Brendan Breschard Professor Frank CAL 105 1 March 2024 The Falsehood of Objective Diagnosis The notion that doctors objectively define a patient as healthy or diseased is a fallacy, perpetuating a system that instead is subjective and dishonorable towards medical objectivity. Within this subjective system, bias favors the beliefs of medical professionals, rather than addressing necessary health issues for patients. Crucially, neglecting to acknowledge such an issue provokes an unjust medical system where medical professionals wield inequitable power that denies individuals the ability to control their own well-being and self-determination. The exploitation of falsifying diagnoses emerged as a concurrent strategy in medicine, distorting the …show more content…
Specifically, author Smith-Rosenberg concur with Wailoo, stating “the parallel between [hysterical women] and stereotypical femininity is too close to be explained as mere coincidence” (654). Echoing Smith-Rosenberg’s parallel, one can also observe similar strategies employed by doctors in both her and Wailoo’s work. These narratives emphasize society’s trust in doctors as ultimate authorities in healthcare. However, by exploitation of their trust, doctors could manipulate diagnoses to enforce their own societal expectations, allowing a system where patients, especially women, lack agency over their own well-being and choices. In the medical field, the act of assigning a distinct gender by doctors towards patients emphasizes the subjective injustices ingrained within healthcare practices. Author Alice Dreger explores these subjective injustices present in the Victorian-era medical field, emphasizing that “physicians and surgeons [wanted] to keep men and women distinct” …show more content…
This historical context demonstrates the considerable extent gender biases influenced medical practices and perpetuated the marginalization of individuals who did not conform to traditional gender norms. As such, Dreger’s investigation of Victorian-era medical practices reveals a consistent rejection of gender fluidity, with doctors asserting their authority over defining their patient’s gender. Clearly, in the nature of medical judgment, the dominance of subjectivity rather than objectivity, is apparent in reducing patient autonomy and inclusivity in healthcare. The demonstration of a dominating subjectivity in the medical field amongst doctors is an era-traversing apparentness, evident in eras such as the Victorian era and persisting through even the twentieth century. This enduring presence of subjectivity in the medical field emphasizes its relevance in the modern era, where doctors continue to practice authoritative biases over their patients. As such, it is vital to address these subjective tendencies in a field where objectivity is
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
Ann Oakley’s “Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper” infers the myth that health is a medical product and that the inequalities between men and women are easily removed. It analyzes the differences between health, health care and medical care in the context of 'women and health', and of women as providers as well as users of these. Using the lessons of a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman called 'The Yellow Wallpaper', the article identifies and discusses the three most important unsolved problems of women and health as: production, reproduction and the medicalization of the psychological costs of women's situation in the form of mental illness. “Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper” then calls for recognition of health as a social product and for women to tell the truth about our own experiences, because these determine women's health. Lastly, the paper shows how women's health-giving role in reproduction and in ensuring family welfare holds the causes of women's ill-health within
Joanne Meyerowitz follows the changes among medical professionals and how a new establishment of a different diagnostic category. It started in the 20th century as the medical community was speculating that sex was far more com...
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” has opened many people’s eyes since it was first published in 1892. In the beginning readers only acknowledged Gilman’s story as showing how women with mental illnesses were treated by physicians during the 1800’s. They overlooked the deeper meaning the text contained, and it was not until later that readers discovered it. Eventually, “The Yellow Wallpaper” became known as feminist literature. Gilman does a great job showing how women suffered from inadequate medical treatment, but above that she depicts how nineteenth century women were trapped in their roles in society and yearned to escape from being controlled by males.
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
In “Should Doctors Tell the Truth?” Joseph Collins argues for paternalistic deception, declaring that it is permissible for physicians to deceive their patients when it is in their best interests. Collins considers his argument from a “pragmatic” standpoint, rather than a moral one, and uses his experience with the sick to justify paternalistic deception. Collins argues that in his years of practicing, he has encountered four types of patients who want to know the truth: those that want to know so they know how much time they have left, those who do not want to know and may suffer if told the truth, those who are incapable of hearing the truth, and those who do not have a serious diagnosis (605). Collins follows with the assertion that the more serious the condition is, the less likely the patient is to seek information about their health (606).
In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," the reader is treated to an intimate portrait of developing insanity. At the same time, the story's first person narrator provides insight into the social attitudes of the story's late Victorian time period. The story sets up a sense of gradually increasing distrust between the narrator and her husband, John, a doctor, which suggests that gender roles were strictly defined; however, as the story is just one representation of the time period, the examination of other sources is necessary to better understand the nature of American attitudes in the late 1800s. Specifically, this essay will analyze the representation of women's roles in "The Yellow Wallpaper" alongside two other texts produced during this time period, in the effort to discover whether Gilman's depiction of women accurately reflects the society that produced it.
