Résumé
The concept of taboo, born in the 18th century, is nowadays defined as "what we remain silent about, out of fear, shame, or a system of religious prohibitions applied to what is considered sacred or impure". But "it calls for silence when its role is to tell". This work focuses on taboos particularly applied to gynecological health, the practice of gynecology becoming more widespread among general practitioners. Objectives: to establish whether or not French women believe there are taboos regarding their gynecological health, to define what these taboo subjects are, and to determine what are the impacts on their recourse to healthcare. Materials and methods: this is a descriptive and cross-sectional quantitative epidemiological study, carried out using an anonymous, online and elf-administrated questionnaire distributed through social networks. Results: more than one in two women consider that there are taboos regarding their gynecological health. Age, number of children and marital status seem to influence the existence of taboos. Each of the subjects mentioned is considered at least a bit as a taboo. Those that seem to stand out the most are urinary incontinence, sexual disorders and sexual violence. The impacts are mainly anxiety and apprehension at the idea of consulting a doctor, but also hesitation and waiting before going to see a doctor. Conclusion: taboos in gynecological health appear to be a reality for some women in France. Our attention to these subjects must be total in order to improve women’s health and care.