PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER, HEALTH, AND HUMAN RIGHTS
  • Home
  • Students-Who We Are
  • Faculty-Who We Are
  • About UW Bothell and WIT
  • Discussions/Padlets
  • Book Club
  • Final Project: Video, Photo Essay, or Audio Interview
  • Films, Video, and Television
  • Podcasts and Interviews
  • Social Media
  • Blog Posts
  • Campaigns
Follow us!

health outcomes relating to gender inequality

2/22/2020

8 Comments

 
PicturePhoto by Marc Nozell on Flickr
One reading that I was intrigued by is “Men’s health is better, too, in countries with more gender equality” by Liz Plank. Plank provides supporting evidence that details why men living in less gender equal countries will be more susceptible to non-communicable diseases, divorce, suicide, and other detrimental health outcomes. Iceland, being the number one gender equal country held their top position for a decade because they did not conform to the traditional notions of masculinity. This led me to reflect on the video of former School of Nursing and Health Studies, dean and professor, Dr. Allen in his clip about societal views on masculinity. He states that “all forms of popular culture produced in the U.S perpetuates a vision of masculinity as violent” (5:03). This greatly impacts the behaviors of men as they are less unable to express feelings of vulnerability like their female counterparts. Therefore, widening the gender equality gap between men and women.  
 
This reading also allowed me to reflect on my culture and upbringing. I grew up with traditional Chinese views on gender roles in which women should always be submissive to their husbands and husbands are the main breadwinners. In addition, neither genders should perform the roles and duties of the other. I used to be biased in my beliefs that gender equality is mainly a women’s issue, but am now surprised at how much of a positive impact gender equality can have on both men and women. This article serves as a reminder for me that gender equality is a human right and is critical for making communities healthier as well as promote change. Some benefits of gender equality Plank provided are less financial responsibility on men and shelter from economic shock through empowerment of women.  As we settle into a new decade, I hope that other countries view Iceland as an example for change. 
 
Another interesting read I found to my liking is the article by Cathy Sebag on “Top 3 Challenges facing global women’s health in 2019”. Plank may have stated the negative health outcomes of men due to gender inequality, however Sebag lists bigger issues facing women in today’s more patriarchal dominated system.  The top three challenges are gender based violence, empowerment within medical care, and access to care. I understand that these challenges can also affect men, but women tend to be the targets. Violence against women not only causes physical and mental stress, it can carry onto the next generation. Moreover, women were used as war instruments such as being “routinely raped at checkpoints and during interrogations” (Sebag, 2018). This is new information to me that I find carries a lot of weight and should have more attention. I find it thought provoking that no matter what socioeconomic status a woman may have, we are all vulnerable to violence. 
 
I think it is not addressed enough that women lack support from the healthcare system. What struck me here is that women in both low resource settings and high resource settings experience about the same limitations due to traditional practices and the absence of female involvement. Why should our beliefs have to align with others in order to receive the right form of care? For example, women who have unwanted unexpected pregnancies should have abortion rights. Sebag’s last point is that women in underserved populations extremely lack access to healthcare, therefore having higher mortality rates. That left me to ponder, how can we help improve access to healthcare in these populations? What stakeholders are involved? It seems so long ago that Hillary Clinton made her 1995 speech about women’s rights, but it was only 25 years ago and women’s rights still have a long way to go.
 
Posted by Nhi My Ly 

References
 
Allen, D. (2014). Dr. David Allen: Interview for BHS420. Retrieved from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j_MCYknSqQ
 
Plank, L. (2019). Men’s health is better, too, in countries with more gender equality. Retrieved from, https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/men-s-health-is-better-too-in-countries-with-more-gender-equality-20190924-p52ulc.html
 
Sebag, C. (2018). Top 3 – Challenges facing global women’s health. Retrieved from, https://www.mobileodt.com/blog/challenges-facing-global-womens-health/


8 Comments
Kathy Luangrath
2/23/2020 04:50:14 pm

Hi Nhi! I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I also have a similar experience/response to Liz Plank's article. My culture also heavily stresses on the traditional socially perceived norms that highlight women's submissiveness. Even today, I am held to that standard within my culture. However, I'm hoping that will change in the near future as my culture is gradually beginning to open up to gender equality!

I think it was really interesting how you brought up the point that violence against women not only leads to negative implications on health but carries into the next generation. I think this is very important and interesting as such issues create a cycle of never-ending impaction. Thus, I think it's crucial to join the fight towards ending violence against women.

Reply
Hannah Berg
2/23/2020 05:55:45 pm

Hi Nhi,
I think you raised some excellent points regarding gender roles and factors that hinder advancement and perpetuate inequality for women. For example, I like how you compared and contrasted the two readings to then share your own perspective as well. Something that really stuck out to me was how you weaved in issues of intergenerational violence against women. I think about young children witnessing violence in their own homes, having to grapple with the gravity of it, thinking that it is inevitable for them as well. How this effects their development and perceptions of themselves and the world around them. It makes you think about the magnitude of this rampant issue, that it is not just the victims of abuse but also all of those young impressionable children and as a result the cycle continues.

Reply
Caitlin Wort
2/23/2020 07:20:32 pm

Nhi,
I find it so interesting that men in countries with better gender equality are less likely to have mental health issues. I would love to compare and contrast men who live in Icelands mental health and men who live in the United States mental health. I also agree that women do lack support from healthcare and I hope that that issue gets resolved in the future.

Reply
Stephanie Cruz
2/23/2020 07:32:53 pm

Hello Nhi,

Thank you for your post. I was thinking the same thing about the two people in both and low and high income settings received the same limitations. I honestly didn't expect that. Women definitely need to be supported more in the healthcare industry. There needs to be an equal part on both genders and have more resources for wome especially in reproductive health care systems.

Reply
Marisol Bejarano
2/23/2020 09:55:41 pm

Hi Nhi,
I agree with you, that you don't have to agree with the decisions that someone else is making for you to allow them to make those decisions. I believe that everyone has the right to choose what they want to with their lives. It's sad to see the lack of good care for all women in the healthcare system, there is much work to be done and hopefully we are already working towards a better system.

Reply
Christine Nguyen
2/23/2020 11:58:23 pm

Nhi,
Thank you for your blog post! I can relate to Liz Plank's article in her experience. I came from a Vietnamese background and it too emphasizes on the traditional gender norms that highlight women's submissiveness. I find it so interesting that men in countries with better gender equality are less likely to have mental health issues. Hopefully in the near future, as a Vietnamese American, my people will be able to understand the concept of gender equality.

Reply
Selena Sorn
2/24/2020 02:01:21 pm

Hi Nhi,
I like how you brought in the topic of culture and the impact it has on gender roles. My culture follows the traditional gender norms of women expected to do house hold chores while men are the breadwinners. These gender roles can often be detrimental to health for women as it can cause violence if they don't follow these gender roles. As time passes, these gender roles may change as we move into a time where gender equality becomes more discussed.

Reply
Danielle Lee
2/24/2020 04:46:07 pm

Hi Nhi!
I think it's important that you emphasized how gender equality has affected the health of men in a positive direction. The image you chose also relates to your post perfectly! It's true that women lack support from the healthcare system and you were able to display that by comparing low income and high income women's health.
I too grew up in a culture where genders defined roles in the household and have seen how negatively that impacts both. Women's rights are human rights and moving forward with the slogan will cause a positive impact and hopefully lead to equality.
Thank you for sharing!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

Photo used under Creative Commons from hoyasmeg