All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today

by Elizabeth Comen

in 1902, the field of urology sprang up as gynecology’s male counterpart—and if you’d asked one of these doctors at the time, he surely would have told you that they had everything covered. Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina, and each has a doctor, so what’s the problem? And that’s how the medical profession just sort of forgot that women need to pee, too.

When I went to the hospital my room was only provided with a portable male urinal (the hospital did not supply female urinals - though they exist and are similar in price). Because I couldn’t relive myself from where I was, I had to get up and walk to the bathroom from my bed post-surgery to pee. I almost tripped and fell every time. I can’t help but think that more women are at risk for falling in hospitals because even in 2025, we have forgotten that women pee… just a thought with this quote.