Homeopathic Medicine And Gender Analysis

1167 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on history of medicine system

The past shapes the present. Learning about the history of a subject can be key in explaining how and why certain structures and practices exist the way they do now. How the history of medicine has been gendered provides insight in explaining how various aspects of medicine are gender-marked and segregated.
The professionalization of medicine is a prominent aspect of medicine that has been gender-marked and segregated. The process is white-coded and equated with refeminization (Koblitz, "Women as Healers", 2016). As medicine and healing became more institutionalized, prominent positions within the industry were filled by upper-class white men who became the stereotypical image of what a medical professional should be. Refeminization can play …show more content…

During lecture, Koblitz stated that allopathic medicine defined itself as the antithesis of homeopathic medicine: scientific and evidence-based instead of superstitious; institutionalized with laws and regulations instead of unorganized and unregulated; and masculine instead of feminine (Koblitz, "Women as Healers", 2016). Allopathic medicine presents a case where reputation precedes results. It receive prominence of being more effective than homeopathic medicine before there was evidence proving the efficiency of its practices (Koblitz, "Women as Healers", …show more content…

As socially prominent and successful African-American woman homeopath, McKinney “…further reinforced homeopathy’s liberal image…”(Kirschmann, 2004, p. 46). She was active in her profession, building a reputation in skillful treatment of children’s diseases and having patients of various races, ages, and genders. Allopathic practitioners held her in high esteem as evidenced by one reporter’s testimony that “it was an allopathic physician of highest standing who bade me by all means to see Dr. McKinney” (Kirschmann, 2004, p. 48). Still despite her being a pioneer in homeopathic medicine, her identity as a homeopathic physician was relatively unknown. Referred to either a “female doctor” or “a graduate of Boston University Medical College”, her identity as a homeopath was only known to those having historical knowledge of medical institutions (Kirschmann,

Show More
Related

  • Character Analysis: A Midwife's Tale

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even in the medical field, male doctors were dominate to the hundreds of well educated midwives. “Male physicians are easily identified in town records and even in Martha’s diary, by the title “Doctor.” No local woman can be discovered that way” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.61). Martha was a part of this demoralized group of laborers. Unfortunately for her, “in twentieth-century terms, the ability to prescribe and dispense medicine made Martha a physician, while practical knowledge of gargles, bandages, poultices and clisters, as well as willingness to give extended care, defined her as a nurse” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.58). In her diary she even portrays doctors, not midwives, as inconsequential in a few medical

    Read More

  • Essay On The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    In examining and learning from her story through the lens of Doctoring, we can inform our own practice and However, many or most of the people involved in her story felt as though they committed no wrongdoing, and indeed likely felt good about providing care for a poor black woman. It is a little frightening to consider that we might one day do things as physicians that will be considered as wildly unethical in our practice as the actions of researchers and physicians that affected Henrietta and her family. It is certain that we will be affected by our biases, that we will fumble, and that we will make many mistakes as we try to find our footing as physicians. However, I would argue that the crucial first step lies in the words that Rebecca Skloot used to begin her retelling of Henrietta’s story.

    Read More

  • Dr. Grey's Anatomy Stereotypes

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    The role of females in mainstream culture has grown significantly from the conservative and restricted characters of women in early nineteenth century media. Coupled with the influx of women into once male dominated fields such as medicine, the image of female success has continued to develop and become more prominent to this day. In modern day society however, several stereotypes surrounding both males and females within the medical field are still present in popular culture. In media concerned with the medical field such as television and cinematic works, the conventional image of a white, male surgeon along with his cast of female nurses and male physicians is seen often. Grey’s Anatomy

    Read More

  • 19th-Century Medicine in the United Kingdom

    2344 Words  | 5 Pages

    Pfeiffer, Carl J. The Art and Practice of Western Medicine in the Early Nineteenth Century. Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland, 1985.

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Blackwell: Medicine And Women's Rights

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from medical school. After being rejected from multiple schools, she was finally accepted into the Geneva Medical College (Markel). Although it must have been very difficult, Elisabeth’s headstrong attitude pushed

    Read More

  • The Character of John in The Yellow Wallpaper

    2044 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jordanova, Ludmilla. Sexual Visions: Images of Gender in Science and Medicine between the 18th and 20th Centuries. London: Harrester Wheatsheaf, 1989.

    Read More

  • Male Nurse Case Study

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Its 1:30 am and you are have just experienced a major car wreck. You are in the ambulance where the paramedics are telling you it will be ok just hold still big. You arrive at the emergency room and everything is a blurred. You don’t care if the nurse is a female or a male. You don’t stop the male nurse from caring for you. But what happens when you go to the doctor for a follow up visit and see a male nurse? Do you still see a powerful male that saved your life or a powerless manweak feminine failure ? When providing care for a patient, a male nurse faces challenges such as gender bias and judgement .

