Gender & Ethnicity Flashcards
Define sex
Biological & physiological characteristics that are used to categorise people as male or female
Define gender
Socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities & attributes that a given society considers appropriate for males & females
What is heteronormativity?
Society’s assumption that relationships between the opposite binary sex individuals (heterosexuality) are the norm of default
Are sex and gender binary categories?
They used to be but now this is not so clear cut anymore as there is a spectrum
Define gender identity
Internal sense of one’s own gender
What is a simple thing you can do to respect a person’s gender identity?
Getting the pronoun right e.g. she/he/they (don’t just use their sex)
Define transgender
Umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex/gender they were assigned at birth
Define sexual orientation
A person’s physical, romantic, emotional or other form of attraction to others
What is the difference between men and women’s mortality?
Women live longer than men
Death rates for males higher at all stages of lifecourse
What is the pattern for morbidity rates seen across the population as a whole?
Few differences for many diseases when socio-economic differences are controlled for
What is the difference in morbidities between men and women?
Women spend a greater proportion of lives in poor health & with disability
Higher mental illness rates amongst women
How can sex/gender differences in health be explained?
- Biological explanations?
- Differences in health behaviour?
- Gender roles & exposures?
- Use of & access to health services?
- May be different explanations for men & women’s health patterns
What are some of the possible biological explanations for sex/gender differences in health?
- Boys more vulnerable in infancy (prematurity/mortality/bigger/genetic differences/chronic conditions)
- IS differences (women’s IS > men’s but more prone to autoimmunity)
- Hormone differences
- CV reactivity (> in men due to real-world stressors but > women due to other stressors)
- Neuroendocrine response (stress affects this too)
What are some patterns of health behaviour in men?
- Higher smoking rates
- Consume more alcohol
- Higher rates of hospital admission for alcohol-related problems
- Strong association with heavy drinking, depression & suicide in men
What are some patterns of health behaviour in women?
Lower smoking rates but more difficulty quitting (linked to working/caring roles)
What shapes health behaviour patterns?
Social & economic contexts
What type of gender inequality exists today?
- Pay gap of 10%
- Slightly higher rates of poverty amongst women e.g. long mothers/pensioners
- Work environments improved for men + women but accidents higher for men still
What damages girls/womens health globally?
Gender inequality
What are gendered roles & exposures?
How social roles & experiences shape health
Expectations about males & females associated with health & other behaviours
What gender-sanctioned health/health-seeking behaviours exist in males?
Men’s health-related behaviours now viewed as means by which they demonstrate their masculinity (gain status as ‘men’) so often use ‘masculine-sanctioned’ coping behaviour to relieve stress despite potential damaging circumstances
Why are men at higher risk of accidents?
Due to exposure via work, driving & risk-taking
What type of work is more women-orientated? How can this affect health?
Caring
Associated with physical & mental ill-health
What can occur as a result of gendered social experiences?
Biological embedding (roles -> stress -> health behaviours -> biology)
What types of diseases are perceived as ‘male’ or ‘female’ orientated? How could this affect health?
Men: CVD
Women: depression & anxiety
What gender are more likely to visit the doctor? Why?
Women
Perhaps they get more comfortable visiting Dr at early age due to reproductive issues
What is the problem in identifying CHD as a ‘mans disease’?
Men & women have different underlying causes
Women have different symptoms to men (websites/adverts advertise men’s common symptoms)
= women less likely to recognise own symptoms waiting longer to call ambulance/Drs can fail to identify it causing underdiagnoses & death
What are the differences between the cause & symptoms of CHD in men and women?
High cholesterol + HBP causes in men whilst diabetes play a bigger role in women
Symptoms in men more likely to be chest pain whereas women may have no pain but nausea, vomiting, jaw pain & back pain for e.g.
Why is there a difference in cancer between genders?
Prostate cancer: men only (biological difference rather than inequality)
Breast cancer: higher rates in women (biological difference not inequality) BUT lower survival rates in men (gender inequality)
What is race?
Historical term used to argue existence of biological differences between populations based on skin colour & head size for e.g. - support argument that white people with specific bone structure more superior
BUT populations physically & genetically more similar than different so discredited term
What are the 2 common characteristics that separate one ethnic group from another?
- Long shared history, of which the group is conscious as distinguishing it from other groups & memory of which keeps it alive
- Cultural tradition of its own, including family + social customs/manners often associated with religious observance
How diverse is the UK population?
Large-scale migration common since the late 1940s & has increased over last 10 years more so
= variety of ethnic groups
What are the ethnic inequalities in health? Give a couple of examples.
Ethnic minorities have poorer health generally than white majority population although poorer health outcomes/experience not uniform
E.G. higher infant mortality rates & self-reported health lower
What is the difference in type 2 diabetes diagnosis with regards to ethnicity in comparison to the white population?
South Asian: 6x more likely than white population & likely to develop it 10 years earlier
African/African-Carribbean descent: 3x more likely than white population
Why are there ethnic inequalities in health?
- Genetic/biological
- Cultural
- Migration
- Social deprivation
- Racism
How could genetic/biological factors explain ethnic inequalities in health?
Based on ‘genetic homogeneity’ where ethnicity & ancestry used as proxy for genetic risk
What are the advantages & disadvantages of using genetic/biological factors to explain ethnic inequalities in health?
Based on outdated biological concept of ‘race’
Some congenital abnormalities & haemoglobinopathies influenced by genes but ethnicity not always helpful in identifying at risk groups
Epigenetics
Genes/biology cannot explain all ethnic health inequalities
Define epigenetics
Genes affected by environment
How can health behaviour & cultural explanations explain the ethnic health inequalities?
Locates poorer health of minority groups in nature of what it is to be a member of that group so often focuses on health beliefs/behaviours (e.g. smoking, diet & exercise)
However, can be seen as victim-blaming
Give an example of a health behaviour influencing the health of a ethnic group.
Asian rickets caused by high rates of CHD due to deficient South Asian diet & high ghee content of some Asian diets
Whilst smoking rates for women are very low
How can migration explain ethnic health inequalities?
Migrants selected based on having better health than original population but tends to revert to mean standard of population health -> relative decline in health compared to health of destination country
Stressful experience of migration/settling in (mental health)
‘Salmon Bias’phenomenon
What is the ‘Salmon Bias’ phenomenon?
People returning home when ill could artificially reduce mortality rate of migrant populations
How can social deprivation explain ethnic health inequalities?
Inequalities reflect broad pattern of socio-economic inequality among minority groups (Nazroo theory)
Socio-economic factors more important than other factors as affects access to health resources e.g. housing, food, exercise etc.
How are ethnic minorities usually socially deprived? What will this effect?
More likely to live in deprived neighbourhoods
Higher unemployment rate
= poorer paid jobs/no job & lower income/no income affecting access to health resources
Define racism
Conduct/words/practices that disadvantage people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin
Daily experience for many ethnic minority groups & its just as damaging in subtle AND overt forms
What is direct racism?
People treated less favourably because of their ethnicity or religion
What is indirect racism?
People unaware their actions are undermining position of people from ethnic minority groups
What is institutional racism?
Collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate & professionals service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin - seen/detected in processes, attitude & behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness & racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people
How can racism cause ethnic health inequalities?
Lived experience of racism vital to understanding what contributes to health inequalities
Direct racism & harassment can cause health inequality
Indirect racism can affect health e.g. fear of racism creating worry & stress which can damage health too
How can healthcare explain ethnic health inequality?
Lack of responsive service provision for some ethnic minority groups (services need to be sensitive to culture & religion)
