It’s Time to Believe Those With Endometriosis

Bailey Borchardt, PPNYC CUNY Organizer

“Just pop a Midol.”

“Our bodies were made for this.”

“It’s normal to feel pain.”

“Stop overreacting.”

Because of how our society normalizes the pain caused by periods, it’s unsurprising that endometriosis goes undiagnosed until a person reaches their 30s or 40s.

Let that sit for a second. An individual has to suffer in silence for nearly two decades worth of periods before finally finding a reason for their pain and treatment for it. All because periods are natural and we’re taught that the pain is a normal and integral part of the process.

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, and it’s critical that we continue to break the silence around this issue. Now, what exactly is endometriosis? Endometriosis is when the tissue that lines the inside of your uterus is found outside of your uterus. Over 5 million people are affected by it in the U.S., and it’s probable that even more are suffering undiagnosed.

The effects of endometriosis can be excruciating, but are often overlooked or deemed “hysterical” because the pain is unseen (And because society has a history of referring to women in pain as hysterical). Menstruation is when the uterus sheds the uterine lining. That sounds painful enough, no? Now imagine the uterus shedding it’s outside barrier. However, as a society, we’re always told that periods are painful, so what makes anyone’s more painful than the next person’s? This is our first problem. Pain on any level should not be considered normal.

So why is it that this fairly common condition that makes a monthly process extremely painful goes unrecognized by the general public? Well, medicine does not have a history of investing in issues that are typically considered to be a “woman’s issue.”

Not all women have endometriosis and not all people with endometriosis are women. This is important to clarify. When we gender reproductive health, we not only see a lack of urgency in finding viable cures, but we also risk excluding trans and non-binary folks from the table and deny them access to a cure for their pain. When it comes to endometriosis, there is a lack of research and understanding from the medical community, but there’s even less research being done about how it affects those in the trans and non-binary communities.

There’s an overarching issue here that transcends medicine. Women have internalized this notion that any emotion they feel is equated to hysteria. We must not speak up, we must not take up space, we must not make any noise, and in the case of feeling pain, we’re being overdramatic. We must continue to combat these narratives in our day-to-day work, because no one deserves to suffer in silence because they’ve been told their pain isn’t valid.

Endometriosis is also a political issue. One of the most popular methods of combating endometriosis is birth control. As of last week, the Trump Administration signed a domestic gag order which eliminates federal funding for healthcare providers who provide or recommend abortion. This also eliminates funding allocated to providing over 4 million people with birth control. Without this access to birth control, folks with endometriosis have no way of regulating their periods, or the pain that comes with them. This will disproportionately affect low-income women and women of color who rely on Title X for their healthcare needs.

We must continue to validate folks with endometriosis every single day. No person should have to suffer in silence because their gender or issue prevents science from being committed to a cure. Trust your body. If it’s telling you it’s in pain, listen, and seek medical attention. As you advocate for yourself, just know that there are leagues of advocates fighting alongside you. We will not stop until endometriosis is broadly recognized and resources are invested in finding a cure.

It’s time to believe those with endometriosis and join their fight.