The assessment of pain is a critical part of medical care that allows practitioners to identify physical ailments and create an effective treatment plan. However, measuring pain is inherently subjective due to the diverse range of sociocultural influences on both the experience and perception of pain. Anthropologist and historian of consciousness, Michel Foucault, presents a theory of power-knowledge relations that serves as an apt framework for understanding the exertion of power in medical spaces. Key to Foucault’s ideology is the assertion that social power is wielded through the combination of visibility and a culturally oriented epistemology. I argue that patients from marginalized backgrounds are often ignored when it comes to their pain and that this silencing can be understood as resulting from a failure to adhere to the normative standards set by those in power. Additionally, I assert that the concepts of respectability politics and impression management can be applied by patients as a method of combating their oppression within medical settings. In order to explore my hypothesis, I conducted ethnographic research within the Saint Louis University community. My methodology included the collection of qualitative data in the form of stories from SLU faculty, staff, and students. My analysis of the resulting data illustrates the complex experiences of a diverse group of individuals when it comes to interactions within biomedicine. Responses indicated that a number of participants felt unheard within medical spaces and utilized impression management to combat mistreatment. The positive experiences of participants also helped contextualize my argument by providing information on what behaviors create medical spaces in which patients feel heard and respected. 

Chloe would like to thank Dr. Amy Cooper for her compassionate support as an educator and mentor. She is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Cooper as a research assistant and to learn from her as a student. Dr. Cooper's approach to understanding health through the lens of sociocultural beliefs and practices is something that Chloe hopes to take with her into the practice of medicine. She would like to acknowledge the time and effort that Dr. Cooper has put into guiding her as a student and the grace that Dr. Cooper has given her as a human being.