulated my thoughts on this to someone via DM and I’m going to reuse some of what I wrote there to explain why her hyper-fixation on Vagisil’s latest product really bothers me.
(White) people are proclaiming it a battle against the patriarchy. But, there is no singular patriarchal force because women + AFAB people are not all affected equally by practices and policies that seek to influence, control, or outright harm our sexual and reproductive health.
To this end, we know (in every possible sense-from patients’ direct experiences to position statements to empirical research) that Black and Indigenous and Latinx women/people who are AFAB are disproportionately mistreated and abused in the American and Canadian medical systems.
TW medical racism, abuse. The history of Ob/Gyn is rooted in the horrific abuse of enslaved women. Black women are 4-5x more likely to die in childbirth than white women. ICE was caught sterilizing immigrant women against their will *last year*. There is a long history here.
My issue w/ Dr. Gunter is not that she lacks clinical expertise, or that she does not do enough advocacy for issues related to SRH. Indeed, she has done so much work in this area that she has built an entire brand and a platform of 300K+ people who care about what she has to say.
I am not even denying that the current topic she is amplifying is an issue. There is 1000% a history of vulvas/vaginas being seen as dirty, smelly, etc. It is toxic and has caused a lot of pain and shame to people with vulvas. I am not cheerleading for Vagisil by any means.
However, over time I’ve realized that, while there is indeed room to care about more than one issue in SRH, Dr. Gunter doesn't seem to talk about or amplify the concerns of BIPOC women, and has actually ignored previous criticism *from Black women* about her messaging and advice.
There’s nothing wrong with having a niche, but the lack of response to Black women who have commented previously on her takes, paired with her silence on the many different intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality that affect SRH is a problem and should be pointed out.
She can do w/e she wants with her platform, but she is not immune from criticism simply because she challenges certain patriarchal norms. Vagisil is not going into hospitals and killing Black moms, and the entire issue she is expounding on can be solved by...not buying a product.
It is SO HARD for people who are not white, cishet men to actually get a voice in medicine. And white women are part of the problem in that many, once they achieve some type of fame, are notably silent on issues affecting women who don't look like them. White Feminism is harmful.
Finally, I did not call her out because I expected to change her behavior. If she didn't listen to Black women back when they pointed out these issues, I have no reason to believe she'll listen to a random premed w/ a cartoon profile pic. But I am still saying something because:
1. I want to validate anyone who has become frustrated w/ how prominent voices on #MedTwitter amplify issues without addressing the way race and class play into them and 2. I'm white and therefore have an obligation to speak up even if it's to my very small audience of followers
And, finally, 3. I subtweeted her recently and I feel like whenever possible, you should tell the people you are critiquing what you are concerned about. And so I did. And she hasn’t responded and that’s fine. But I see that there’s a problem here and I hope you do too. The end.
