Feminist Approach to Health Essay Example

A feminist approach to health has been a topic of intense moral, social and political concern for feminist theory and activism. Issues related with this topic include gender, race, sexuality, and class in medical research, poverty, racism gender and health, HIV/AIDS and sexual transmitted diseases, environmental poisoning and health, contemporary economic restructuring of health and social welfare (Marshall, 2005). This essay will discuss the feminist approach to health care which was discussed in the third-wave of feminism.

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First-wave feminism refers to an extended period of feminist activity during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States. Feminism focuses on the promotion of equal contract and property of rights for women and the opposition to chattel marriage and ownership of women. The second -wave feminism refers to a period of activity which occurred in the early 1960s and the late 1980s (Geronimus, 2001). The third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s arising as a response to perceived failures of the second wave as well as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by the second wave of feminism. The topic of health issues and gender inequality arose during the third-wave feminism.

Feminism is concerned with oppression, equity, and justice which are central themes in public health ethics. There are many different ways of conceptualizing health. Though there are alternative types of knowledge, have always coexisted with legitimate or accepted knowledge. Feminists have consistently played a key role in issues especially those affecting women in the society. Therefore, feminists have challenged the biomedical approach. Researchers argue that a comprehensive feminist approach is based on eight pillars and can be characterized by its critical stance towards medical and government institutions (Weber, 2001). Feminist approach on health issues is influenced by some factors including the impact of globalization on health and our lives in general. Feminist have developed eight pillars of comprehensive approaches to health which are meant to discuss health from a feminist approach.

Feminist argue that while biomedicine is a mechanistic concept of the body which divides the individual into a collection of components, the human being as a whole, i.e., body and mind should be viewed as interacting with their physical and social environment. According to this approach, health should be defined holistically. This means that the body of human health is affected and influenced by the physical and social environment. Social relationships are likely to impact the health of an individual and thus should be encouraged.

Also, the comprehensive feminist approach advocates for the recognition of the physiological and social differences between the sexes as opposed to the homogenizing vision of health. At the same time, the comprehensive feminist approach recognizes the differences between individuals, i.e., men and women (Weber & Parra-Medina, 2003). This approach argues that the different characteristics of a person should be acknowledged while discussing the health of a human being. These human characteristics either they are straight or gay, whether a man or a woman, societal status, i.e., rich or poor, living with a disability or not, etc. Feminists argue that these intersectionality traits should be recognized while discussing the topic of the health of human beings (Weber & Parra-Medina, 2003).

The comprehensive feminist approach also advocates for the social determinants of health to be taken into account to improve the health of human beings. Social determinants of health include factors such as housing, employment, and income. These have a great impact on health and thus should be considered in the health arguments. Income, for instance, determines whether a patient can get medical health services which are not affordable to all. Employment also determines the health insurance cover and disposable income which one can use to access health services. Housing, on the other hand, determines the level of health vulnerabilities that a person is exposed (Tanumihardjo et al., 2007).

The other pillar of the comprehensive feminist approach to health is the preventive-oriented approach. This approach is a contrast to an interventionist cure-oriented medicine which is an approach that seeks to treat rather than prevent. Feminists argue that a population's health cannot be improved without prevention and health promotion (Sherwin, 1992). Therefore governments should resist form abdicating its responsibility to enact legislation and regulations in areas that affect the determinants of health. This is so because people's health is a matter of social justice.

Another pillar of the comprehensive feminist approach is self-care. This involves taking care of one's health. Feminists argue that self-care which involves a personal effort to understand the links which exist between our life circumstances and our health. This approach aims to achieve a more egalitarian therapeutic relationship based on communication, respect and full participation of an individual towards their health during consultations with a health care professional (Sherwin, 1992).

Respect is another pillar advocated by feminists in health care. Physicians and therapists are expected to show respect for people's autonomy and their right to informed consent. Informed consent is a fundamental right. Therefore, patients should be provided with all the information about their health during consultation with physicians and therapists.

Lastly, feminists also argue that certain types of biomedical knowledge historically based on the exclusion of women must be reexamined to ensure inclusion and health ethics. The comprehensive feminist approach can be distinguished from the dominant medical approach by its openness to alternative approaches. However, feminist argue that comprehensive approaches to health must be underpinned by regulations and guidelines to safeguard the rights of the individual in their choice of approach to health care and their relationship with the health professional.

Number of words: 944words

Number of words quoted: 0

Number of course readings cited: 5

Total number of citations: 8

References

Geronimus, A. T. (2001). Understanding and eliminating racial inequalities in women's health in the United States: the role of the weathering conceptual framework. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association (1972), 56(4), 133-6.

Marshall, W. E. (2005). Aids, race and the limits of science. Social science & medicine, 60(11), 2515-2525.

Sherwin, S. (1992). No longer patient: Feminist ethics and health care. Temple University Press.

Tanumihardjo, S. A., Anderson, C., Kaufer-Horwitz, M., Bode, L., Emenaker, N. J., Haqq, A. M., ... & Stadler, D. D. (2007). Poverty, obesity, and malnutrition: an international perspective recognizing the paradox. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107(11), 1966-1972.

Weber, L. (2001). Defining contested concepts. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework, 92, 1-30.

Weber, L., & Parra-Medina, D. (2003). Intersectionality and women's health: Charting a path to eliminating health disparities. In Gender Perspectives on Health and Medicine(pp. 181-230). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.