Today I talk with Joanna Kempner, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Rutgers, who is doing important work for gender politics and pain. In this episode of Natural MD Radio, we discuss the idea of a migraine personality, the historical concept of hysteria, and how this has all evolved to create a disparity in pain treatment for women -- especially women of color in the United States.

We also talk about the societal factors that have led many women to feel guilty for speaking up about their pain, whether it be chronic pain caused by a condition like migraine or pain after childbirth, for example. We share the ways that the stigma of pain affects pain research and the implications that this has for the current and future treatment of women's pain.

Listen to today's episode to learn why these disparities in pain treatment still exist and how we can combat them in our own lives.

"If a drug worked well it would not create a situation in which it was exacerbating the very problem it was treating." - Joanna Kempner

Join Dr. Aviva Romm as she dishes up a weekly dose of the whole truth on health and medicine. To learn more about this episode of Natural MD Radio go to avivaromm.com/kempner-migraine/