Medical Research: Women Excluded Until 1993

Historically, women were not mandated to be included in National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded medical trials until 1993. This policy shift followed the thalidomide tragedy in the late 1950s, where pregnant women's use of the sedative resulted in birth defects, leading the FDA to exclude women of childbearing potential from early trials.

Philosophers of science note that women were often deemed too hormonally variable for reliable data or a male body was simply considered the standard. This led to a significant gap in research data specific to women, prompting activism and protests in the 1980s and 1990s.

The current medical system often uses a simplistic 'two-bucket' approach for sex, categorizing individuals as male or female. Experts caution that this can overlook similarities between sexes and ignore the diversity within these categories, leading to a 'two-size-fits-most' rather than a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.