1
Q
Gender and health
A
Sex and gender impact health outcomes and health status
2
Q
Sex
A
Refers to the biological categories of male and female based on chromosomal structure and in most cases reproductive organs; variations of this can occur and are know as intersex
3
Q
Gender
A
Refers to the social categories of masculinity and femininity; it is socially constructed; how individuals choose to express masculinity and femininity or their identity (using gender pronouns like she/her, he/him, they/them, ze/zir)
4
Q
Understanding gender
A
Keep in mind that gender is often understood differently throughout time and cultural context; its concept has changed throughout history
5
Q
Contributions
A
- Gender also contributes to ideological belief systems, systems of power and social and cultural expectations
6
Q
Gender roles and gender norms
A
Socially constructed expectations on how individuals should behave based on their gender expression or perceived gender expression; gender is also a mechanism used by larger institutions; both interpersonal interactions, environments & historical constraints often dictate these roles & the surveillance of these roles
7
Q
Perceived gender expression
A
How other people identify you can be correct or misidentification
8
Q
Nuclear Families
A
Started after WWI and was a model that was advertised as the family that can best contribute to society
9
Q
Systems of power based on gender
A
Can reproduce, shape, and constrain access to opportunities and experiences (ex. The patriarchy, structural sexism, and gender-based violence)
10
Q
Examples of systems of power
A
- Politics (underrepresented minorities in leadership positions)
- Jobs (pregnancy discrimination, motherhood tax & fatherhood premium)
- Patriarchy
- Gender/masculine hegemony
- Intersectionality
11
Q
Equality
A
People treated same way way and/or the same resources to succeed; criticized by 2nd wave feminism, as women’s experiences cannot be generalized, they are not universal
12
Q
Equity
A
People start at different places & thus, resource allocation & access is adjusted to take into account the imbalance
13
Q
Why is surveillance important
A
When you feel observed, you change your behaviour; in context of in group & out group, preserve to stay in in group is high; women told don’t be loud, don’t take space (ex. of surveillance/gender policing?)
14
Q
Gender differences
A
Have been identified in the ways in which individuals embody their health (how they view their own body & go about their health)
15
Q
Embodying their health
A
How they deal with their health and how they interact with health care services
16
Q
Gender spectrum
A
- Represents the fluidity of gender
- Two extremes: hyper masculinity and emphasized femininity
17
Q
Hyper masculinity
A
- Form of masculinity embellishing stereotypical masculine traits: rational, less emotion, breadwinner, leader & risk taking behaviour
- Critiquing gender roles does not mean hating on men
18
Q
Hyper masculinity with health
A
Not saying when you need help, not reaching out, being tough, manning-up
19
Q
Emphasized femininity
A
- Other side to hyper masculinity
- Expectations of what femininity is based on expectations of (hegemonic) masculinity
- Emotional/ in charge of emotional labour (caretaking, social sciences before grad school, nursing, teaching), submissive, less likely to take risks because they are caretakers
20
Q
Emphasized femininity with health
A
Hysterical, exaggerating, more likely to seek mental health
21
Q
Hierarchical system
A
In social environments we create a hierarchical system of masculinity and femininity: hegemonic masculinity and femininity
22
Q
Hegemonic masculinity
A
Putting certain forms of masculinity on top; valued most, what we must adapt to
23
Q
Hegemony in social settings
A
- In university, expectation of men in stem (engineer and sciences), if in the arts like sociology, expectation is to go to law school after
- In sports, expectation of football, soccer, hockey, boxing, to play hyper masculine sports and exhibit hyper masculine behaviours in these settings (locker room talk, types of hazing, toughening up unless really bad injury)
24
Q
What role does agency have in relation to gender and health outcomes?
