Gendered Health Discourse

Abstract

Gendered health discourse is an emerging concept that combines the tradition of discourse analysis with gender theory to understand how patterned ways of communicating about health contribute to the façade of “natural” and oppositional differences between men and women. Discourse is defined as a patterned system of texts, message, talk, and dialogue. Gendered health discourses are widely shared discussions or ways of talking about health, geared toward one sex or the other, that promote the idea of gender differences and support gender inequality. Gendered health discourse is conveyed primarily through media outlets, and shapes how people think about, identify, and treat health issues, as well as how men and women interpret their bodies’ meaning and worth. Analyzing gendered health discourse reveals cultural values and belief systems with regard to health and gender, as well as how gender inequality is reproduced.