Sameena Rahman, M.D. — New Book
"brown girls' disease"?
A Guide to Sexual Health and Empowerment
Through a South Asian Lens
The book every woman deserves — and every healthcare provider needs to read. Dr. Sameena Rahman reclaims a dismissive label and turns it into a rallying cry for compassionate, culturally informed care.
COMING FALL 2026
ABOUT THE BOOK
What's Diseased Is the System — Not You
The impulse to label and dismiss women has deep roots in medical history. From ancient Greece to the early twentieth century, women's unexplained pain was routinely diagnosed as "hysteria." In the 1980s, doctors labeled AIDS as "gay cancer." When medicine refuses to see patients as full, complex human beings, it makes problems worse instead of solving them.
Calling women's sexual pain "Brown Girls' Disease" turns a legitimate, understandable response into a punchline. It stops doctors from asking why a patient is flinching, why she can't use a tampon, or why she can't orgasm. It trains the system to dismiss her rather than help her.
That's why Dr. Rahman is reclaiming this dismissive term — turning it from an insult into a rallying cry for better care because there is nothing diseased about cultural modesty. Nothing wrong with needing time to feel comfortable with intimate examinations. Nothing abnormal about wanting a healthcare provider who respects your background and values.
This book is the result of what she's learned, what she wishes she'd known sooner, and what she wants every woman and every women's healthcare worker to know — regardless of ethnicity.
INSIDE THE BOOK
Topics Rarely Discussed. Finally Addressed.
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Vaginismus & Pelvic Pain
Understand the physical and psychological roots of sexual pain — and how to find care that doesn't dismiss your experience.
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PGAD & Arousal Disorders
Persistent genital arousal disorder and other conditions that are widely misunderstood and underdiagnosed.
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Libido & Sexual Wellness
Reclaim your relationship with desire — how culture, religion, and medicine each shape what's considered "normal."
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Medical Bias & Trauma
How trauma, medical bias, and psychological conditions impact sexual function — and how to navigate a system that often falls short.
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Perimenopause & Menopause
Navigate postpartum transitions, perimenopause, and menopause with evidence-based guidance built for your whole life.
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Becoming Your Own Advocate
Practical tools and language to reclaim your body, assert your needs, and find providers who will truly see you.
"Honor your values, advocate for your health — become empowered."
— SAMEENA RAHMAN, MD, “brown girls’ disease”?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Sameena Rahman
Board-Certified OB-GYN · SEXUAL MEDICINE GYNECOLOGIST · MENOPAUSE SPECIALIST
Dr. Sameena Rahman is a board-certified doctor of obstetrics and gynecology, sex-med gynecologist, menopause specialist, and a clinical assistant professor of OB-GYN at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.