Women s Bodies Women s Health Chapter 5 Overview The Body How We Describe It The body is very malleable and resilient Women s bodies undergo many changes through puberty menstruation menopause pregnancy and aging Describing the variability in the human body biologist Anne Fausto Sterling proposes that there should be five sexes One can find levels of masculinity and femininity at every possible permutation The question who is a woman is not one that can be answered simply Health is a complex mix of physical mental emotional and spiritual wellbeing The Beauty Ideal Female bodies and disabled bodies are viewed as deviant and inferior Hierarchical thinking also separates body and mind Superior The mind associated with maleness Inferior Organic bodily processes associated with femaleness Dominant U S culture often reduces women to bodies women s value is in relation to sex and child bearing Women s bodies are sexualized and commodified A key part of liberation movements for women LGBTQQI people people of color and people with disabilities has been the reclaiming of our bodies as strong and beautiful Thin lean tall young white and heterosexual with flawless skin and well groomed hair Similar to structures that privilege whiteness cultural and social structures privilege the thin body Beauty Ideals Can Make You Resisting Stereotypes Size Acceptance Sick The impossible beauty standards lead to extreme dieting eating disorders anorexia and bulimia extreme exercising and overall poor health and nutrition When women s bodies are objectified as commodities women view their bodies as disconnected parts that are all in need of improvement Ideal beauty standards are ableist ageist heterosexist and racist Mainstream culture equate beauty and power Beauty standards are cultural constructs and vary from group to group Large women of all racial ethnic groups challenge the weight loss industry stereotypes and mainstream assumptions that they are sloppy irresponsible undisciplined depressed etc The health of an individual is not determined by their size Reproductive Health The deeply personal experience of being pregnant is also a political issue Controlling women s bodies through fertility is not a new phenomenon see Killing the black body Women would like to have control of their reproductive health The pill was the first chemical contraceptive to be taken every day There are many birth control methods Some of those methods have been connected to eugenics selective breeding Depo Provera Norplant Quinacrine sterilizing agent Reproductive Justice Attitudes towards abortion have varied greatly over time throughout different societies In the U S up until the mid 19th century women were allowed to seek abortion in the early part of the pregnancy By 1900 the only legal ground for an abortion was to save the life of the mother 1973 Roe v Wade made abortion legal based on constitutional right to privacy under due process clause in the 14th Amendment Ever since this legislation was enacted it has been contested 1977 Hyde Amendment that withdrew state funding for poor women Reproductive justice relates to broader issues of social and economic justice This offers a way of thinking about wellness for individuals communities and for the wider society in terms of the eradication of oppression and injustice Other Important Topics Covered Reproductive Health cont Health and Aging Controlling fertility Birth Control Health as Wellness Abortion A More Holistic Health System Sterilization Self Education and Preventative Care Sexually Transmitted Infections Complementary and Alternative Therapies Feminist Health Projects Medicalization of Reproductive Life Childbirth Reproductive Technologies Menopause Women and Illness Health Disparities Race Class and Gender Mental and Emotional Health Limits of the U S Medical Industry 2010 7 6 million children died before their 5 th birthday mainly from malnutrition malaria acute respiratory infections diarrhea and HIV AIDS Most of these conditions can be prevented or cured with improvements including better sanitation clean water supply better housing adequate food supply general hygiene childhood vaccinations bed nets and other malaria prevention treatments oral rehydration therapy and antibiotics Poor nutrition and being underweight puts children under five at great risk for illness Poverty is a determinant to being underweight The World s Deadliest Disease is Poverty