Chapter 11 Gender, Age and Health

Biologically, men and women are very different. Sociologically the case is the same. For thousands of years men and women have been treating each other differently. The usual case is women being treated as lesser human beings and men being glorified.

Gender comprises the behavioral and psychological traits considered appropriate for men and women. Gender roles are the specific behaviors and attitudes that a society establishes for men and women. Gender identity is the awareness of being masculine or feminine as those traits are defined by culture. Appropriate gender role behavior is learned through socialization. The power relationship between men and women developed into a patriarchy. Sexism is the belief that one sex is by nature superior to the other the women’s right movement was a time period in America, the goal was equality of sexes socially and politically. The most important reform during the women's movement was earning the right to vote or suffrage. During this movement, women wanted the chance to get a higher education. The wage gap is the level of woman's income relative to that of men, which changed very little. There is also a type of invisible barrier that often prevents women from obtaining higher business positions. There is also a political gender gap in the USA, women tend to vote more but men dominate politics.

Women demanding votes

Agism is the belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category. Sociologists are interested in a phenomenon called “the graying of America” which predicts that by 2050 1 in 5 Americans will be elderly. During the 1960's, approximately 76 million children were born during this time period known as the baby-boom generation. Medicare is the government-sponsored health-insurance plan for elderly Americans and Americans with disabilities. Medicaid is the state and federally funded health-insurance program for low-income individuals. Some people claim that government transfer payments like Social Security have made older Americans financially secure at the expense of younger generations. These disabilities also cause people to face prejudice. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 has the potential to bring employment to disabled people.

 Advances in medical technology have also affected health-care costs. One method of controlling health expenditures is the use of alternative health-insurance plans called managed care. Yet many Americans have problems getting healthcare even with the oversupply of doctors. There is a great problem with the distribution of physicians both geographically and in medical fields. Poor people are unlikely receive adequate medical care. The majority of medical costs in the United States are covered by private or public insurance. Alternative medicine includes treating illness with unconventional methods such as acupuncture, acupressure, biofeedback, massage, medication, yoga, herbal remedies, and relaxation techniques. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease that attacks the immune system, leaving a person vulnerable to a host of deadly infections. One does not necessarily die of AIDS but of some regular sickness that the body cannot fight due to the deteriorated immune system. Many AIDS activists claim the United States government has not responded adequately to the AIDS crisis. However, there have been great efforts to ameliorate the crisis from the government.

We are all different from the day we are born. We are either born male or female and after that we keep changing as we get older. Over time women have gotten more equal treatment than they ever had. The world is also aging. People are now living longer and with that there are special needs that need to be tended.