A big part of the struggle with endometriosis is how little is understood about it. I see good doctors who care and want to help, but there is only so much that can be done when the funding and focus is not there. Researchers still do not know what causes the disease and there is no cure. Treatments are variable in their effectiveness.
On Tuesday, I was alerted to the fact that the University of Sydney has recently approved research into how men’s sex lives are impacted by being in a relationship with someone who has endometriosis. This study is being conducted by master’s student who wishes to explore “the impact of endometriosis on men’s sexual wellbeing”.
Considering the tiny amount of attention and funding endometriosis gets, it’s enraging to see someone conducting a study into how this disease impacts men. Women’s sex lives are far more impacted by endometriosis than men’s are, and if any study on this area is being conducted it should look at how women and their sex lives are impacted. Endometriosis does not hurt a man’s sexual wellbeing. It does however impact every aspect of your life when you suffer from it. It can mean that sex is often painful and unpleasant, penetration can cause bleeding and pain remains for days afterwards.
Studies like this one make it look like the only way endometriosis will get attention is if we highlight how it hurts men. It’s not enough for women to share their countless stories of pain and suffering. How it limits their ability to finish study, work full time or even have sex. It’s not enough to describe the surgeries, and the medications, the invasive procedures that provide little to no relief. The only way we can get people to care is to tell them that men are impacted too.
I AM SO FUCKING ANGRY RN
You ever just…want men to fucking die already?
A study about how endometriosis affects men’s sex lives? That’s enraging | Imogen Dunlevie
Big Mean Sweaty Dyke 