Summary Of The Beauty In Breaking

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“It was the very fact that Laruen felt comfortable assuming greater inherent wisdom on the part of the white, male physicians” (Harper, 2020). Michele Harper’s memoir, “the Beauty in Breaking”, discusses various forms of oppression, one of them being racial and gender discrimination in American healthcare. For many years, the healthcare sector of this country has been scarred by deep-rooted discrimination against women and Black women, which manifests itself into unequal access to care, biased treatment, and very limited professional opportunities. Harper describes in an interview with Dave Davies, on Fresh Air, that “roughly 2% of American physicians (who) are African American women” (Davies, 2020). Understanding the historical foundations of this …show more content…
This requires acknowledging and reckoning with the historical injustices inflicted upon Black women and other marginalized groups. By centering their voices and experiences, policymakers and healthcare providers can work towards dismantling discriminatory practices and promoting health equity for all. In conclusion, the historical discrimination that is faced by women and Black women in healthcare has deep roots that continue to shape contemporary healthcare disparities. From ancient civilizations to the modern era, societal normalities and systematic biases have influenced medical practices and perpetuated inequities based on gender and race. The exploitation of enslaved Black women, such as the segregation in healthcare facilities during the Jim Crow era, and ongoing instances of medical racism highlight the persistent challenges faced by marginalized communities in accessing quality healthcare.Intersectional feminism serves as a critical framework for addressing these disparities by centering the voices and experiences of Black women and recognizing the intersecting forms of oppression they