Artifact 5 discuss health risks and stereotypes for both males and females and how the gender health gap has not necessarily gotten better, but has changed in the last 50 years. 

While personal gender identification is a common issue that many deal with it is not something we all necessary must face. The idea of gender stereotypes and the profound affect they can have on overall health. Especially true in the 50 and 60’s, how a man and women were supposed to behave, they way the y look, and the jobs they held were set with little options for anything else. Today things are different. We are certainly more progressive, but it’s still evident that these stereotypes still hold even today.

There are certain stereotypes that apply particularly to men. Masculinity and the need to have big broad shoulder, muscles, and to be distant when it comes to emotions are just a few. It can often be difficult for smaller men to go to the gym and work out because of the pressure of seeing other stronger men and feeling weaker just by seeing them. There is also a great desire for testosterone because the idea that testosterone is what makes a man a man is forced onto us all throughout our lives. We typically ignore health issues ad prefer to think that we are just being weak and that by ignoring it we are strong. This an lead to even greater health issues as nothing is checked up on and we ignore rather than treat. The “manly lifestyle” as i’ll call it leads itself to greater inherent health risks combined with the desire of avoiding rather than addressing presents unique health issues to that of many women.

Women have had to deal with a vast assortment of very different issues from the women’s rights movement to contraceptives to inequities in research on women’s health and illness. It really wasn’t until the rights movement was well underway that we payed any real attention to women’s health.  Contraceptives were originally available only to married women only in 1960 and wasn’t available to all women until 1972 despite the benefits being on the pill can have besides just birth control. Ine the 60-70’s “pain during sex or lack of interest in sex was seen as psychological (being frigid”. Both men and women alike have always and likely will always been subjected to gender stereotypes which demand conformity for fear of being different.

Men have historically chosen ignorance over recognition of health issues and women have had to deal with the lack of research pretty much up until recently. Sex can definitely matter when it comes to being healthy as there are certain health issues that only affect males or only affect females. There are also some diseases like heart disease that affects the two differently and even at different stages in life. In order to close this health gap between males and females as well as different races there needs to be more research.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

VMI Class of 2017

BI-218X

HR: NONE