Drugs are considered to be healers and harmers, wonder substances and knowledge makers; objects that impact on social hierarchies, health practices and public policies. As a collective endeavour, this book focuses on the ways that gender, along with race/ethnicity and class, influence the design, standardisation and circulation of drugs throughout several highly medicalised countries throughout the twentieth century and until the twenty-first. Fourteen authors from different European and non-European countries analyse the extent to which the dominant ideas and values surrounding masculinity and femininity have contributed to shape the research, prescription and use of drugs by women and men within particular social and cultural contexts. New and lesser-known, gender-specific issues in lifestyles and social practices associated with pharmaceutical technologies are analysed, as is the manner in which they intervene in life experiences such as reproduction, sexual desire, childbirth, depression and happiness. The processes of prescribing, selling, marketing and accepting or forbidding drugs is also examined, as is the contribution of gendered medical practices to the medicalisation and growing consumption of drugs by women. Gender relations and other hierarchies are involved as both causes and consequences of drug cultures, and of the history and social life of gender in contemporary drug production, use and consumption. A network of agents emerges from this book’s research, contributing to a better understanding of both gender and drugs within our society.

In recent years, the non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) has caused increasing public concern around the globe. Women constitute a special risk category for NMUPD and understanding gender as it relates to this phenomenon is now a critical requirement for effective policy and practice. Intended primarily for policy makers and researchers, this Pompidou Group publication aims to explore gender specificities in terms of the use and misuse of prescription drugs in Europe and the Mediterranean region. Using secondary sources, it also seeks to identify gaps in the data available in the area covered and to make recommendations for further research, coherent policy development and effective, gender-sensitive practice. This publication is an initial attempt to map this emerging phenomenon and to identify lacunae and avenues for further investigation. It constitutes an important resource for those interested in the interaction between gender and drug use.

Tranquillisers are prescribed to almost twice as many women as men, yet very little gender-based research has been carried out on the social context of their use. Gendered Moods offers the first feminist analysis of the gendered character of psychotropic drug use, based on studies of long-term psychotropic drug users and the content of drug advertising. The authors argue that gender differences in psychotropic drug use are manifestations of the gendered construction of society as a whole, and that, as a result, women are particularly susceptible to being channelled into a state of dependency on prescribed drugs. Exploring current social scientific debates relating to drug users and providers, Gendered Moods also provides a critical review of previous research. It is a much needed introduction to a neglected area of study.

Drugs are considered to be healers and harmers, wonder substances and knowledge makers; objects that impact on social hierarchies, health practices and public policies. As a collective endeavour, this book focuses on the ways that gender, along with race/ethnicity and class, influence the design, standardisation and circulation of drugs throughout several highly medicalised countries throughout the twentieth century and until the twenty-first. Fourteen authors from different European and non-European countries analyse the extent to which the dominant ideas and values surrounding masculinity and femininity have contributed to shape the research, prescription and use of drugs by women and men within particular social and cultural contexts. New and lesser-known, gender-specific issues in lifestyles and social practices associated with pharmaceutical technologies are analysed, as is the manner in which they intervene in life experiences such as reproduction, sexual desire, childbirth, depression and happiness. The processes of prescribing, selling, marketing and accepting or forbidding drugs is also examined, as is the contribution of gendered medical practices to the medicalisation and growing consumption of drugs by women. Gender relations and other hierarchies are involved as both causes and consequences of drug cultures, and of the history and social life of gender in contemporary drug production, use and consumption. A network of agents emerges from this book’s research, contributing to a better understanding of both gender and drugs within our society.

Gender medicine is an important new field in health and disease. It is derived from top-quality research and encompasses the biological and social determinants that underlie the susceptibility to disease and its consequences. In the future, consideration of the role of gender will undoubtedly become an integral feature of all research and clinical care. Defining the role of gender in medicine requires a broad perspective on biology and diverse skills in biomedical and social sciences. When these scientific disciplines come together, a revolution in medical care is in the making. Covering twelve different areas of medicine, the practical and useful Handbook of Clinical Gender Medicine provides up-to-date information on the role of gender in the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of a wide range of common diseases.

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. Examining the impact of drug criminalisation on a previously overlooked demographic, this book argues that women are disproportionately affected by a flawed policy approach.

