It is sad to admit that it seems that these days a person cannot be sick without a doctor’s approval. The medical definition of normal health is the “absence of disease.” Furthermore, if something is defined as a disease or illness, it will be treated as, and reacted to as a disease. This cannot be a good thing as it causes people to loose their humanity and individuality. Not only is physical health under the watchful eye of scientific and political processes, but mental health is also defined by the medical field.

I think that the most troubling aspects of such medicalization is shown in these examples as the economic and social powerlessness of each group sanctions ‘protection’ from medical authorities. This chapter emphasizes that the medical thinking often blames those powerless people “who suffer the effects of poverty; for instance doctors ‘accuse’ poor women of not taking care of ourselves or our children,” (OBOS, pg. 683), when in reality they are not granted the accessibility to whatever they may need to provide proper health care.

Because of the politics that influence doctors and drive the medical/pharmaceutical industry (as well as general media) we are constantly being bombarded with the message that women should depend on their physician, generally male, to “manage” her life. Medical doctors “actually claim expertise in matters that society has never before considered medical: adolescence, over activity in children, child birth, sex, diet, child abuse, exercise, criminality, and aging, to name a few.” This fact is very troubling to me. I am not comfortable with the fact that another person has to tell me what is wrong and right with me. It is ridiculous that when one is sick or in need of medical attention they loose power and authority over their bodies and selves.

mic affects of medicalization as it basically hands over the power to the physicians to define illness and monopolize the provision of treatment. Many ‘dependent populations’ are exposed to medical labeling that is not as fair, and may not have access to sufficient

Some topics in this essay:
Women Medicine, Bodies Ourselves, Interstitial Cystitis, , obos pg, technology medical, women doctors especially, obos pg 683, wellness method, medical field, health care, pg 683, child birth, women doctors, doctors especially,