It’s Not Hysteria by Dr. Karen Tang isn’t just a medical book—it’s a rallying cry. With surgical precision and compassionate prose, Dr. Tang demolishes centuries of gendered medical neglect to offer a comprehensive, inclusive, and much-needed guide to reproductive health. In a world where people assigned female at birth are still told that their suffering is “normal,” this book feels urgent, empowering, and deeply human.
What makes this book stand out isn’t just its authority—it’s its accessibility, relevance, and inclusiveness.
The Doctor Behind the Diagnosis
Dr. Karen Tang is a board-certified gynecologic surgeon known for her advocacy for inclusive healthcare. While It’s Not Hysteria marks her first foray into publishing a full-length book, her social media presence and years of clinical experience ground her as a trustworthy voice in reproductive medicine. Her dual lens as both a specialist and an advocate infuses this work with rare authenticity.
Why This Book Matters Now
Reproductive healthcare is in crisis. As Dr. Tang outlines in her searing opening chapters, legislative rollbacks, medical gaslighting, and systemic racism intersect to create a landscape where countless people suffer in silence. The title alone—It’s Not Hysteria—echoes the historically dismissive attitudes toward women’s pain and neatly encapsulates the book’s mission: to validate and educate.
Tang’s approach is both historical and practical. She traces the roots of gynecological misconceptions from the myth of the “wandering womb” to the disturbing legacy of surgical experimentation on enslaved Black women. These chapters are not merely informative—they’re infuriating. Yet Tang balances this justified anger with actionable hope.
What You’ll Learn: A Deep Dive into the Female Body
Tang divides the book into distinct sections that move from context to clinical. Part I explores the historical, cultural, and systemic reasons behind the neglect of reproductive health. Part II delves into anatomy and sex ed with beautifully clear, non-judgmental language. From the uterus to the G-spot to the pelvic floor, Tang provides detailed yet accessible explanations of parts too often obscured in shame or silence.
Highlights include:
- A precise breakdown of menstrual cycles, ovulation, and hormonal function.
- A nuanced discussion on the interplay of gut, bladder, and gynecologic health.
- Gender-inclusive language that recognizes transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals without alienating cisgender women.
Dr. Tang doesn’t shy away from complexity. She makes the invisible visible, offering a framework to interpret everything from bloating and pelvic pain to fibroids, endometriosis, PMDD, and pelvic floor dysfunction.
Empowering Patients Through Language and Tools
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its practical utility. Each chapter closes with tools that empower patients: sample scripts for speaking with doctors, symptom-tracking charts, red flags for misdiagnoses, and questions to ask during appointments.
Rather than simply diagnosing problems, Dr. Tang equips readers to advocate for themselves in medical settings where time is short and biases run deep.
Key takeaways include:
- Reclaiming the Clinical Conversation: Learn how to describe your symptoms clearly and assertively without being dismissed.
- Fertility and Menopause Explained: From egg quality to hormone replacement therapy, Tang separates myth from science.
- Pain Is Not Normal: Period pain, pelvic pain, or painful sex—none of it should be normalized, and Tang shows readers why and how to seek help.
Intersectional and Inclusive: Addressing Health Inequities
Tang’s commitment to intersectionality is evident. She speaks candidly about the disproportionate maternal mortality rates among Black women, the erasure of LGBTQ+ individuals in gynecologic research, and how systemic biases influence everything from diagnosis to treatment access.
She also highlights medical disparities rooted in race, gender, and class, such as:
- The underfunding of research on fibroids and endometriosis.
- The exclusion of women and minorities from major clinical trials until the 1990s.
- Unconscious biases among healthcare professionals regarding pain perception.
This willingness to confront uncomfortable truths makes It’s Not Hysteria as much a sociopolitical critique as a medical guide.
Writing Style: Scientific Yet Soulful
Dr. Tang writes with the precision of a surgeon but the warmth of a trusted friend. Her tone is calm, authoritative, and empathetic—a hard balance to strike in medical nonfiction. She avoids condescension and jargon, making complex topics accessible to lay readers without oversimplifying.
Her use of humor, personal anecdotes, and cultural references (including a poignant nod to comedian Ali Wong) adds human texture. The conversational rhythm makes the book readable in parts or all at once. Whether you’re flipping to the chapter on menopause or devouring the history of hysteria, the tone remains consistent: clear, empowering, and deeply respectful of the reader’s intelligence and lived experience.
Critiques: Where the Book Could Go Further
While It’s Not Hysteria is an invaluable resource, no book is without its limitations.
- Broadness over Depth: In trying to cover such a vast range of topics—from menstruation to menopause to interstitial cystitis—some chapters feel too condensed. Readers facing complex conditions like endometriosis may find themselves wanting more detailed treatment protocols or patient stories.
- Resource Lists: While Dr. Tang includes helpful advice on how to talk to doctors, more curated lists of specialists, support groups, or research organizations (especially for global readers) could increase the book’s usability.
- Repetitiveness: Occasionally, points about systemic dismissal of women’s pain are revisited without new insights. While the repetition reinforces the urgency of the issue, it may feel slightly redundant to some readers.
That said, these critiques reflect the challenge of writing a single-volume guide to a deeply underrepresented topic. Tang’s scope is ambitious because the need is so great.
Similar Titles to Explore
For those who found It’s Not Hysteria enlightening, similar reads include:
- Ask Me About My Uterus by Abby Norman – A memoir investigating the silence around endometriosis.
- Doing Harm by Maya Dusenbery – A journalist’s exploration of how sexism in medicine harms women.
- The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter – A no-nonsense guide to vaginal and vulvar health.
- Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez – A data-driven analysis of gender bias in research and systems.
Dr. Tang’s work complements these voices while carving a distinct space: rigorous yet approachable, practical yet empathetic.
Final Verdict: Not Just a Book, a Movement
It’s Not Hysteria is not just a book—it’s a long-overdue intervention. In a society that has trained people to minimize their pain and accept less than full health, this book reminds us that suffering is not a prerequisite for femininity or existence.
This is a must-read for:
- Anyone with a uterus
- Healthcare professionals seeking to do better
- Partners, parents, and educators looking to understand and support those suffering
- Advocates fighting for inclusive, evidence-based reproductive healthcare
It’s Not Hysteria arms readers with language, facts, and courage. It helps people name what they’ve been told to ignore. And perhaps most importantly, it tells them: you are not imagining this. Your pain is real. And you deserve care.
A powerfully written, comprehensive, and deeply necessary guide that fills a massive void in modern medicine. Minor limitations in depth are outweighed by its practical value, inclusive approach, and transformative potential.
Have you had a gynecological experience that was dismissed or misunderstood? This book may help you reclaim your narrative—one fact at a time.
