 Various religions with gender segregation had a large impact on influencing this settlement of the female doctor system.Along with Buddhism, Daoism, and Shamanism, the Joseon dynasty was generally a strict Confucian state and strengthened the distinction between the sexes which was called "naeoe" (內外; sex segregation).Free contact between the genders was highly controversial and prohibited for some time despite the government's "encouragement" to do otherwise for medical purposes.