Authors

• Koskela, Riikka (University of Turku)

Keywords

diseases, femininity, gynaecology, medical care, patients, women, women's health

Abstract

The data consists of writings in which the respondents describe their experiences related to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The data was originally collected for a master's thesis that examined the experiences of women living with PCOS regarding the stigma associated with womanhood.

The invitation to write asked participants to share their personal experiences related to the condition and to reflect on the situations in which they had experienced stigma directed at women due to their PCOS symptoms. Respondents were also asked to consider what had caused the stigma in that particular situation, how they reacted to it, and how they would have liked others to react. People were welcome to respond even if they did not have a PCOS diagnosis or if their gender identity was other than female. The call for submissions also provided some guiding questions to assist with the responses.

As background information, respondents were asked about their age, gender, and whether they knew they had PCOS in the situation described in the writing.