A
25
Morbidity vs Mortality
Often related to one another, but not the same; morbidity is the state of being unhealthy for a particular disease or situation; mortality is the number of deaths that occur in a population
26
Morbidity vs Mortality (women)
- Lower mortality rates, higher morbidity rates
- Research suggests that high morbidity rates are due to the increase of cardiovascular disease after menopause
- Women face higher rates of debilitating disorders (ex. autoimmune disorders), less life-threatning
27
Morbidity vs Mortality (men)
- Higher mortality rates, lower morbidity rates
- Research suggests that men experience more life-threatening chronic diseases at younger ages (ex. coronary heart disease, cancer)
28
Outcome Differences
Can be seen as due to less research on women & more on men (seen as generalizable) & men being less likely to seek medical attention due to gendered expectations
29
Research of health between different genders
- Historically, research on the gendered differences of health focused heavily on men's mortality rates, creating gaps in our understanding of the experience of chronic disease in women
- There was an assumption that research on men would be generalizable to women with the exception of reproductive health & niche hormonal instances (All variables that may include p-value & not include them)
- Male fertility is largely ignored w/in research further separating issues pertaining to reproductive health between men and women, as fertility is seen as a woman's issue
- Impacts gender differences and experiences with health, living and dying
30
Changes in health research and gender
Increase of representation of women in health research & increase of diverse women's voices being heard; with more women being doctors, PhDs, in leadership positions, there is more change in the system
31
Women's health movement
- Over the last 40 years, we have seen an increase in the representation of women within health research
- The increased presence and representation of women in clinicians, researchers and policy makers lead to the increase of acknowledgement and importance of women's health
- A special attention was paid to women who were pregnant
32
Case Study: Thalidomide
Example of negligence in health research disproportionately impacting women
33
Case Study: Thalidomide - Context
- Developed in 1950
- During its trial period, researchers found that it was nearly impossible to give animals a lethal dose and thus was found to be harmless to humans
- Intended to be used as a sedative or tranquilizer but was soon commercialized into treating conditions, such as: colds, flu, nausea, and especially morning sickness
- In 1958, thalidomide was produced in the UK and marketed towards pregnant women and nursing mothers without adverse effects on mother or child
34
Case Study: Thalidomide - Problem
- At the time of distribution, researchers did not know that the effects of the drug could be passed through placental barriers, which lead to the impact of the fetus in the womb
- Use of medications during pregnancy period was not as regulated: no tests were done on pregnant people
- A single pill could cause damage, as well as the gestational day it was taken determined the symptoms
35
Case Study: Thalidomide - Consequences on fetuses
- Adverse effects in early pregnancy were limb differences, sight and/or hearing loss, facial paralysis, and/or differences in internal organs for the fetus
- These children were then often hidden away
- How society treated them varied (ex. girl in a wheel chair)
- Shows intersectional approach for how one experiences disability
36
Case Study: Thalidomide - Consequences on mothers
- Mothers felt incredibly guilty, which was fuelled by society shunning them for using these pills
- It was seen as their bodies being solely responsible for creating and delivering a baby, and therefore any problems were solely their fault
- There were no considerations as to why the mother took the pill(s)
37
Case Study: Thalidomide - Global Reactions
- It took approximately 5 years before the connection between connection between birth defects and thalidomide were linked
- In 1961, Thalidomide was taken off the shelves in the UK and Germany
- In 1962, Thalidomide was taken off the shelves in Canada
38
Case Study: Thalidomide - United States and Dr. Francis Kelsey
- Thalidomide was never approved for use by the US
- They would approve of many other things, so why?
- Dr. Francis Kelsey, a woman who was able to study medicine due to her name, was a physician and pharmacologist and was the one to review the drug application: she denied its approval, as it lacked safety data
39
Case Study: Thalidomide - Outcomes
- Forced governments and medical powers to access their pharmaceutical and licensing policies
- December 1962, Canadian legislation on new drug control was reinforced and reviewed
- Bill c-3 amended the Food and Drugs Act, to include ways in which drugs are tested, used & require human trials
40
Gender Differences in Health
In health research, sociologists recognize that health outcomes, health behaviours and health care systems are gendered and result in differing experiences across the board
41
Canadian Women's Heart Health Centre Findings
- Heart disease is rising in women compared to men
42
Issues Pertaining to Heart Disease Rise
- Much of the research on the diagnosis & treatment of heart disease, as well as its experience, is based off of men
- Presents itself differently in women than men, which can impact diagnosis, treatment, and mortality rates
- If symptoms do not align with cemented symptoms, you may not be seen as having a heart attack
- Women are 50% more likely than men to die w/in the year following a heart attack
43
Life Expectancy
- Although it has increased in Canada, women continue to outlive men
- Average life expectancy of men in Canada is 79.49 years compared to women at 83.9 years, varying across provinces (Stats Canada, 2020)
44
How provincial variations of life expectancy are represented
45
Morbidity Paradox
Although women appear to have higher sickness and disability rates than men, they live longer
46
Considerations
Where women are more valued they love longer, but living longer does not mean that they have a good quality of life, are happy with their lives or have a better self-perceived health
47
Different Hypotheses
1. The Role of Accumulation Hypothesis
2. The Role Strain Hypothesis
3. The Social Acceptability Hypothesis
4. The Risk-Taking Hypothesis
5. The Nurturant Hypothesis
48
The Role of Accumulation Hypothesis
- The more roles you have the better impact you have on your health (increase self-esteem, life satisfaction, increase social support)
- The assumption that the advantages of many roles outweighs the disadvantages
- Critique - Does not take into account other social factors that impact health (SES, race, disability, etc.)
