Sociology of Health and Illness: Medicalisation and Feminist Views

This essay delves into the sociology of health and illness, examining the concepts of medicalisation and biomedicalisation and their roles in shaping perceptions of health and illness. The essay explores how medicalisation involves treating human conditions as medical problems, while biomedicalisation incorporates technology to enhance healthcare. It also critically analyzes feminist perspectives on medicine, particularly how women's lives, especially in relation to reproduction, have been influenced by the medical profession, often viewing women as passive subjects. The essay discusses the benefits and drawbacks of medicalisation and biomedicalisation, including the potential for social control and economic waste, and highlights the importance of considering social contexts and inequalities in health. The discussion includes the historical context of feminist critiques and the impact of medical interventions on women's reproductive rights and overall well-being.

ASS045-2 Sociology of Health
and Illness

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
How useful are the concepts of medicalisation and biomedicalisation for understanding
shifting ideas about health and illness?..................................................................................3
Feminist critiques of medicine challenge the way in which women’s lives, principally in
relation to reproduction, have been subject to the control of the medical profession, with
women themselves seen as passive objects. Critically assess this view.................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Medicalization refers to the process in which treatment is provided by using medicine.
This is the one with the focus on providing better health and social care to humans. This is the
one which have the focus on providing better health and social care to humans. biomedicalisation
is also use of medicalization with using different technological for improving health and social
care. There are different views of medication on women which lead to create directly impact
their reproduction and have major impact over their life. In this report, there is discussion about
medicalization, biomedicalization along with feminist critic over medical challenges which is
able to impact their life (Braillon, (2018)).
How useful are the concepts of medicalisation and biomedicalisation for understanding shifting
ideas about health and illness?
Medicalization refers to the process by which human conditions along with problems
get treated as medical condition and leads to be the subject of diagnosis, medical study
treatment and prevention. This is a term which is provided by the society by health professional
give the effect of socioeconomic disadvantage which was related with medical issues. This is the
process through which human problem can be defined and treated as medical conditions and
due to doctors and health professional, it is easy to treat, prevent and diagnose. Medicalization
is claimed for to bring benefit along with cost which plays role and power of professional and
provide better concept of health and illness. Concept of medicalization is strongly associated
with medical dominance which involves jurisdiction over normal live event. Medicalization
shows the shifting Idea related with health and illness health and illness includes influenza , cold
and also deviant behaviour. Deviant behaviour is the one which is described as criminal or
inmoral for medical meaning (Page, (2017)). Sociologist has believed about the medicalization
has a new phenomenon which is able to provide medical authorities Anti-social behaviour for
social control increasingly. Sophisticated technology leads to provide the potential to reach of
medicalization in the form of social control which is termed as psycho Technology. The concept
of medicalization is able to develop that some respect in 1970’s during feminist movement.
Definition of medicalisation is very complicated many contemporary critics position.
Pharmaceutical companies which were supposed to get list of medicalization practice. The

process of medicalization leads to social context and understanding the terms of trivial in
biomedical ideology which result and leads to disregard for social issues like unequal
distribution of resources and power. Physician scroll in present-day leads to medicalization a
similarly complex. Doctor have the authority for figuring prescribing pharmaceuticals to place
and whereas in some country. This authority is not provided in well manner in many country. It
is encourage for ask the particular drug by name which can create direct customer for the
company. This lead to create the threaten to cut the doctor out of loop. This lead to create
pharmaceutical marketing direct within doctors and healthcare professional. Inappropriate
medicalization leads to create the danger for unnecessary labelling and can lead to create a
economic waste (Jivan, (2017)). This is an hydrogenic illness and creates the opportunity cost
which divert treatment and prevention from serious diseases. Resistance to medicalization was
a common theme for anti psychiatry and feminist Movement in 1970’s. It was justified in the
term of Public Health pressure for medicalization was came from society who opposed the
intervention and demand for receive and intrusive measurement. Benefits of Medicalization
includes primary prevention and preventing disease like polio, diphtheria and have the
immunization against several diseases. Disadvantage of this medicalization is that it leads to
create addition between patient.
Biomedicalzation refers to the characteristic of strong orientation towards feature
which includes bio economics by a political are socio-cultural preparing. This is the one is able
to create high impact future. Concept of Biomedicalzation refers to complex manifested
process of medicalization which age reconstituted new social forms of high biomedicine and
techno scientific. This is the one which create advantage of our health and social care and can
lead to create a better impact on human health. This is the one in which, there is use of
technology and biomedicine which can relate together and providing better health and social
care for future. Disadvantage of this Biomedicalzation is that, it creates the resistance within
human body which can lead to create a negative impact on improved health. This lead to create
high development in medical field and can lead to provide use of technology in medication and
related with technomedicine. In this, it is the one which have high power to provide better
treatment in future (Ayalon, (2020)).

