Multiple crucial factors in understanding health disparities
Multiple crucial factors, such as intersectionality, have been studied to conceptualize the framework regarding the complexities surrounding health disparities between men and women in the quest for an in-depth understanding of the effects on health arising from the connection between gender inequalities (Dobson et al (2015).
Inclusion of intersectionality in the analysis
In the context of intersectionality, which highlights the prospects of the varied and flexible social environments as well as the interrelated social practices in the fabrication of gender disparities, issues of health and gender have all been examined. The article, therefore, establishes how these elements interrelate to bring social impacts on people's perspectives concerning the dissimilarity between women and men hence scrutinizing the effects of intersectionality and raising crucial questions for debate and dialogue.
Intersectionality Background Concerning Women and Men's Health
Studies reveal that gender and health, as well as men's health and women's health, not only undermine the empirical efforts but also undercut the theoretical efforts in wholly addressing the associated health inequalities. Therefore, emphasis on matters regarding sex and gender focus on the dissimilarities between men and women. This explains the reason why so much information still keeps on to be gathered, systematized and analysed exclusively around issues of gender and sex differences yet the resemblances between men and women are explicitly evident. Research further support this theory by indicating that the distinctions between these two groups of persons are often as considerable if not more as between men and women and that men are regularly perceived as the subservient of their women counterparts (Hankivsky (2012).
The need for comprehensive examination
Also indicated is the fact that women sometimes exercise their supremacy over some men. However, according to Anderson & Collins (2015), there are still several reviews concerning gender and sex-based dissimilarities that produced since previous studies have not exhaustively elucidated the matters. Some frameworks pursue to take account of considerations of both gender and sex, for instance, the GSBE (Gender and Sex-Based Exploration) too which was established in Canada. The tool proposes some of the guidelines in the line of cross-examination that highlights the scrutiny of variations and resemblances among men and women.
Exploring specific health issues
As such, the GSBE tool emphasizes the need to be concerned with issues regarding differences and correspondences of men and women hence begging these relevant questions to be asked: Do men and women have a similar susceptibility to respiratory illness due to smoking? Or do both men and women face the same danger of being infected by the HIV/AIDS illness due to sexual intercourse? From this perspective, the distinctions that are fashioned and created by features outside gender and sex are considered to be of a subordinate in their prominence (Vivar (2016). Given the above explanations, it is sensible to articulate that the intersectionality framework regarding the gender and health or women and men's health makes apparent the significance of fresh methods in framing the complexity concerning social inequalities and human life.
Annotated Bibliography
Initial Source
Hankivsky, O. (2012). Women’s health, men’s health, and gender and health: Effects of intersectionality. Social science & medicine, 74(11), 1712-1720.
The author concisely outlines various areas of concerns about gender and health. These include gender and health differences as well as the dissimilarities between men’s and women’s health. The authors elaborate these social inequalities from the perspective of intersectionality where frameworks such as the use of GSBE tools have been used in pursuit to take account of considerations of both gender and sex.
However, the bone of contention on the scholarly work cited above is the use of assumptions in the explanation of gender differences. Over the past years, many theories about gender differences are based on perceived assumptions. There is a missing link between the authors’ interpretation of how health differences are caused by social factors and how actually gender, and race link based on the works of other authors such as Saha, S, and Taggart, S. in their actions, cited as Saha, s, Taggart, et al., (2017).
Nonetheless, this book is of much relevance to our subject in that we can get to know how gender affects health based on gender differences and how other gender factors affect social interactions still based on gender differences. Further, the authors have also helped us to link health issues to social factors and the role policies play in shaping these factors.
Second Source
Dobson, A. J., Hockey, R., Brown, W. J., Byles, J. E., Loxton, D. J., McLaughlin, D., … & Mishra, G. D. (2015). Cohort profile update: Canadian longitudinal study on women’s health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 44(5), 1547-1547f.
Dobson et al (2015), demonstrates a comprehensive comparison analysis concerning the dissimilarities between men and women’s health according to a longitudinal study conducted in Canada. The authors identify some of the findings about the reasons why so much information still keeps on to be gathered, systematized and analysed exclusively around issues of gender and sex differences yet the resemblances between men and women are explicitly evident. The reliability of the study is linked to the choice and setting of the study population since the number of the study participants is adequate enough to be deemed as a representation of the associated gender imbalance in most societies. However, recommendations are needed so that the study further explores the scientific explanations concerning this subject since the authors do not expansively elucidate the technical causes behind people’s perspective on the social inequalities.
Third Source
Vivar, M. T. H. (2016). Framing intersectionality: Debates on a multi-faceted concept in gender studies. Routledge.
Vivar (2016), gives an overview of some of the intersectionality theories regarding the related systems of discrimination of oppression in gender-based aspects that contributes to the social inequalities. The author argues that gender discrimination and sexism work hand in hand to contribute to the associated gender inequalities. The reliability of the author’s evidence is attributed to the comprehensive multidimensional ways in how he illustrates the correlation between the intersectionality theories and their impact on gender inequalities with specific insights to health. However, the author lacks insights into the illustrations on people’s perspectives regarding the susceptibility of either men or women to the risk of contracting certain illnesses such as HIV and Aids. This is an important concern that needs to be addressed.
Fourth Source
Collins, P. H. & Anderson, M. (2015). Race, class, & gender and health: An anthology. Nelson Education.
The Anderson & Collins (2015) focuses the study on the issues concerning the correlation between gender and health outlining important facts about the behavioural and biological dissimilarities between the two sexes. The authors argue that in spite of the societies critical knowledge concerning the outlined gender differences, the specific gender health care programs still lacks hence issues related to these concerns such as the necessary therapeutic treatments have not been fully addressed. The aim of the authors, therefore, is to provide a background regarding the approaches that ought to be adopted so as to address the behavioural and biological differences between men and women which can improve the wellbeing of both group of persons.
Though the author does not exhaust all those variables concerning the gender inequalities related to this subject, it therefore prudent to articulate the several issues about gender and health since the issues have not exhaustively been illustrated. However, since the research was conducted at a country level, the provided evidence can be deemed as reliable and consistent hence contributing to the study’s relevance to the topic.
Both of these authors’ point of view corresponds to a greater extent with my findings regarding the topic of gender inequality. Therefore, the article is of much help to me since I through it I have learned new aspects regarding the gender inequality issue. For instance, I have learned the dynamics of the gender inequality issues including some of the political, social and economic drives that profoundly contribute to this aspect of social imbalance.
In conclusion, having read carefully and comprehended the university’s policy on plagiarism and intellectual integrity, I with all due respect, affirm that this work is my original work. The citations and the annotated bibliography included are from trusted sources which are further accredited by the university and have relevance placed on them regarding the topic that I had chosen. Finally, permission is at this moment granted by me to the university staff, to verify the sources and also every information I have included and cited in this work.
