SOCL 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Scientific Management, Physician, Heteronormativity
6 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Gender and “Objective” Science
● Gender reaches into ‘objective’ social science, too
○ Epstein: deceptive distinctions
■ Positivists and quantitative sociologists value ‘rigorous,’ ‘robust,’ and
‘objective’ knowledge
● Implicitly gendered rhetoric that depersonalizes other forms of
knowledge
Gender Discrimination and the NIH
● Until the 1970s, most clinical trials included only men
○ 1977 FDA directive recommended excluding women of childbearing age from
drug trials, even if they were single, using contraceptives, or if their husbands
had had vasectomies
● 1986: NIH established a policy that ‘encourages’ scientists to include women in clinical
trials
● 1990: congressional women’s caucus asked GAO to investigate how well NIH
implemented policy
○ Policy poorly communicated, inconsistently applied, applied only to extramural
research
○ GAO found NIH not encouraged investigators to stratify
Women’s Health Makes It onto NIH’s Agenda
● 1990: NIH established office of research on women’s health
● 1991: Bernadine Healy becomes first woman to head NIH
○ Funds 15 yr study on 150,000 postmenopausal women (women’s health
initiative)
○ WHI looked at HRT, dietary supplements (calcium, vitamin D) on heart disease,
fractures, cancer
○ Women who took HRT were at increased risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke
○ Then started rejecting hormone replacement therapy
Gender Inclusivity at NIH
● 1993: congress added language to NIH revitalization act requiring investigators to
include women and minorities
● Yet, disparities remain
Consequences for Women’s Health
● More women than men die of cardiovascular disease every year in the US
○ 2005 study found that fewer than ⅕ physicians knew this
○ 2009 tufts study analyzed 911 callers and found that women more likely to get
less help when having a heart attack
Gender Inequality has been Institutionalized
● Gender inequality has been institutionalized in the form of ‘patriarchy’ or institutionalized
male primacy
○ Women submit to control by men
○ Equates authority with masculinity
○ Devalues feminine as closer to nature
○ Binary gender
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Gender reaches into objective" social science, too. Positivists and quantitative sociologists value rigorous," robust," and. Implicitly gendered rhetoric that depersonalizes other forms of knowledge. Until the 1970s, most clinical trials included only men. 1977 fda directive recommended excluding women of childbearing age from drug trials, even if they were single, using contraceptives, or if their husbands had had vasectomies. 1986: nih established a policy that encourages" scientists to include women in clinical trials. 1990: congressional women"s caucus asked gao to investigate how well nih implemented policy. Policy poorly communicated, inconsistently applied, applied only to extramural research. Gao found nih not encouraged investigators to stratify. 1990: nih established office of research on women"s health. 1991: bernadine healy becomes first woman to head nih. Funds 15 yr study on 150,000 postmenopausal women (women"s health initiative) Whi looked at hrt, dietary supplements (calcium, vitamin d) on heart disease, fractures, cancer. Women who took hrt were at increased risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke.
