Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Making Health Education Healthier: How Medical Schools Use Bias Training And Intersectional Theory To Reduce Implicit Bias, Madeleine N. Miller

Student Publications

Medical bias has been successfully characterized through two-way bias theory and the concept of the "normal body" and further divided into implicit and explicit bias. Yet, many individuals who go to the doctor are still given insufficient care because of their gender, race, class, sexuality, etc. Medical Education offers a unique opportunity for bias reduction both through formal and informal training. It is crucial that, as they are taught how to save a patient’s life, medical students are also taught to empathize with all patients and to give every patient, regardless of their gender, skin color, or class, the most …

The Contemporary Porn Debate - Perceptions Of Sexual Health Of Porn Actors, The 2013 Hiv Crisis, And Recognizing The Complexities Of The Porn Industry, Nasreen C. Gooya

Student Publications

Between August 2012 and January 2013, four adult film performers based in California tested positive for HIV which triggered a moratorium on production, and led the state of California to mandate condom usage in the industry under the Safer Sex in the Adult Industry Act – otherwise referred to as Measure B. The goal of this research is to explore how the discourse surrounding health in the adult film industry, specifically sexual health in relation to the adult film performers during this event, is reflective of contemporary anti-pornography sentiments. These sentiments and biases ultimately lead to regulations of the industry …

Access To Mental Health Care For Depression Among Latina Women In Adams County, Alison P. Lauro

Student Publications

This research project focused on what barriers prevent Latina women in Adams County from accessing mental health care. A survey was distributed to 52 women over several weeks. These participants, particularly immigrant and undocumented women, have lower rates of health insurance, low incomes, and limited transportation, and the county does not have accessible, Spanish speaking mental health professionals, which makes it nearly impossible for these women to access mental healthcare in the county.

Attitudes Toward Contraception Among Fourth Wave College-Aged Women, Caroline L. Lewis

Student Publications

This research examines how college-aged women today view contraception in comparison to the ways it has been viewed by previous generations of women, as well as what they view the future of contraception in the United States to look like. This has been done through a lens of political action and advocacy, which has defined the fight for access to contraception and reproductive justice throughout history. In light of the recent threats on contraception and the corresponding responsive social movements, such as the Women’s March, women in the United States are shifting their views on the matter, but what actions …

Female Madness In Greek Tradition And Medicine, Caitlin T. Connelly

Student Publications

This paper considers the similarities and differences in Greek thought concerning female madness among both traditional views of madness and medical views. It identifies three broad types of female madness – Dionysian madness, most often associated with maenads and maenadism; desire-induced madness, associated with Aphrodite or Eros; and the medical views of madness of the Hippocratic Corpus, Plato, and other writers. Divinely-inspired madness was considered an assault on the individual from the outside, while the physicians considered madness to be an affliction from within. However, while desire-induced madness and medical madness were seen as the results of women avoiding men, …

History Of Key Events In Women’S Health Care, Zoё M. Chambliss

Student Publications

In 1973, ninety-three percent of all American doctors were men (Ehrenreich and English). Gender based inequity permeates all spheres of women’s health care from employment to access to treatment to biologically-based myths of male superiority, yet women once presided over the health and spirituality of their communities and their own bodies. All of the earliest human societies worshipped the Earth Goddess and respected women as holy givers of life. This tradition persisted until the rise of the patriarchy and Western “Civilization” increasingly forced women out of positions of power and rewrote the religious stories to give supremacy to male sun …

How History Shaped Women's Healthcare, Josephine M. Rivera

Student Publications

At the beginnings of civilizations around the world, many of these inhabitants worshipped goddesses that connected them to the world and earth. However, invaders from male-dominated civilizations worked diligently to eliminate the faces and ideas of a woman in power. As time progressed, other events like the witch craze continued to minimize the influence of midwives and healers, creating a medical dynamic where only men “knew” the ways of a woman’s body. Thus, the birth of gynecology and American medicine put notions into place that did not allow women to pursue medical careers, further eradicating the possibility for a woman …

Contraception, Abortion And Assisted Fertility Among Muslim Women A Look At Islamic Culture And Policy In Iran And Afghanistan, Hayley Jacobsen

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

Discourse on women's reproductive rights through the lens of Muslim culture. The use of contraception, assisted fertility and abortion, are analyzed in Iran and Afghanistan. The culture surrounding family planning is detailed through a woman’s community, family, religion and the laws that govern the society they live in, which all influence her decision making in these matters. This piece stands as a cultural analysis of women's agency specifically in Middle Eastern Muslim culture, as it stands as a part of a global women's rights movement.