This unique book analyses the impact of international human rights on the concept of gender, demonstrating that gender emerged in the medical study of sexuality and has a complex and broad meaning beyond the sex and gender binaries often assumed by human rights law. The book illustrates which dynamics within the field of human rights hinder the expansion of the concept of gender beyond binaries and which strategies and mechanisms allow and facilitate such an expansion.

The history of patent harmonization is a story of dynamic actors, whose interactions with established structures shaped the patent regime. From the inception of the trade regime to include intellectual property (IP) rights to the present, this book documents the role of different sets of actors – states, transnational business corporations, or civil society groups – and their influence on the structures – such as national and international agreements, organizations, and private entities – that have caused changes to healthcare and access to medication. Presenting the debates over patents, trade, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as it galvanized non-state and nonbusiness actors, the book highlights how an alternative framing and understanding of pharmaceutical patent rights emerged: as a public issue, instead of a trade or IP issue. The book thus offers an important analysis of the legal and political dynamics through which the contest for access to lifesaving medication has been, and will continue to be, fought. In addition to academics working in the areas of international law, development, and public health, this book will also be of interest to policy makers, state actors, and others with relevant concerns working in nongovernmental and international organizations.

Gender is an exciting area of current research in the medical humanities, and by combining the study of medical narratives with theories of gender and sexuality, the essays in Gender Scripts in Medicine and Narrative illustrate the power of gender stereotypes to shape the way medicine is practiced and perceived. The chapters of Gender Scripts in Medicine and Narrative investigate gendered perceptions and representations of healers and patients in fiction, memoir, popular literature, poetry, film, television, the history of science, new media, and visual art. The fourteen chapters of Gender Scripts in Medicine and Narrative are organized into four cohesive sections. These chapters investigate the impact of gender stereotypes on medical narratives from a variety of points of view, considering narratives from diverse languages, time periods, genres, and media. Each section addresses some of the most pressing and provocative issues in theories of gender and the medical humanities: I. Gendering the Medical Gaze and Pathology; II. Monitoring Race through Reproduction; III. Rescripting Trauma and Healing; and IV. Medical Masculinities. Along with these sections, Gender Scripts Medicine and Narrative features a preface by Rita Charon, MD, PhD, Director and Founder, The Program in Narrative Medicine, Columbia University, a foreword by Marcelline Block, and an introduction by Angela Laflen. This collection takes a truly interdisciplinary look at the topic of gender and medicine, and the impressive group of contributors to the anthology represent a wide range of academic fields of inquiry, including medical humanities, bioethics, English, modern languages, women’s studies, film theory, postcolonial theory, art history, the history of science and medicine, new media studies, theories of trauma, among others. This approach of crossing boundaries of genre and discipline makes the volume accessible to scholars who are concerned with narrative, gender, and/or medical ethics. Click here for a recent review of this title.

The announcement that we had decoded the human genome in 2000 ushered in a new and unique era in biomedical research and clinical medicine. This Third Edition of Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine focuses, as in the past two editions, on the essentials of sexual dimorphism in human physiology and pathophysiology, but emphasizes the latest information about molecular biology and genomic science in a variety of disciplines. Thus, this edition is a departure from the previous two; the editor solicited individual manuscripts from innovative scientists in a variety of fields rather than the traditional arrangement of sections devoted to the various subspecialties of medicine edited by section chiefs. Wherever it was available, these authors incorporated the latest information about the impact of the genome and the elements that modify its expression on human physiology and illness. All chapters progress translationally from basic science to the clinical applications of gender-specific therapy and suggest the most important topics for future investigation. This book is essential reading for all biomedical investigators and medical educators involved in gender-specific medicine. It will also be useful for primary care practitioners who need information about the importance of sex and gender in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness. Winner of the 2018 PROSE Award in Clinical Medicine from the Association of American Publishers! 2018 PROSE Awards - Winner, Award for Clinical Medicine: Association of American Publishers Outlines sex-specific differences in normal human function and explains the impact of age, hormones, and environment on the incidence and outcome of illness Reflects the latest information about the molecular basis of the sexual dimorphism in human physiology and the experience of disease Reviews the implications of our ever-improving ability to describe the genetic basis of vulnerability to disease and our capacity to alter the genome itself Illustrates the importance of new NIH guidelines that urge the inclusion of sex as a variable in research protocols