“Unseen: Inequality in Medicine” at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Leiden

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The medical field has long treated the 70 kg white male body as the norm — an assumption that continues to shape healthcare today. From March 7, 2025 to March 8, 2026, the award-winning Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden, the Netherlands will explore the history and ongoing effects of such assumptions in a temporary exhibition titled “Unseen.” I gave a lecture in the series accompanying the exhibition, and the curator, Mieneke te Hennepe, kindly took me on a tour of the exhibits. After returning home, I interviewed Mieneke about some of the questions this outstanding collection of objects, books, and art raised for me – questions about gender, history, and the possibilities of progress.

HK: “Unseen: Inequality in Medicine” is a very timely exhibition that examines how women and non-binary people have been overlooked in medicine. Can you tell me where the inspiration for this exhibition came from?

MtH: Alongside my work as a curator of medical collections at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, I also teach medical history at Leiden University Medical Centre, where I lecture to medical students. This includes a lecture on the history of women in medicine in the LUMC’s bachelor’s in medicine program – a topic that resonates strongly with younger generations of students and has also sparked growing national interest. New research in the Netherlands and abroad has highlighted significant gaps in our knowledge concerning bodies that do not conform to the ‘standard’ white male norm. At the same time, the museum wanted to bring new perspectives to our medical collections by viewing them through a different lens—for example, considering issues like gender inequality. Together, these developments planted the seed for exploring whether an exhibition on this topic would be possible.

HK: The exhibition starts with a “waiting room” – a familiar space that evokes the shared experience of waiting for a diagnosis or treatment. How do you use the “waiting room” to prepare visitors for what is to come?

MtH: The staging of a waiting room functions as a powerful tool to set the tone for the exhibition. It is a space where visitors almost instinctively fall into the role of the patient. It also alludes to the fact that many people feel that they have been “in the waiting room” for a long time. As a visitor, you enter a space that feels strangely familiar. There’s an uneasy feeling in the air—the colors are harsh, sterile. Posters from various time periods, including da Vinci’s Vitruvian man, line the walls and hint at a male-orientated medicine. As you sit down, you’ll find that memories start to surface—a waiting room is rarely a comfortable place to be. On the audio playing, snatches of thoughts can be heard: a woman feeling unsure of herself after visiting the doctor yet again with vague symptoms. Someone coughs. “Mr Van der Plas may come through,” an announcement calls out. Another voice, irritated, complains about the long wait. A family enters the room. The children go straight to the small table, drawn to the familiar bead maze toys—although this one looks a bit different. One child turns to their mother and protests, “It’s not fair!”

This sets the scene for the questions the exhibition wants to explore: What and who has remained, and still remains, unseen? How did biased knowledge become so embedded in medical textbooks and treatments? And how could sexist ideas gain such a grip on medicine?

HK: What are your two favorite items on display?

MtH: As a curator it is always difficult to choose a favorite. I care for all the objects, as each contributes an important story to the exhibition’s message. With each encounter, I see new value in the objects. However, at the moment, I would pick these two: a small booklet called The woman: her physique and her internal organs (1900) by the first Dutch female doctor Aletta H. Jacobs and a unique contemporary anatomical wax model called “Epione” (2024), made by the artist Nathalie Latour.

Jacobs’ booklet aimed to teach women more about their bodies. She wrote it specifically for women with a limited budget after noticing that they had questions about the way their bodies, particularly their sexual organs, worked. This was a very important step in women’s struggle for more control and autonomy over their bodies and health.

Latour’s anatomical wax model is striking for its craftsmanship, as it uses eighteenth-century techniques and types of materials. It forms a wonderful bridge between age-old anatomical traditions and contemporary ideas. The museum acquired Latour’s model specifically for this exhibition and it is now part of the museum’s permanent collections.

HK: There are points in the exhibition at which you ask visitors to interact with the story you tell them. Can you explain how this works?

MtH: In each themed section of the exhibition, visitors can engage with the subject of unseen and missed knowledge through hands-on interaction. For example, in the theme “Ignored,” you can play a game in which you use a stethoscope to examine a body in search of missed diagnoses. Through this, you’ll learn about, for instance, the delayed diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in women. In the theme “Rebellion,” you can write your own protest slogan on a sign and take a photo with it—take a stand yourself! In this way, we aim to engage visitors through different means, allowing them to connect with the topics beyond the merely visual experience.

HK: When you have overheard visitors talking about what they see in the exhibition, what have you learned from their conversations?

MtH: Visitors’ responses to the exhibition are generally positive. Their experiences and emotions range from surprise, to sadness, to feeling “confronted” by its message; they may even express disbelief about the knowledge gap around female health. Visitors often say that the exhibition is “informative” and that it’s “about an important topic.” One visitor even called it “necessary for the medical domain.” The responses show just how invested people are in the topic. The exhibition has proven to be a real eye-opener for many people and I do hope that they continue talking, thinking and sharing about it after their visit.

HK: The events around the exhibition include opportunities to “clay your private parts” and to “meet your vaginal microbiome.” This level of visitor engagement is something I’ve not met elsewhere! Can you tell us more about how this fits with the museum’s vision of its mission?

MtH: It is our mission to use our unique collection to illustrate key developments in science and medicine and highlight their influence on daily life. In a society where scientific and technological advancements are accelerating, we seek to engage people with these developments and showcase their origins. During the exhibition period, we always align our public program with the content of the exhibition. In this case, it includes a talk by researchers from the University of Antwerp who will tell visitors more about the female microbiome: the microorganisms that live in the vagina and contribute to health. Their work is featured in the exhibition as an example of new perspectives and inspiring directions in science.

HK: The color palette for “Unseen” is an important part of the visitor experience. How do the colors change as we travel from past to future?

MtH: The spatial design of the exhibition by Maison the Faux creates a sense of movement. The visitor follows the problem of “gender bias in medicine” from an unseen and ignored problem, towards rebellion and suggestions for change. The designers translated and played with this emotional journey, connecting it to a transition of colors, from sterile operating room green towards deep warm red colors. This is something you really have to experience for yourself.

HK: There is a clear thread of a “journey” from past to possible futures in this exhibition, which gives a real sense of hope to the story. What can we do to enable a better future?

MtH: I think awareness about the topic of bias in medicine is the first step and “Unseen” contributes to creating awareness about the important and long history around this topic. The exhibition, in itself, shows that change is indeed possible and is happening. Scientists and doctors are increasingly taking account of the differences between men, women, and others on the gender spectrum, not only in the consultation room but in hospitals and laboratories. The question remains, however, as to whether there is sufficient concern for gender equality in medicine. In the exhibition you will discover examples of positive developments and inspiration for how we can improve. We have only unveiled a fraction; there is still much to learn and change if we are to ensure fair healthcare for everyone. But to do that, we need everyone involved.

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Featured image caption: Visitors to “Unseen: Inequality in Medicine” can search for often missed diagnoses in a hands-on interaction. (Courtesy Fred Ernst for Rijksmuseum Boerhaave)