Goddesses Versus Gynecologists: An Analysis Of The History Of Women’S Healthcare, Marion A. Mckenzie

Student Publications

Starting from the downfall of Goddess cultures in Europe, women's health care has been negatively impacted for generations. The rise of the white, male Indo-European "dominator model" along with the witch craze, caused the end of widespread wise women traditions and pharmacopeia methods. After women's traditional voice was silenced, medical colleges were established to pronounce new, "professional" knowledge. Only those who attended these universities were allowed to legally practice medicine; however, during this time, medical research and treatments for women primarily included mutilation and painful, nonsensical regimens. The horrifying state of women's healthcare has since improved, but was originally a …

Fearless Friday: Class Of 2015, Chrisitina L. Bassler

SURGE

We recognize all of the Gettysburg College graduates who will use what they learned and experienced over the past four years to fearlessly promote change, seek justice, and challenge inequality after leaving Gettysburg College. The following list contains the names of members of the class of 2015 who have been recognized by other members of the campus community as leaders for change, and we are proud to claim these fearless and inspirational students as our own. We know, however, that we do not have everyone who deserves to be recognized listed below, so feel free to continue nominating your friends, …

Muslim Women And United States Healthcare: Challenges To Access And Navigation, Dayna M. Seeger

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

This paper offers an analysis of the interactions of Muslim women in the US healthcare system in order to unpack challenges and propose potential accommodations. Islam may inform values or considerations in the context of other cultural factors or present Muslim women with specific challenges in seeking healthcare based on Islamic teachings or social constructs. This paper examines these factors by elaborating on an overview of Muslim interpretations of healthcare using religious authorities, text from the Qur’an, and social norms. It then delves into challenges faced by Muslim women in the US healthcare system and the implications of those challenges …

Mirrors, Manipulation, And Me, Anonymous

SURGE

Yesterday I was sick to my stomach. Literally.

I tossed and turned all night, woke up and felt sick, and spent the first two hours of my day in bed trying to calm down while. I was worrying that I was a bad friend, student, and girlfriend. The hardest part was that I was criticizing myself for having these insecurities. It’s tough to get out of that cycle, but it’s what I need to do. [excerpt]

The Space I Own, Alison P. Lauro

SURGE

***TRIGGER WARNING: Eating Disorders***

I don’t care what anyone says—being a woman is hard. Being a young woman has its own set of complications–we experience a lot of pressure to look a certain way, to act a certain way, to have a specific friend group; to act as social butterflies and to live up to a set of socially constructed beauty standards. And there are too many girls—myself included—who have fallen victim to this impossible set of expectations. [excerpt]

“In Light Of Real Alternatives”: Negotiations Of Fertility And Motherhood In Morocco And Oman, Victoria E. Mohr

Student Publications

Many states in the Arab world have undertaken wide-ranging family planning polices in the last two decades in an effort to curb high fertility rates. Oman and Morocco are two such countries, and their policies have had significantly different results. Morocco experienced a swift drop in fertility rates, whereas Oman’s fertility has declined much more slowly over several decades. Many point to the more conservative religious and cultural context of Oman for their high fertility rates, however economics and the state of biomedical health care often present a more compelling argument for the distinct differences between Omani and Moroccan family …

I Don't Want To Save Second Base, Chelsea E. Broe

SURGE

Tomorrow kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have one request: This October, let’s not save second base.

I know, I know, you probably think this month is a good thing. If not for all of those T-shirts demanding every female-bodied person to feel their boobies, or the bracelets simply proclaiming “I love boobies,” people with breasts might forget that they even have them, or at the very least might start to think that their breasts are their own business. But the female body seems to be an object owned by the public, so we must always be reminded …