Kaufert P A, Lock M
Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Canada.
J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 1997 Jun;18(2):81-6. doi: 10.3109/01674829709085573.
Medicalization usually refers to the process whereby the normal processes of pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation and menopause have been claimed and redefined by medicine. Rather than discussing medicalization and menopause in terms of the number of women taking hormones, or the percentage of physicians convinced they should prescribe them, this paper looks at the visual image of the menopausal woman as portrayed in the pharmaceutical literature and in the mass media. Unlike the depressed and sickly looking women shown in the pharmaceutical advertisements in the 1970s, this 1990s version of the menopausal woman is shown glowing with fitness, with well-maintained teeth, hair and skin, far too fit to break a hip, have a heart attack, or witness the slow destruction of their minds by Alzheimer's disease. This image is not to be confused with the reality of being a menopausal woman, yet the two are intimately intertwined, for the image determines how menopausal women see themselves and how they are seen in the wider society. The final section of the paper discusses how health is the new virtue for women as they age as each individual is held responsible for what happens to her body, particularly in terms of the decisions made at the time of menopause.
医学化通常是指怀孕、分娩、月经和更年期等正常生理过程被医学所宣称并重新定义的过程。本文并非从服用激素的女性数量或确信应该开激素处方的医生比例的角度来探讨医学化和更年期，而是着眼于制药文献和大众媒体中所描绘的更年期女性的视觉形象。与20世纪70年代制药广告中那些看起来抑郁多病的女性不同，20世纪90年代版本的更年期女性形象是容光焕发、身体健康，牙齿、头发和皮肤保养良好，健康得不太可能摔断髋骨、心脏病发作，或目睹自己的心智被阿尔茨海默病慢慢侵蚀。这个形象不应与更年期女性的现实相混淆，但两者紧密相连，因为这个形象决定了更年期女性如何看待自己以及她们在更广泛社会中的形象。本文最后一部分讨论了随着年龄增长，健康如何成为女性的新美德，因为每个人都要为自己身体所发生的事情负责，尤其是在更年期做出的决定方面。
