Abstract
In every society there exists a set of values which permeate its major institutions. Among these values are cultural norms or behavioral expectations for men and womenthe shoulds and oughts of appropriate sex roles. Gender-related norms vary from culture to culture and reflect differences in the socialization experiences of children and societal organization. However, in every society there is an ethnocentric belief that one's own way is natural or morally correct and, hence, superior. Appropriate behavior for males and females are part of a cluster of beliefs held by a large segment of society as absolute and correct. Violation of these norms may be defined not only as immoral, sinful, or unlawful, but unhealthy as well. The belief that socially prescribed differences between the sexes are inherent and biologically based, and that one sex is limited or in some sense inferior by those handicaps, has been termed sexism. Medicine, through its ideologies of health and illness, has reflected these beliefs, with major consequences for men and women in this society as patients and as health professionals.
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