Sometimes trying to conform to society’s expectations becomes extremely overwhelming, especially if you’re a woman. Not until recent years have woman become much more independent and to some extent equalized to men. However going back to the 19th century, women were much more restrained. From the beginning we perceive the narrator as an imaginative woman, in tune with her surroundings. The narrator is undoubtedly a very intellectual woman. Conversely, she lives in a society which views women who demonstrate intellectual potential as eccentric, strange, or as in this situation, ill. She is made to believe by her husband and physician that she has “temporary nervous depression --a slight hysterical tendency” and should restrain herself from any intellectual exercises in order to get well (Gilman 487). The narrator was not allowed to write or in any way freely...
“The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Gilman is a chilling portrayal of a woman’s downward spiral towards madness after undergoing treatment for postpartum depression in the 1800’s. The narrator, whose name remains nameless, represents the hundreds of middle to upper- class women who were diagnosed with “hysteria” and prescribed a “rest” treatment. Although Gilman’s story was a heroic attempt to “save people from being driven crazy” (Gilman p 1) by this type of “cure” it was much more. “The Yellow Wallpaper” opened the eyes of many to the apparent oppression of women in the 1800’s and “possibly the only way they could (unconsciously) resist or protest their traditional ‘feminine’ work—or over-work” (Chesler p 11) by going “mad”.
...e gap in attitudes between pre-medicalized and modern time periods. The trends of technological advancement and human understanding project a completely medicalized future in which medical authorities cement their place above an intently obedient society.
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 .
In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient we see a world completely ravaged by war. The land itself is damaged, sometimes beyond recognition as it is torn apart by bombs. Just as these human-made structures have faced the damage of imperialism, so have female bodies in the novel. Ondaatje creates several parallels between man’s attempt to “own” the land around him and his “ownership” of the female body. As we see in the novel, this attempt at ownership almost always ends in destruction, “war,” and often, death. What I believe Ondaatje is trying to present to us is the impossibility of “owning” something that should ultimately be free, such as the female body (or any body, for that matter.) Though some feminist theorists such as Lilijana Burcar have claimed Ondaatje’s novel perpetuates the idea of male ownership of female bodies, I believe we see several examples of female empowerment hidden throughout the novel; examples of females outwardly rejecting such “ownership,” as Hanna refuses to be seen as a sexual object by Carravagio, and even changes her appearance to “defeminize” herself. We even see gender-roles reverse. The “male gaze” seems to apply not only to males, but to females as well as Hanna views the sapper, Kip, in a “feminized” and often “sexual” way. Most striking of all, however, is Ondaatje’s representation of the character Katharine as an almost voiceless physical body which is undoubtedly “owned” and consumed by Almasy’s desire. As we see, this “ownership” leads to what is arguably the biggest destruction in the novel: the destruction of both Katharine and Almasy altogether.
Early nineteenth century hysteria in women was extremely common. It was the first mental disorders attributed only to women. However, there was a grave misconception; the symptoms of hysteria at the time were seen as nervousness, hallucinations, emotional outbursts, various urges of sexual variety, sexual thoughts, fainting, sexual desire or frustration and irritability (Pearson). Although there were many symptoms they were not limited to this list. Many of these symptoms were just signs of expression that women had; however, society immediately decided that these women had hysteria with no real proof. These women then had a label, holding them back from their normal everyday lives that they were unable to fix because they were not allowed to. Because most doctors were men, they relayed the cure to these symptoms with sexual acts which were masked by portraying them as a cure such as “hysterical paroxysm” (Pearson). These so called “treatments” carried on for centuries after but are no longer used as a cure to hysteria. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author of The Yellow Wallpaper was a feminist who at one point in her life was said to be labeled as hysteric. She then began expressing these feelings that she had through her writings. Most of these writings were based on her personal experiences with the disease. She believed that if she wrote about her situations and how she was able to push away from society to better herself that it could help other women with hysteria or the symptoms of it. Her representation of hysteria in The Yellow Wallpaper does not really differ from what women at the time expressed about themselves. Gilman’s representation and first hand experiences wit...
As humans when we are faced with any psychological or emotional problems, our initial thought is to turn to a therapist, doctor or any other health practitioners. Our initial thought when we are faced with problems regarding our health is to turn to a health professional because for ages that’s how it has been. When it comes to our health, health professionals nowadays do more harm than help. Many might disagree, but often patients are misdiagnosed with mental illnesses they do not have. Misdiagnosis occurs when a therapist or other health practitioners decide that a patient is suffering from a condition that he or she may not be suffering with. When misdiagnosed, patients are given unnecessary treatment, which could potentially
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.