In It’s Not Hysteria, Dr. Karen Tang delivers a powerful, evidence-based, and compassionate manifesto that challenges the outdated, biased, and often dangerous norms of reproductive healthcare. This is not just a book—it’s a health literacy revolution. Rooted in both clinical expertise and lived empathy, this work is an indispensable read for anyone seeking to understand their body beyond dismissals and diagnoses.
It’s Not Hysteria achieves something rare in medical non-fiction: it educates, empowers, and agitates for change in equal measure. Tang’s style is strikingly accessible yet informed, making complex gynecologic topics digestible for the everyday reader without sacrificing scientific credibility.
About the Author: A Physician with a Mission
Dr. Karen Tang, a gynecologic surgeon and outspoken advocate for inclusive care, has treated thousands of patients whose stories echo a grim reality: many suffer for years before being heard or diagnosed. It’s Not Hysteria is her response to this silence. Though this is her debut book, Tang is already a familiar name in public health conversations thanks to her viral social media advocacy and compassionate medical practice.
This book embodies her dual identities as both clinician and change agent—a doctor who understands that the body is not just a site of pain but a battleground for equity, autonomy, and dignity.
A Book Built on Recognition and Revolution
The title itself is a bold reclaiming of a term that’s long been weaponized against people with uteruses. Throughout history, women’s pain has been medicalized, minimized, and moralized. Tang takes us through a tour of that history—from the myth of the “wandering womb” to 19th-century clitoridectomies to modern misdiagnoses of endometriosis—and shows us how today’s systemic failures are deeply rooted in a patriarchal past.
This is not history for history’s sake. Tang draws a clear, unbroken line from these historical abuses to today’s medical blind spots: underfunded research, biased clinical trials, and doctors who still default to “it’s probably anxiety” when patients present with real, debilitating pain.
The Structure: A Blueprint for Advocacy
Rather than present a linear textbook, Tang structures It’s Not Hysteria as a user-centric guide. Readers can dip in and out depending on their symptoms or interests—whether it’s understanding pelvic floor dysfunction, deciphering PCOS, or exploring fertility and hormone health.
Each section includes:
- Clear definitions and symptom lists
- Diagrams and illustrations that normalize anatomy
- Sample language to use with doctors
- Self-assessment tools
- Prompts to journal and track symptoms
This design respects the reader’s time and mental energy, recognizing that those who need this book are likely already navigating complex and exhausting healthcare experiences.
Key Topics Covered
Tang demystifies a wide range of conditions often misdiagnosed or dismissed:
- Endometriosis: Chronic pain that often masquerades as “normal period cramps”
- Fibroids: Noncancerous growths with severe consequences for fertility and quality of life
- PMDD: A hormone-linked mood disorder often confused with depression or anxiety
- PCOS: A complex endocrine condition affecting metabolic, reproductive, and emotional health
- Menopause and perimenopause: Real talk on hot flashes, hormonal decline, and navigating change
- Pelvic organ prolapse: A rarely discussed but highly common condition post-childbirth
- Sexual health and dysfunction: Tackling pain, pleasure, libido, and agency with honesty and care
She also unpacks the interconnectedness of the reproductive system with gut health, mental health, and chronic pain—an often-overlooked systems-level understanding in gynecology.
A Standout on Inclusive Care
What makes It’s Not Hysteria especially relevant today is its unapologetically inclusive framework. Dr. Tang is one of few gynecologic writers who explicitly includes transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals in the discussion. Her use of gender-inclusive language is intentional, not performative—it’s baked into the science and social justice she advocates for.
In a field that has long excluded or harmed queer and trans people, this approach is nothing short of revolutionary.
Strengths of the Book
- Authoritative yet approachable tone: Tang breaks down complex biology without dumbing it down.
- Intersectional lens: She centers the experiences of Black women, disabled people, and those historically marginalized by the medical system.
- Empowerment through knowledge: By teaching readers how to speak the language of medicine, Tang gives them the tools to self-advocate.
- Practical, actionable content: Symptom checklists, questions to ask at appointments, and examples of good vs. bad care are extremely helpful.
- Historical context: Understanding how gynecologic myths evolved clarifies why systemic failures still exist today.
Where It Falls Short
While the book excels in its breadth, readers looking for in-depth clinical strategies might find it lacking. Complex conditions like adenomyosis or pelvic floor dysfunction could benefit from more treatment case studies or therapeutic comparisons. And although the historical chapters are powerful, they might feel overly detailed for readers eager to get straight to their own symptoms and solutions.
Additionally, while Tang gestures at systemic change, the book focuses more on what individuals can do to navigate a broken system than on how to transform that system from the top down. Still, this is forgivable, as her focus is explicitly people-first.
Comparison with Similar Works
- Dr. Jen Gunter’s The Vagina Bible is equally evidence-driven but more focused on myth-busting than on systemic critique.
- Maya Dusenbery’s Doing Harm offers a more journalistic approach to medical sexism but lacks the clinical utility Tang provides.
- Abby Norman’s Ask Me About My Uterus reads more like a memoir, while Tang’s work is grounded in mass education and care navigation.
Tang’s book carves out its own niche: both deeply informative and action-oriented, with a voice that is maternal, fierce, and grounded in decades of patient advocacy.
For Whom This Book Is Essential
It’s Not Hysteria belongs on the shelf of:
- Anyone experiencing menstrual, pelvic, or sexual health symptoms
- Teenagers beginning their reproductive health journeys
- People undergoing fertility treatment or menopause transitions
- Trans and nonbinary individuals who often face medical erasure
- Health educators and advocates fighting for gender equity
- Medical students learning how to listen, not just diagnose
Whether you’re preparing for a gynecological surgery, wondering if your period pain is really “normal,” or just trying to understand your anatomy better, this book meets you where you are.
Final Thoughts: A Call to Be Believed
Perhaps the most radical thing this book does is believe you. Dr. Tang’s writing affirms what so many have been told to doubt: that your pain is real, your experience is valid, and your care should be better.
In a culture that still treats menstruation as taboo and pelvic pain as imaginary, It’s Not Hysteria offers something more than information—it offers recognition. And in medicine, as in life, recognition is the first step toward healing.
A vital, inclusive, and empowering guide to reproductive health, marred only slightly by its need to cover so much ground in limited space. Essential reading for anyone with a uterus—and everyone who loves someone who has one.
Isn’t it time we started believing people when they say they’re in pain? This book helps us start listening—and finally, taking action.