All in Her Head

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← Previous revision Revision as of 11:13, 4 May 2026 Line 49: Line 49: '''''All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women's Bodies and Why It Matters Today''''' is a 2024 non-fiction book by American oncologist Elizabeth Comen.<ref name="friedman">{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Danielle |title=A Brief History of Sexism in Medicine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/well/live/women-health-care-elizabeth-comen.html |access-date=4 May 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=26 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="powell">{{cite web |last1=Powell |first1=Alvin |title=How sexism in medicine continues to endanger women’s health |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/10/how-sexism-in-medicine-continues-to-endanger-womens-health/ |website=Harvard Gazette |access-date=4 May 2026 |date=15 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="powell2">{{cite news |last1=Powell |first1=Alvin |title=How Gender Bias in Medicine Has Shaped Women’s Health |url=https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/how-gender-bias-medicine-has-shaped-womens-health |access-date=May 4, 2026 |work=Harvard Medicine Magazine |date=October 15, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> '''''All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women's Bodies and Why It Matters Today''''' is a 2024 non-fiction book by American oncologist Elizabeth Comen.<ref name="friedman">{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Danielle |title=A Brief History of Sexism in Medicine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/well/live/women-health-care-elizabeth-comen.html |access-date=4 May 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=26 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="powell">{{cite web |last1=Powell |first1=Alvin |title=How sexism in medicine continues to endanger women’s health |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/10/how-sexism-in-medicine-continues-to-endanger-womens-health/ |website=Harvard Gazette |access-date=4 May 2026 |date=15 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="powell2">{{cite news |last1=Powell |first1=Alvin |title=How Gender Bias in Medicine Has Shaped Women’s Health |url=https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/how-gender-bias-medicine-has-shaped-womens-health |access-date=May 4, 2026 |work=Harvard Medicine Magazine |date=October 15, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

Comen considers the history of women's medical treatment, working systematically through the [[Human anatomy#Major organ systems|eleven systems]] of the body studied by doctors today.<ref name="comen-book">{{cite web |title=All in Her Head |url=https://www.drelizabethcomen.com/book |website=Dr Elizabeth Comen MD |access-date=4 May 2026}}</ref> ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'' magazine featured an extract from the section on the [[integumentary system]]: the skin.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Comen |first1=Elizabeth |title=On the Intersection of Vanity, Beauty, and Aging |url=https://www.elle.com/beauty/a46875281/elizabeth-comen-all-in-her-head-excerpt/ |access-date=4 May 2026 |work=ELLE |date=13 February 2024}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Lesser]] has said that it "exposes the shocking, infuriating, and heartbreaking medical myths and practices that have haunted the care and treatment of women for millennia—myths about the inherent inferiority and weakness of the female body that are still with us today."<ref name=comen-book /> Comen considers the history of women's medical treatment, working systematically through the [[Human anatomy#Major organ systems|eleven systems]] of the body studied by doctors today.<ref name="comen-book">{{cite web |title=All in Her Head |url=https://www.drelizabethcomen.com/book |website=Dr Elizabeth Comen MD |access-date=4 May 2026}}</ref> ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'' magazine featured an extract from the section on the [[integumentary system]]: the skin.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Comen |first1=Elizabeth |title=On the Intersection of Vanity, Beauty, and Aging |url=https://www.elle.com/beauty/a46875281/elizabeth-comen-all-in-her-head-excerpt/ |access-date=4 May 2026 |work=ELLE |date=13 February 2024}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Lesser]] has said that it "exposes the shocking, infuriating, and heartbreaking medical myths and practices that have haunted the care and treatment of women for millennia—myths about the inherent inferiority and weakness of the female body that are still with us today."<ref name=comen-book /> The reviewer for ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' found it "Meticulously researched and conveyed in lucid prose", adding that it "fascinates and outrages in equal measure"<ref>{{cite news |title=All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today by Elizabeth Comen |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780063293014 |access-date=May 4, 2026 |work=www.publishersweekly.com |date=}}</ref>

It was a finalist for the 2025 [[PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Announcing The 2025 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists |url=https://pen.org/announcing-the-2025-pen-america-literary-awards-finalists/ |website=PEN America |access-date=4 May 2026 |date=10 April 2025}}</ref> and a [[USA Today]] bestseller.<ref>{{cite news |title=All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us about Women's Bodies and Why It Matters Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/booklist/books/all-in-her-head-the-truth-and-lies-early-medicine-taught-us-about-womens-bodies-and-why-it-matters-today/9780063293014/2024-03-06 |access-date=May 4, 2026 |work=USA TODAY |date=March 6, 2024}}</ref> It was a finalist for the 2025 [[PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Announcing The 2025 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists |url=https://pen.org/announcing-the-2025-pen-america-literary-awards-finalists/ |website=PEN America |access-date=4 May 2026 |date=10 April 2025}}</ref> and a ''[[USA Today]]'' bestseller.<ref>{{cite news |title=All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us about Women's Bodies and Why It Matters Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/booklist/books/all-in-her-head-the-truth-and-lies-early-medicine-taught-us-about-womens-bodies-and-why-it-matters-today/9780063293014/2024-03-06 |access-date=May 4, 2026 |work=USA TODAY |date=March 6, 2024}}</ref> The ''[[New York Post]]'' included it in "The 15 best books we read in February 2024".<ref>{{cite news |title=Best new books we read in February 2024, ranked and reviewed |url=https://nypost.com/2024/02/28/shopping/new-books-february-2024-review/ |access-date=May 4, 2026 |work=New York Post |date=February 28, 2024}}</ref>

Comen is a [[breast cancer]] [[oncologist]] at [[Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center]] and assistant professor of medicine at [[Weill Cornell Medicine]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Women in Bio Interview: Dr. Elizabeth Comen Presents "All in Her Head" |url=https://innovation.weill.cornell.edu/events/women-bio-interview-dr-elizabeth-comen-presents-all-her-head |website=innovation.weill.cornell.edu |access-date=4 May 2026 |date=May 2, 2024}}</ref> Comen is a [[breast cancer]] [[oncologist]] at [[Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center]] and assistant professor of medicine at [[Weill Cornell Medicine]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Women in Bio Interview: Dr. Elizabeth Comen Presents "All in Her Head" |url=https://innovation.weill.cornell.edu/events/women-bio-interview-dr-elizabeth-comen-presents-all-her-head |website=innovation.weill.cornell.edu |access-date=4 May 2026 |date=May 2, 2024}}</ref>