FEMST 20 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Angelina Jolie, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Mammography
Document Summary
Most research done with the adult male as the norm, subjects for clinical trials. Reproduction as the major area of research when it comes to women. Vital statistics reflect biological, not social categories. Political commitments to identity and end interlocking systems of inequalities, so it takes a socio-cultural approach to health, looking at environmental and occupational hazards as well as historical legacies. Despite most women sharing similar biological events, like menstruation, childbirth, lactation, menopause, that impact on health and well-being, they often differ in their experiences of these events and the meanings attached to them. African-americans have the highest mortality rate associated with cancer. Women of color more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage tumors. For every 2000 women getting mammograms, 1 will have life-threatening breast cancer; 10 will have benign forms that probably wouldn"t have threatened their lives even if they were not treated; 200 will have biopsies and find false positives.
