Gender Medicine in Italy: The Point of View of Maria Grazia Modena: The Story, Limits, and Plans: My Personal Story

Gender medicine (GM) in Italy was born with the association I have been part of since the 90s Tailored Health for Women created by Dr. Elvira Reale and eight women doctors. We started research on risk factors for illness in women’s daily lives with Ministries of Pair Opportunity and Health, summarizing important documents in the history of GM in Italy. We had little success initially since (1) both ministers were changed and the successors were not interested in GM; (2) we were considered feminists and our congresses attended by few, all women! Each of us continued research in their own field, meeting every year with growing enthusiasm. The biggest limits for GM development in Italy are the excessive fragmentation of often self-referential associations/working groups, absence of GM in the core curriculum of medical school and of a gender-based law for health care. Finally I report of my personal story, an example of “gender related storm.”.