This week I wanted to talk more about theory vs. practice.

One of the things that has most surprised me about this opportunity, is the difference in what we discuss  in academic spaces vs. what actually happens in the field. As a gender studies and medical anthropology major, I have spent years at this point discussing the body and reproductive health in academic settings. We talk a lot about the body in the abstract, we discuss the language that we use in healthcare settings and how this helps or hurts, how it changes patient care and impacts how we define The Body (capital T and capital B).

These discussions, while interesting, impactful, and fruitful, are not important in clinics. Metaphorically, we can think about these discussions as the very top of the hierarchy of needs. It is imperative that we think about the way we administer care, and most clinics do not have the time or resources to think past the next day. They are working overtime, their patients are in more precarious and dire positions and overall, reproductive health is in a state of emergency. Everyone tries their best, and we move from there. In other words, on a plane, you put your own oxygen mask on first (having enough people to perform procedures) before helping others (thinking about theory).

I don't say this to discredit the work I am doing right now, I think that one of our only ways through this emergency is through opening up discussions about our broken systems, but it is still important to note here the dissonance that occurs between theory and practice.