Popsugar Fitness Instagram What Is the #ShareTheMedicalMic Campaign on Instagram? #ShareTheMedicalMic: Follow the Campaign Amplifying Black Women in Medicine July 22, 2020 by Emily Weaver View On One Page Photo 3 of 6 ADVERTISEMENT () Start Slideshow View this post on Instagram Seeing a Doctor that looks like you Matters This may seem like a foreign concept. I get it. Many non-Black people see doctors that look like them ALL of the time. So it may seem as though it's not a big deal or that you would get the same care no matter what. But that is simply not the case. First of all, While black Americans comprise 13% of the U.S. population, they make up only 4% of the active physician workforce. Black female doctors represent only 2% of physicians. That is an alarmingly low number. This means the majority of black women out there have never seen or gone to a black Obstetrician and Gynecologist. But just imagine for a second, if you are a non-black person, NEVER once in your life seeing being cared for by a doc that looks similar to you. Just picture it. It’s pretty strange. Second of all, in the United States in particular. Black people have been oppressed for many years. And not only that, but we have been EXPERIMENTED on and taken advantage of by medical professionals. This has destroyed trust in government, medicine, health laws and policies for many in the Black community. If you have never heard of such things before and want to learn more please refer to the following: The Tuskegee syphilis experiment, Henrietta Lacks, and the story of James Marion Sims experimenting on enslaved black women without anesthesia which has been spoken about recently by my friend and colleague @drkameelasays. After years of slavery, experimentation, and oppression it is not surprising that mistrust in the medical community continues to be an issue for many Black people today. And on top of that, to this day, it’s so hard to even find a Black doctor...COME ON! 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝗪𝐇𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 Black women and men need to be represented in the medical field so that we can be the stronghold for our community and the bridge that helps to close a gap that only we truly can understand and appreciate. This is something that means a lot to me so I couldn’t let IG word count cut me off (SEE More Below!) 😉 #sharethemedicalmic A post shared by Your best friend OB-GYN (@dr.martaperez) on Jul 22, 2020 at 10:06am PDT Share This Link Copy ← Use Arrow Keys → 3 Dr. Charlsie Celestine on the Importance of Representation Previous Next Start Slideshow InstagramHealthIdentityAntiracism