Activists, gender and the community health movement

Abstract

SUMMARY New social movements, including the self-help or community health movement, have developed in the context of the increasing difficulties of the old Welfare State. This process has been politically fostered by left and right by a rhetoric of community self-help as a means of reform. A central feature of these new movements is that they draw on sophisticated approaches to change, flexibly working within, beside, or in opposition to the existing health system. Their philosophy of empowerment has fostered flat organizational forms, a commitment to health for all, and a distinctive approach to knowledge. This approach seeks to combine the rationality of science with the rationality of caring. The paper points out that caring for health is largely women's work and that gender blindness on the part of those wishing to promote health for all is theoretically negligent and practically counterproductive. Lastly through a discussion of US and UK approaches it is suggested that the political and cultural framework, within which such groups and movements are contextualized, must be taken into account if we are to understand and support their potential for bringing about positive change.