49
The Role Strain Hypothesis
- Multiple roles (double burden) overloads women and therefore, increases health risks
- Increase risks to single parents
50
The Social Acceptability Hypothesis
- Due to heterosexual gender norms - women are more willing to adopt the sick role
- Femininity is associated with reporting or over-reporting experiences of symptoms vs. masculinity being associated with denying the experience of symptoms
- Highlights the gender differences in the use of social networks to engage with their own health
51
The Risk-Taking Hypothesis
Masculinity is associated with risk-taking behaviours
- Women and feminine oriented individuals are socialized to be more cautious
- Men and masculine oriented indivs are more likely to have risky careers
- Strong association with hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity
52
The Nurturant Hypothesis
- Women and feminine oriented indivs experience more ill health due to traditional notions of gendered division of labour (cost effective, govt policies and programs)
- The value of work within the private sphere
- The caregivers health is secondary
- Sandwich generation
53
Gender Differences in Health
In order to understand the way in which gender can be a SDOH. we need to examine gender as dictating the ways in which individuals interact with health at three levels
54
Gender Differences in Health - Three Levels of Interaction
Personal, Interpersonal and Cultural levels
55
Gender Differences in Health - Trickle down effect
- At the top you will have the cultural impacts (macro level)
- Next is our interactions with those around us; how health was framed within the family sphere, social circles (meso level)
- Then we have the individual level: how individual health behaviours impact health outcomes (micro level)
- Each is interrelated
56
Gender Differences in Health - Macro Level
Drive us in a particular direction, impacting how we view & use health education, health literacy levels & access to healthcare/ how are you going to use healthcare, are you going to use it, can you use it, what barriers do you have, how does gender exacerbate/leviate barriers
57
Gender Differences in Health - Meso Level
- How might interactions in these particular groups affect how you see certain healths
- You're more likely to interact with (+) MH behaviours when those around you do as well (moreso chosen family, as if blood family does not match your perceptions you are more likely to seek out ppl who do the same)
58
Gender Differences in Health - Micro Level
- Gender impacts activities we do
- How risks affect how/what activities we do and having to negotiate or not the risks these activities can cause to our health (differs by person)
59
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - trans and gender non-conforming individuals
Many face large proportions of discrimination in key areas of life, such as work, education, public services and basic access to medical care
60
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - Impacts
- More likely than cisgender individuals to suffer from mental health disorders (ADHD, depression, anxiety, PTSD)
- Transgender indivs more likely to not be able to have access to essential care, creating an increase risk for mental health issues and higher rates of suicide
- Transgender indivs higher risks of risk-taking behaviour (risky sexual behaviours, like unprotected and/or younger sexual activity) and stress levels
- Non-binary indivs are more likely to experience mental illness & self-harm
- Research suggests that higher rates of mental illness may be a result of stigma, rejection & bias
61
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - Stigmatization impacts on healthcare access
Decreases likelihood for trans folk to not access these services
62
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - Transgender broken arm syndrome
- Phenomenon found w/in healthcare
- Term used to define the experiences of many trans ppl who visit their GP's for straightforward issues (like a broken arm) but then are asked at length about their hormones & their experience surrounding transition
- Can be emotionally exhausting and triggering for indivs
63
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - This syndrome enacted in medical professionals
- It can also distract medical professional from the real problem that the person is experiencing
- Trans folk seeking help for asthma, epilepsy, chrome's disease, common cold and chest pain often resulted in GP examination of genitals before examining ailment trans folk had come in for
- Disability becomes gender issue
64
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - Why is this a problem
It creates unsafe environments and traumatizing experiences, leading to a fear of seeking health issues and an avoidance of doing so
65
Moving Away from the Gender Binary - How trans individuals navigate the medical care system
- New research showed chosen family and queership became an essential variable for accessing health care and trans folk are more likely to rely on chosen family rather blood as:
- Emergency contacts
- An advocate in medical appointments
- Sharing medical trauma (not a professional, but someone w a shared experience)
- Emotional support & validation
Soc 382
flashcards
Decks in class (12)
# Cards
-
Introductions - The Sociological Imagination29
-
Introductions - Structural Functionalism10
-
Introductions - Conflict Theory13
-
Introductions - Symbolic Interactionism11
-
Introductions - Feminist Perspectives12
-
Introductions - Intersectionality Theory3
-
Introductions - Critical Race Theory (CRT) & Postmodernism16
-
Sociological Determinants of Health81
-
Gender65
-
Race49
-
Aging18
-
Health Care in Canada34
