Abstract
Taking its cue from the medical field, psychology has long been curious about the relationship between biological sex and illness just as societies have long been interested in regulating women’s bodies. From 19th Century gender differences scholarship through 20th century activism this article introduces the gendered history of psychology and health. Offering a general overview of the past and more recent feminist present within a North American framework. Taking as its base foundation the intellectual shifts away from an exclusively individualistic lens towards one that now emphasizes systems and society; referred to as the difference between a “women-as-problem” and a “women-in-context” approach. Topics addressed include early gender differences scholarship, mental health costs and gendered violence; dual impact of the paradigms of masculinity, perversity in medicating and treating a woman’s psychological condition which result from living in a patriarchal societies; constructs of female sexual dysfunction, and more. We encourage South American scholars to take up the call to more thoroughly explore and expand on the histories of gendered health and psychology within regional and historical time sensitive contexts.
Highlights
Nineteenth Century Scholarship on Gender DifferencesDiscussions of gender differences in health within North American academic psychology really got their start in the late nineteenth century, when women began to be allowed to pursue higher educa on
Taking its cue from the medical field, psychology has long been curious about the rela onship between biological sex and illness just as socie es have long been interested in regula ng women’s bodies
Taking its cue from the medical field, from its beginnings, psychology has been curious about the rela onship between biological sex and illness, asking ques ons such as: Is one sex more prone to mental or physical illness? If so, what factor accounts for such a difference? Is it nature? Nurture?
Summary
Discussions of gender differences in health within North American academic psychology really got their start in the late nineteenth century, when women began to be allowed to pursue higher educa on. Weisstein argued, psychology could not legi mately claim to know anything about the experience of the female—the claims of male psychologists were nothing but “fantasy.” Others have cri qued psychology for its failure to use female subjects (in both human and animal research) (Beery & Zucker, 2011; Carlson & Carlson, 1961; Dan & Beekman, 1972), for the dominance of men at every level of the experimental and publica on process (Rix, 1990; Walker, 1991), and the bias inherent in masculine approaches to science (Keller, 1985/1995; Rutherford, 2015; Sherif, 1998) Such cri ques raise the possibility that minor adjustments to psychology’s methods might be insufficient to address the epistemological challenges raised by feminism, and a completely different approach to science might be necessary. Following Unger, psychology of women researchers have adopted the sex vs. gender conven on and have a empted to move beyond differences research
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