Black Feminist Health Science Studies (BFHSS)

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What will history write about health professionals responses and actions to systemic racism? Quote from Collective member Dr. OmiSoore Dryden’s “Time to dismantle systemic anti-Black racism in medicine in Canada”. https://instagr.am/p/CPoCtYjgXNN/

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BFHSS believes medical training and medical institutions need to be more than just culturally competent or racially tolerant. They must be actively anti-racist healthcare professionals in order to tangibly improve medical experiences for Black women and other marginalized groups. Text is paraphrased from our co-founder Dr. Moya Bailey who spoke about BFHSS’ work at our first symposium in March. https://instagr.am/p/CPT2TnGg8ki/

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Dr. Adeola Oni-Orisan and colleagues remind us that the COVID-19 pandemic is not just a biological virus, but a pandemic that has tangible social, political, and economic effects and health disparities that can be traced to the radicalization of geography. Health disparities including the disproportionate deaths of Black people and Black women in the COVID-19 pandemic manifest from race and space. Quote from COVID-19 and the political geography of racialisation: Ethnographic cases in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit (2021). https://instagr.am/p/CO_LjgmgYXx/

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Our new collective member Rachel Dudley reminds us of important issues in reparative health justice work. Her work focuses on re-narrating the origin stories of modern gynecology and forced sterilizations. Quote from Rachel Dudley’s The Role of Feminist Health Humanities Scholarship and Black Women’s Artistry in Re-Shaping the Origin Narrative of Modern, U.S. Gynecology (2021). https://instagr.am/p/COtLizJg_Hk/

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The non-publication of existing credible scientific research on racism and health by gatekeeper medical journals conveys the message that racism and its impact on people’s health are not important and not topics that warrant scientific study or publication. It fosters ignorance about these issues among health professionals, who transmit this ignorance to their patients, clients, and the broader public. This non-publication of evidence undercuts and limits the evidence needed by policy makers, health agencies, funders, lawyers, and advocates for their work to prevent health adversities. Words and insights paraphrased from Medicine’s Privileged Gatekeepers: Producing Harmful Ignorance About Racism And Health by Nancy Krieger and colleagues (2021). https://instagr.am/p/COX3HphgllK/

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We cannot continue to treat disability as white disability only. In healthcare and beyond, we must acknowledge and alter the ways in which whiteness informs disability research, treatment, and frameworks. Words paraphrased from Dr. Sami Schalk in Black Disability Gone Viral: A Critical Race Approach to Inspiration Porn. https://instagr.am/p/COLw62eAk_T/

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Black Feminist Health Science Studies works to support transgender and gender diverse AFAB people and their reproductive health. We believe in addressing the stigma and discrimination they face in healthcare settings and society. Transgender and gender diverse reproductive health is reproductive health 💜 Quote from collective member Madina Agenor and colleagues in “Mapping the scientific literature on reproductive health among transgender and gender diverse people: a scoping review”. https://instagr.am/p/CN-umnUgCR9/

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We must never forget the legacy and contributions of Anarchy, Betsey, and Lucy who were forcefully enslaved and violated by Dr. James Marion Sims during vesico-vaginal surgeries. The poem titled “The Researcher Discovers Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy” by collective member Bettina Judd beautifully illustrates how these ideologies continue to shape the treatment Black women are treated in biomedical institutions 🖤 https://instagr.am/p/CNvW2ssgYPW/

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Tiffany Joseph in Health Care, Immigrants, and Minorities: Lessons from the Affordable Care Act in the US speaks about how the Affordable Care Act has de jure and de facto exclusions built within its policies that contribute to contemporary social stratifications. Quote reads “documentation status, place of residence, income level, and race and ethnicity all weave together in ways that stratify healthcare options, limiting those of low-income noncitizens the most". https://instagr.am/p/CNVLlflgpux/

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Refugee Health is Black Feminist Health Science Studies. Quote by collective member Michelle Munyikwa In (De)Radicalizing Refugee Medicine. Alternate Text: Refugee health, like other aspects of medicine, is structured around cultural differences rather than structural racism, the legacies of imperialism, and the haunting of the foundations of modernity in the structures that affect our patients’ lives. What might we learn from work that probes how racial designations do—or do not—attach to particular kinds of refugee bodies? https://instagr.am/p/CNED_erAngE/

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Please sign up for our newsletter to keep up with BFHSS, Collective members, and upcoming projects. The link to subscribe is in our bio! 🖤 https://instagr.am/p/CM7cvnqAeNL/

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Our founder @transformisogynoir 👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿 https://instagr.am/p/CM3MQ72gQ4-/

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“We are not outside science. We are science.” Thank you to our panelists, behind-the-scenes personnel, and attendees. Yesterday was a truly remarkable and inspirational day. We hope you thought so too. Please continue to share your thoughts using #BFHSSS. https://instagr.am/p/CMn-QhsAQJq/

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Join the first Black Feminist Health Science Studies symposium this Thursday 💜🖤We will be discussing the necessity of integrating Black feminism and social justice into science, medicine, technology, and public health. Registration and a schedule of events can be found at the link in our bio. https://instagr.am/p/CMdaU1sgjFY/

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Racial disparities in health against Black women have always existed. The only way we will ever create meaningful change is if public health professionals collaborate with social justice activists and organizers. Join us next week on March 18th to discuss these important topics. Link is in our bio to register. Quote by symposium guest Dr. Evelynn Hammonds in Toward a Historically Informed Analysis of Racial Health Disparities Since 1619. https://instagr.am/p/CMV87MVgHi2/

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Registration for our symposium is still open if you are interested! The registration, schedule of events, and all other important information can be found on our new website blackfeministhealth.com or at the link in our bio. If you can’t make it, we will be live-tweeting from the event on our twitter @BlackFeministHS. #BFHSS https://instagr.am/p/CMQgKUiA6uY/

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10 DAYS UNTIL OUR FIRST SYMPOSIUM! Please join us to participate in important conversations about race, medicine, and gender led by our renowned collaborators in academia and healthcare. We will also be showcasing student podcasts on topics ranging from Black mental health to racism witihin COVID-19 vaccines. Quote by Omisoore Dryden in A Queer To Far: Blackness, “Gay Blood”, and Transgressive Possibilities. https://instagr.am/p/CMLziWOA7sO/