Sociology of the body, health, illness, and sexuality Flashcards
medical sociology
analysis of medical institutions
the production of medical knowledge, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and he interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural (rather than clinical or bodily effects of medical practice)
social epidemiology
studies the ways in which social, political, cultural, and economic circumstances influence our chances for a healthy life
sociology of the body
how our bodies are effected by social experiences
Health and illness, for instance, are shaped by social, cultural, and economic influences.
social class gradient in health
The strong inverse association between socioeconomic resources and risk of illness or death.
universal health coverage
Public health care programs motivated by the goal of providing affordable health services to all members of a population.
eating disorders
Anorexia is related to the idea of dieting, and it reflects changing views of physical attractiveness in modern society
bulimia—bingeing on food, followed by self-induced vomiting.
Once a young person starts to diet and exercise compulsively, they can become locked into a pattern of refusing food or vomiting up what they have eaten
social norms stress the importance of physical attractiveness more for women than for men and that desirable body images of men differ from those of women
body mass index (BMI)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared
normal weight: 18.5-24.9
obesity trends and differentials
high and rising obesity rates; risen steadily throughout 20th and 21st centuries
obesity= BMI of 30+
pronounced racial gaps
explanations for rising obesity
-“Obesogenic” environment (Brownell)
statistical artifact explanations for changing obesity rates
- child and adolescent obesity rates generally decreased with increasing family income
- the obesity rate for non-Hispanic black adults was more than 3.5 times the rate for non-Hispanic Asian adults
obesogenic environment
- > sedentary work for adults (de- industrialization)
- > sedentary activities for children
- > fast-food
- food desert
- > cheap production of caloric foods
- > cheap, large portions lure cost-conscious
food deserts
geographic area lacking high-quality affordable food, typically concentrated in low-income neighborhoods
sick role theory (Talcott Parsons)
describe the patterns of behavior that a sick person adopts to minimize the disruptive impact of illness or injury
Functionalist–> society operates in a smooth and consensual manner–> illness as a dysfunction that can disrupt the flow of this normal state–> people learn the sick role through socialization and enact it
3 sets of normative expectations:
- The sick person is not held personally responsible for his or her poor health.
- The sick person is entitled to certain rights and privileges, including a release from normal responsibilities.
- The sick person is expected to take sensible steps to regain their health, such as consulting a medical expert and agreeing to become a patient.
Critiques:
does not adequately capture the “lived experience” of illness
cannot be applied across all contexts, cultures, and historical periods.
fails to explain illnesses that do not necessarily lead to a suspension of normal activity–> alcoholism, certain disabilities, and some chronic diseases
It also presumes a short-term condition and that people will return to normal functioning when the illness passes
symbolic interactionist perspectives on health
“illness as lived experiences”
Symbolic interactionists study the ways people interpret the social world and the meanings they ascribe to it.
focus on meaning-making and everyday experiences of health, like how living with a chronic illness affects one’s identity, behavior, and interactions with others.
A person who is diagnosed with a health condition like autoimmune disease may consider that a major part of their identity, talk about regularly, join Facebook support groups, and adjust their daily activities accordingly.
stigma
Any physical or social characteristic that is labeled by society as undesirable.
e.g. extreme obesity, alcoholism, schizophrenia, or HIV/AIDS
- Stigma theory holds that some personal traits are devalued in a particular social context, and elicit unkind or discriminatory treatment from others.
- Physical visible health conditions may be stigmatized because they are visually appealing to others, while other conditions are stigmatized because others incorrectly view them as indicative of a character flaw.
- Medical and public health experts emphasize that substance use disorders like opioid addiction are diseases rather than matters of choice or personal character, to fight the stigmatization of persons with such conditions.
examples of obesity-related stigma
more than four decades of research shows that heavier persons are more likely than thinner persons to be described as:
–> lazy, gluttonous, unattractive, a less desirable candidate for myriad jobs, undesirable as friend
this is a new phenomenon. In prior centuries, food scarcities meant fatness connected with affluence not laziness (e.g., fat cat)
- the most famous example is the South Pacific island of Fiji. Anthropologists who visited the island in the 1980s found that fatness was celebrated. the introduction of “western” television on the island in 1995 changed that
- Fijian teenage girls began to compare themselves with the stars of “Melrose place” and “Beverly hills 90210”
- by 1998, 15 percent of girls surveyed said they’d induced vomiting to control their weight, compared with 3 percent in 1995
- in subsequent years, as many as 74 percent of girls interviewed said they were too fat
biomedical model of health
The set of principles underpinning Western medical systems and practices that defines diseases objectively and holds that the healthy body can be restored through scientifically based medical treatment.
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
A diverse set of approaches and therapies for treating illness and promoting well-being that generally fall outside of standard medical practices.
medicalization
process by which some variations in human traits, behaviors, or conditions become defined as medical issues that require treatment
—> developed out of pervasive biomedical model of health
the process by which a bundle of symptoms, attributes, or behaviors are given a label as a “disorder,” often biological in nature
viewing an attribute a a “medical condition” set the pathway to “treatment”
–> typically via medication, therapy, or surgical intervention
Benefits: reduction of stigma/ insurance for therapy and treatment/ interventions
downfalls: no cultural or societal interrogation; internalization of social problems; increasing reliance on drugs & biology to solve problems
examples of medicalization
Depression vs. sadness
Pre-menstrual syndrome vs. sad/cranky/sore
conduct disorder vs. misbehaving
social anxiety v.s. sadness
PTSD vs. an expected reaction to extreme trauma
medicalization and obesity
Mauritania: Obesity is considered beautiful, so “forced feeding” is common, especially for young girls.
In the U.S. “feeders” are considered abnormal, and are diagnosed as “fat fetishists.”
importance of global disparities in infectious diseases
-Lower-income nations have higher rates of illness from infectious disease, higher mortality rates, and lower life expectancies than wealthier nations do
heteronormativity
The pervasive cultural belief that heterosexuality is the only normal and natural expression of human sexuality.
diversity of human sexualities
Noncisgender persons challenge the gender binary of male–female, moving fluidly between the categories of male and female or rejecting the binary altogether
