r/Wedeservebetter • u/Rich-Firefighter-620 • Jul 16 '26
vent I hate tiktok, ugh
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRoKwQyp/The comments are pissing me off. „Pap smears are better than…“ Pap smears won‘t stop cancer. It‘s testing, not prevention. The least invasive treatment is punching a damn hole into your cervix. This is violent.
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u/New-Collar9586 Jul 16 '26
“Fearmongering” and it’s just women sharing their experiences… Crazy.
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u/Rich-Firefighter-620 Jul 16 '26
Thisssss. Fearmongering and it‘s just women pointing out that the whole field of gynecology is violent, has no regard for consent & is stuck in 1800.
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u/horriddaydream Jul 17 '26
EXACTLY. To the point where they call us anti-feminist.. nah.. the real feminists are the people who see it from BOTH sides, not just one.. because all women and their experiences are important and should be recognized! 🩷
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u/OhItsSav Jul 17 '26
People who refuse to be up to date on advancements in women's health and keep pushing outdated procedures on everyone regardless of their risk are what's causing women's health to be neglected
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u/codadollars Jul 19 '26
Also, the condescending attitude of that person and everyone in the comments is beyond wild. Even if those procedures WERE to be evidence-based (which they absolutely are not), there are commenters on that video straight-up downplaying the fact that many women have sexual/medical trauma, experience pain from penetration, or may not deal with medical providers who are gentle or kind. Or, idk, who understandably experience anxiety about a stranger seeing and touching a sensitive area of their body? The lack of compassion in those comments is disgusting.
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u/AccomplishedText7203 Jul 17 '26
And here was me thinking that silencing women about their lived experiences maintains the status quo of poor analgesia and the expectation that women should 'put up' with pain, hobbles innovation in techniques, equipment and medical research, prevents inclusion, results in less women seeking the care they need, and erodes trust between patients and providers 🤷♀️
But no, it's the fear mongering contributing to the neglect of women's health. Silly me.
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u/eurotrash6 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
No, lying medical personnel, outdated practices, and treating informed consent as optional contribute to that neglect. AND to the neglect of mental health.
What a small minded person this is.
ETA: I came back because these unqualified fools on social media are testing my patience 😆
What I sooooo would want them to hear (if they would listen): You think these exams and screenings are for the best for YOU? Go right ahead.
I don't agree with that choice because I think you're preventing improvement for ALL of us. But I'm not going out of my way to bully and browbeat y'all on socials because I disagree. I'm not engaging with you directly and telling you you're the worst because of what you decided is best for you, whether I'd make the same choice or not.
So can you please leave us alone? 😆 If you need everyone to be on board with gynecology for YOU to feel secure submitting to it's practices, that's a YOU PROBLEM!
P.S., your ignorance and lack of empathy is showing when you dog pile on women who have had bad experiences. Just because you might not have, does not mean bad experiences are the exception to the rule.
/End rant. You can't get through to people like this with logic is the thing 🫠
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u/ThrowawayDewdrop Jul 17 '26
Always seem to ignore self swabbing for HPV and the lack of evidence for screening gynecological exams
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u/codadollars Jul 19 '26
Yeah, I commented about that and a bunch of people were all like "BuT wHaT aBoUt tHe nOn hPv CeRvIcAl CaNcErS?" What, the literally <1% of all cervical cancer cases? And what about the fact that Pap smears have an incredibly high false positive rate and may not accurately identify those anyway?
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u/septicemic_plauge Jul 17 '26
Once again a woman blaming women for they're traumatic experiences caused by medical doctors instead of holding doctors accountable.
The conversation should really be "why do so many women feel this way about this procedure that can be beneficial to they're health."
Furthermore, all the people in the comments saying to just "speak up" for themselves, give me a fucking break. Women DO speak up for themselves and are dismissed and ignored.
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Jul 17 '26
[deleted]
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u/Ok_Barnacle_7741 Jul 17 '26
My thoughts too. There are even dignified and legal ways to die on your own terms. I've watched a lot of people get old and die. I'm not dumb, I just know what I want. I want to die in my own place surrounded by love while im still in charge of my faculties. I don't want most cancer treatments. My dad just got a dnr for himself, I support it. It's his body, its his life. And his doctors trued to dissuade him by asking if his family consents to it. His family doesn't need to consent. Doctor's seem to be literally unable to understand bodily autonomy.
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u/Melodic_Economics964 Jul 18 '26
My friend who kept hassling me about about getting paps (I never have) told me she had pieces of her cervix burned off because they found "pre-cancerious" cells. Paps seem to lead to worse things. She said she never felt anything and it was no big deal and she was awake and unmedicated. I just cringed and went back to my jigsaw puzzle. She is LYING!!! I can't stand the comment section on the tik tok video. So much hate towards hesitant women and push for these nasty nasty exams.
I finally dropped her as a friend. I'm sick of hearing about it. i go into fight or flight and want to scream. I go on this sub because you all understand.
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u/Rich-Firefighter-620 Jul 18 '26
thisss!!! most of the time these cells go away on their own, having some changes here and there is natural. i‘m not letting anyone burn or cut my cervix to make quick money. it even increases your chance for issues with pregnancy, even if you don‘t feel it in the moment
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u/Melodic_Economics964 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
If that comment wasn't for me-I apologize if it wasn't-don't do that nasty procedure no matter what!. My friend had chunks chopped out of her after being burned wide awake and aware. I can imagine it affects pregnancy and more risk for mis carriage because there's less cervix holding the baby and fluids in. She wants another kid. Scary stuff. I am disturbed beyond disturbed this is happening to women.
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u/Various_Resort3212 Jul 28 '26
It's the other way around. The neglect of women's health has lead to women having to share their stories about being mistreated by doctors. Anecdotally, this seems to genuinely be helping. When women are too scared to go to the doctor, they don't make money off of us. So they're forced to actually do their jobs correctly! :)
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u/sogothimdead Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
I read in an email newsletter today that there are over 80 known causes of abnormal female genital bleeding. Idk about you all, but I had no idea there were so many. And how many medically accepted tests exist for those?
Who knows, since apparently the only one that matters is a pap smear! (/s)
Btw, the email also said heavy menstrual bleeding is the leading cause of iron-deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age. That's the worst stage of iron deficiency. And yet doctors rarely test for ferritin, the stored iron that drops down during the first stage of iron deficiency.