Feminist critiques of medicine challenge the way in which women’s lives, principally in relation
to reproduction, have been subject to the control of the medical profession, with women
themselves seen as passive objects. Critically assess this view
There are different problem related with critic with medicine which are there due to use
and misuse of medicine. There are many problem through which medicine challenge are there by
feminist. Medicine are the one which are highly challenging women’s lives. Particularly in
reproduction. Men behave with women like an passive object which is not acceptable. From
1970 is it has been observed that when there was feminist challenge over the medicine which is
able to control over the women lives and was related with critics to the medicine during
medicalization. This was the time when women has taken the challenges and to fight against
such belief that women are the only object for reproduction. This is the one which has highly
created and impact within women's which was regarding creating about the reproduction control.
It was believed that women are a passive object for the reproduction (Lewis, (2017)). This
created impact within women mind-set. Men have a belief that they are the positive passive
object which are associated with for the reproduction process. This create high impact on the
thinking and lead to create the feminism. During 1970’s it was associated that by using of
medicine birth control can be easily controlled and there was no any control over reproduction. It
was said that medicine is the one which is able to control over the production process and able to
control the birth. This relate to create a difficulty for women to control their child birth. This
created high impact on women's lives and create control over women's life and their birth
control. There are different medicine which was discovered for controlling the childbirth and
able to discard fetus. There are different contraceptive medicines or pills which are able to
discard the childbirth and can lead to create a more control over women reproduction. There is
need to control the child birth and pregnancy which should be totally depends on the mindset of
women. Men treat women as passive object for reproduction and many more which is directly
assoiciated to accept their words and do whatever they want to do with women. This was also
like to use the medicine for preventing child birth and control over the reproduction. During
1970, women are dependable over men and there is control of medical profession and control
over the maturation and pregnancy which create intervention such like hysterectomies (Radin,
(2017)). This created social inequality in society and lead to create variation in bodies of women
rather than men. There is a critique of medical challenge to create the effect and able to provide

the discrimination of women's live which where particularly related with reproduction and are
controlled. Due to medical profession has high impact over the lives of women and can
associated with inequality in health. This was the one which create high critic towards the
medicine because medicine were developed for taking control over which was their due to
process of reproduction. There was Association of contraceptive pills which we are able to
control the child birth and finish the pregnancy. This created difficulty for women to bieth their
child by natural process. This lead to create hard efficiency of control over pregnancy and leads
to create a critical regarding medicines. Medicines challenges the women's life which was
associated with contrast of control and different medicines which are able to control over body
and can act as the passive objects. There is a need to make a believe that medicine should not
have control over women's body. This is the one through which there is a need to make
awareness and provide the belief that there are different contraceptive pill is for avoiding the
unaccepted childbirth and for saving woman's life. Through this, this can be highly associated to
control over the dispute about feminist critique of medicine challenges which are able to control
over woman's life particularly in reproduction. Due to this, there is need to create an awareness
and better control over the medicine for providing better effect. This medicine should be deliver
with legal authority. Such medicines should be in control and not to use illegally (Combellick-
Bidney, (2017)).
CONCLUSION
From above discussion, it can be concluded that medicalisation is the process which is
able to provide better health impact to humans and biomedicalization is use of Technology over
medicalization which relate to create a better health and social care to humans. there is need to
avoid the misuse of medication which is able to control women's life, especially in context of
reproduction. In this report, their discussion about medicalization, biomedicalisation and the
critique of medicines which is able to control over women live.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ayalon, (2020). What can we learn from the past about the future of gerontology: Using natural
language processing to examine the field of gerontology. The Journals of Gerontology:
Series B.
Braillon, (2018). Collaborative Care or the Pinball Syndrome. The Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry, 63(8), 570-570.
Combellick-Bidney, (2017). Reproductive rights as human rights: stories from advocates in
Brazil, India and South Africa. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(7), 800-
822.
Jivan, (2017). Abortion Law in New South Wales: Shifting from Criminalisation to the
Recognition of the Reproductive Rights of Women and Girls. Journal of Law and
Medicine.
Lewis, (2017). Defending intimacy against what? Limits of antisurrogacy feminisms. Signs:
Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 43(1), 97-125.
Page, (2017). The birth of our humanity. British Journal of Midwifery, 25(7), 414-415.
Radin, (2017). “Digital natives”: How medical and indigenous histories matter for big
data. Osiris, 32(1), 43-64.