    Read More

  • Professionalism in the Workplace of Nursing

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Professionalism initiative. (2012). Informally published manuscript, Medical Center, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, Retrieved from http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/fafd/professionalism-initiative.html

    Read More

  • Homeopathy Medicine

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homeopathy medicine is a self-healing alternative medicine developed in 1790 by German physician and chemist Samuel Hahnemann. Homeopathy medicine aims to treat the whole body and not just the symptoms. Homeopathy medicine was very popular throughout the united states during the early 1900 but began to die out after the civil war. Homeopathy medicine is approximately 200 years old, though it is believed to have originated in 400 B.C through Hippocrates. However, Samuel Hahnemann gave this medical practice a name in the late 1700s and developed three principles for Homeopathy medicine that still stands today. Homeopathy medicine was developed in the late 1700s, which saw a period of unhygienic and brutal medical techniques. Samuel a physician

    Read More

  • Women’s Influence in Medicine

    2258 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are many women who had huge influences in the advancement of heath and medicine. Many people don’t realize how much women do and how much they have contributed to the medical world and its advancements. From Lillian D. Wald, who worked with the less fortunate and children in schools, to Virginia Apgar, who worked with mothers and their newborns and also came up with the “Apgar Score,” and Eku Esu-Williams who is an immunologist and an AIDS Educator. Even though women did so much, many people were sexist and didn’t want to acknowledge what they did or give them the chance to do things, such as become doctors. I want to inform people on how much these women have contributed to the world of healthcare and medicine so that people won’t be so sexist towards women.

    Read More

  • Women's Health Dbq

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Parliament’s passage of the Medical Act in 1858, completely established the practice of medicine as a men’s field due to the need for licensure. The role of men as the caretaker and women as the patient was all but solidified by the Act because it “effectively prevented women from becoming licensed by requiring that medical qualifications be earned in the United Kingdom” (Mitchell). The Act closed the practice of medicine to all women (except two) and placed their care in the hands of men like Dr. Baker Brown, who believed the cure to all female ailment was to be domesticated through surgery. Dr. Brown wrote extensively that the sign of a woman in good health was one that “became quiet and cheerful” and “became in every respect a good wife”

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Deprofessionalization Of Medicine

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the explosive growth in the 1990s of managed care that were sold by health insurance companies, physicians were suddenly renamed “providers.” That began the deprofessionalization of medicine, and within a short time patient became “consumers” (The New York Times). The shifts in American medicine are clearly leading to physicians' losing power, which results in deprofessionalization. The subsequent deprofessionalization of physicians should not surprise Americans. Although many people spend time and effort evaluating the present state of medicine, they fail to integrate an important piece of information: physicians and sociologists predicted all of today's events more than ten years ago (Hensel, 1988).

    Read More

  • Paradigms of Health Care

    3345 Words  | 7 Pages

    In this paper I will be discussing the two most prevalent models of health. These two models of health are not, of course, total opposites. Similar to terms such as gay and straight they are two definitive labels placed upon a broad spectrum that is hardly definitive. There exists in this case as well a large clouded middle between the two limiting labels. These are collections of thoughts about how to go about continuing life. These two paradigms in modern healthcare I hope will one-day come to know one another. For now let us say that in generally speaking there are two different approaches or models of medicine and they are allopathic and holistic. Allopathic is another term for our modern western medicine, which in the United States is the dominant one and the one most familiar to the masses. The other, the holistic model, also known as alternative, is commonly associated with older ideas that originated in the East.

    Read More

  • Women In Medicine Essay

    1847 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this book, Riska and Wegar give insight into why many believe that women physicians will never be true equals in the American medical profession. They back many of their ideas up with personal experiences, hard facts and data. They discuss the idea of a ‘glass ceiling’ in which women are kept out of the top positions because of sexism. This book really helps research the ideas about women’s equality and the hardships that they have faced as they have developed in this career field. Not only does it tie in with the history, but it gives good evidence to support why it was so hard. Later on in the book, the authors also discussed women physicians as being the possible new force in today’s medicine. They talk about how women are now being overrepresented in comparison to males in some areas of the field. This book provides evidence of women’s suffrage in the field, but also how they are persevering and overcoming their

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In Health Care Essay

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the operation of the healthcare system, gender plays a central role. Gender discrimination in the healthcare exists either in the field of education, workplace or while attending to the patients. Interestingly, as opposed to other areas where discrimination lies heavily to a particular gender; gender inequality in health happens to both women and men. Gender inequality in the health care service negatively affects the quality of care given and perpetuates patient biases to a gender. Also, the gender disparities in the field of health assists researchers and practitioners to study conditions and their probable manifestations within both sexes.

    Read More

More about Homeopathic Medicine And Gender Analysis

Open Document