In the companion piece on fibroids, Linda Villarosa writes, "Though most of us will suffer from fibroids at some time in our lives, relatively little is known about them." And it seems that little is known about them because many doctors don't take women and their medical problems seriously. According to an article from CNN in May, one of the biggest problems in the medical care of women is that they don't question doctors. Dr. Christiane Northrup, the author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom told CNN. "Even very well-educated women freeze up and don't speak up"

And sometimes, even when women speak up, doctors don't treat their concerns with the gravity they deserve. I've been dealing with this myself lately. I've been having my period every two weeks, and I went to the doctor to get it checked out. She found my physical to be shipshape, but sent me to get a sonogram on Friday afternoon to make sure everything was ok. The radiologist looked at my sonogram and told me I had a condition. When I inquired about the condition, he brushed me off. "You have to talk about that with your gynecologist." I asked him several different questions, trying to ascertain anything, even a brief notion of what this condition might mean for me, and all he did was scoff, "Well it's not cancer," though worst case scenario it could cause fertility issues, as if that should quell any lingering upset I might have. To compound matters, my gyno is now on vacation, and no one in her practice will look at my chart because I'm not pregnant. (They only answer emergencies for pregnant women, apparently.)

So now I'm just waiting to hear about what I have and what it might mean. But let Lacewell's strong and well-informed story be a lesson to you: don't dismiss or be embarrassed by your own medical worries because you're intimidated by a doctor. Just remember ladies, it's uterUS, not uterYOU.

Farewell To My Uterus [The Root]
The Fibroid Sisterhood [The Root]
5 Mistakes Women Make At The Doctor's Office [CNN]

Related: Pros And Cons Of The Pill Tricky For Black Women [Reuters]

There are so many infuriating things about Ms. Harris-Lacewell's argument that it's hard to know where to begin. But here goes! One, Lacewell labels Hillary "Scarlett" simply because she's white and wealthy and does not mention one iota of Clinton's policies concerning African-American women, writing,"black women need health insurance." Well, one of the main pillars of Clinton's policy is now, and has always been, a more universal health care plan. "Black women need decent schools for their children," Lacewell continues. Thing is, as a New York Senator, Hillary strongly supported the bill that would give Head Start $7.350 billion in funding for the 2008 fiscal year. You know what else she did for kids? Clinton introduced the Kinship Caregiver Support Act, which makes sure that children who are living in grandparent-supported households have easier access to payments from the government. According to the 2000 census, "more than half of... Black coresident grandparents were responsible for their grandchildren."

"Black women need help caring for their aging parents," Lacewell continues. Hillary co-sponsored a bill to increase social security benefits for public servants.

"Black women voters are rejecting Hillary Clinton because her ascendance is not a liberating symbol. Her tears are not moving. Her voice does not resonate." That obviously, I can't argue with: it could be entirely true that black women voters do not find Hillary a liberating symbol and prefer Barack Obama, for, among other reasons, the feeling of liberation he imparts. That doesn't mean that Hillary doesn't care about black women; calling her a racist without backing it up with anything substantive is just an intellectually cheap way to ruffle feathers. But I'm just a wealthy, white Scarlett O'Hara. What do I know?

Hillary's Scarlett O'Hara Act [The Root]