Constrained Choices Framework
Men and women are significantly different in regard to the illnesses they face. The constrained choice framework is a model structured to address how policy decisions can have unintended and cumulative impacts through the prevention of healthy decisions. Some of the examples of these policy decisions include national-level social policies which are focused on the needs of women and children as opposed to those of men and medical research which ignores the impacts of the increased complexity of work and family balance for the female gender.
Constrained choices mean that women are no longer in control of factors and decisions that significantly affect the state of their health or medical issues to which they are exposed. Their illnesses and medical states are influenced by policy decisions or actions taken by third parties such as the government and medical companies. An example of the impact that constrained choices have had on the female gender are the widespread reports of sterilization as a result of new contraceptive technologies (Volscho, 2011). In this case, the ability or choice of colored women concerning their reproductive health was constrained by policies and practices which delivered reproductive healthcare that sterilized them.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The constrained choices framework clearly indicates the loss of control that women have had with choices regarding their own healthcare. These choices are made for them at different levels ranging from national-level social policies to community decisions that limit opportunities for walking, and workplace actions which affect their autonomy over their schedule.
Feminist Take on the Medicalization of Women’s Bodies
Medicalization is the process through which daily experiences and challenges are framed as ‘illness’ (McHugh & Chrisler, 2015). Behaviors or conditions take on medical meaning or are redefined illnesses. According to feminists, medicalization has had an adverse impact on the health and wellness of women. This is because, through advertisements and manipulation, women have been taught to be ashamed of their own bodies, and to doubt their capabilities. This has affected the kind of experiences that women view themselves as being capable of withstanding.
The medicalization of women’s bodies has had three areas of focus; reproduction and the sexuality of women, the size and shae of women, and women’s moods (McHugh et al., 2015). These are areas which specifically concern women and have resulted in the belief by many women that the medicalized view presented to them by the pharmaceutical industry is accurate. In regard to reproduction and women’s sexuality, an example of medicalization has been the changed perspective of menstruation from a natural and healthy process to an unnecessary risk factor. This has resulted in the provision of medications for the suppression of medication, without provision of sufficient information regarding the long-term impacts that they pose.
On the other hand, through the presentation of an ‘idealized beauty’, there has been increased level of dissatisfaction by women regarding their bodies. This dissatisfaction has had a direct impact on the health of women resulting in the engagement of highly restrictive diet regimens which reduce the quality of life. Women’s moods have now been medicalized resulting in the belief by mental health professionals and the general public that women’s moods require medical management. This medicalized approach takes the focus away from social inequalities that cause moods such as domestic violence and abuse. Hence, the medicalization of women’s bodies has only served to worsen their healthcare experiences by changing society’s view of normal everyday occurrences.
Impact on Health Experiences
Recently, a friend of mine was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa, an eating disorder caused by poor self-image. My friend had been on a basketball team, and after several comments by the coach that she appeared overweight for the sport, my friend had resorted to a restrictive diet in order to stay in shape. However, this quickly resulted in an eating disorder in an effort meet the idealized image that had been set by those around her. Hence, the medicalization of her body image, had considerably affected her health decisions resulting in an eating disorder.
References
McHugh, M., & Chrisler, J. C. (2015). The medicalization of women's bodies and everyday experience. The Wrong Prescription for Women: How Medicine and Media Create a" Need" for Treatments, Drugs, and Surgery , 1-15.
Volscho, T. W. (2011). Racism and disparities in women’s use of the Depo-Provera injection in the contemporary USA. Critical Sociology , 37 (5), 673-688.
