The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine

The 19th century was marked by significant social changes, particularly surrounding equality for women. The story of the Blackwell sisters is representative of the challenges and progress in the fight for women's rights, particularly in professional fields traditionally dominated by men. The context of the period’s fight for women's suffrage is crucial to understanding this contribution. Trying to gain a foothold in the field was a struggle, as women were not taken seriously by their male peers. For example, while Elizabeth was admitted to Geneva Medical College in 1847, her acceptance was based on a vote by the male students who thought the application was a joke. However, despite skepticism and through her dedication to her studies, she graduated first in her class. Elizabeth's struggle here shows a common theme in the fight for gender equality: the need for women to prove their competence over and over to gain acceptance.

The societal resistance to women's participation in medicine was not just a matter of individual prejudice but rooted in broader cultural and institutional biases. The idea of women as medical professionals challenged the established norms of the time, which kept women in the domestic sphere and saw them as unsuited for intellectual pursuits.