Gender Mortality Essay

Culture and Illness

Ingrid Waldron. 2009. “Gender Differences in Mortality— Causes and Variation in Different Societies”

Women live longer in all developed countries and almost all developing countries. However women have higher death rates than men at some ages in South Asia. Gender differences in mortality are affected by biological factors, such as hormonal influences on behaviour, and environmental factors, such as the cultural construction of gender roles. The relationship between the two factors and their influences on gender mortality differ between developed and developing countries. In developed countries, smoking has been the leading cause of higher male mortality. Higher levels of testosterone and the socialization of gender norms

Depending on the social contexts, there are some illnesses without diseases or the meaning of illnesses is independent from the biomedical entity. Illness is socially and culturally constructed and can reflect cultural biases or set limitations on particular groups. Historically, cultural assumptions of women’s nature have limited women’s ability to access resources and participate in the public sphere. Physicians have acted as agents of social control through defining women’s natural ability as secondary to men, and medicalizing of women’s problems, such as childbirth, menopause and premenstrual syndrome. These biased assumptions have become more complex and less visible, however they continue to limit and control women’s agency in society. Feminists have accused the medicalization of menopause as devaluing women, despite that fact that aging is a natural process. However, different cultures construct different understandings, definitions, experiences and medical practices of illness. Illness, such as anorexia can reflect the changing social expectations and roles of women in different cultures. The creation and treatment of illnesses are unequal. “Stigmatized illness”, including AIDS and epilepsy can create moral meanings that cause the perception of illness and individuals with illness stigmatized. Furthermore, factors such as whom and how many are affected

However, according to the doctors, the cause of my mother’s stiff shoulders is due to menopause. When she discussed her symptoms of menopause with my grandma, my grandma thought it was strange that my mother needed to seek medical help for her symptoms. Although my grandma has experienced the same symptoms, she has regarded as a normal process of life, rather than a medical issue. This shows how the medicalization of menopause can affect medical treatment for women and shape women’s understanding and behaviour in relation to seeking medical help when it might be unnecessary. This article does not address how the political economy can shape cultural construction of illness. Due to globalisation, many Asian countries have adopted the western medical model, while traditional Chinese medical model has declined. Although there is still illness that reflects cultural bias, Asian countries have increasingly been following the path of western society in constructing illness. One example is the medicalization of lactose intolerance in China. Prior to the introduction of cow’s milk, lactose intolerance was not perceived as a medical issue. Since milk has become a part of Chinese diet, lactose intolerance has become abnormal and perceived as a medical issue. Many Chinese today continue to suffer from lactose intolerance, since the consumption of cow’s milk is a recent phenomenon from the west. We must look at how