To conclude, Illich’s (1976) notion of ‘medical imperialism’ is a complex statement as the medical establishment is continuously growing and developing non-medical problems into medical issues which need to be defined and treated.  However after looking over the life course of males and the changes that their bodies go through it is clear to see that medicalisdation plays a huge role. Issues such as ED and baldness have been taken and given a medical surrounding which offers males treatments to cure. These issues as shown can cause a lot of knock on effects to male’s mental health which in itself is another pathway medicalisation. Due to the demand and popularity of products surrounding baldness and ED for example, men are now lead to believe this is necessary to reach a ‘normal’ body type when they are aging.

The natural life course of ageing men has been reviewed and the evidence suggests ‘medical imperialism’ is highly prevalent today. Men are pressured and surveyed and their bodies are normalised then compared to make abnormal or sick bodies.

Bibliography

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Bordo, S. (2003) Unbearble Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body (10^th ed.)

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Rosenfield, D and Faircloth, C.A. (2006) Medicalised Masculinities.

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The contents of this blog will look at whether Illich’s (1976) notion of ‘medical imperialism’ is valid today.  With the medical establishment growing and rapidly developing non-medical problems into medical issues makes this statement complex and complicated.  According to Conrad (2007) The medical establishment has become controlling and have authority to define what is ‘normal’ and ‘deviant’ bodies because they produce pharmaceutical products which help individual’s bodies become ‘normal’ such as Viagra. However, Illich’s statement is complex because it is not just the medical profession who have the authority but the social movement is also indicators of what is classed as ‘normal’ bodies and health and what should be treated. This will be discussed looking at some case studies of medicalisation in this blog such as: men’s bodies, men’s gay bodies and transgender bodies.

Medicalisation is dynamic and can expand in many different directions. Today we are even seeing ageing men’s bodies become medicalisaed too. The movement of aging from a natural life event to a medical problem in need of treatment (Estes and Binney 1989) is an example of medicalisation. While earlier studies have highlighted the medicalisation of women’s bodies (Reissman 1983; Martin 1987; Riska 2003), today there is a common desire from men, medical professionals and entrepreneurs that focus on particularly physical strength, energy and sexual vitality to achieve reaching old age with the same essential masculine qualities that are present at a younger age. The medicalisation of men has often not been by design, but concepts such as hair loss, erectile dysfunction and andropause have been through medical discoveries for other things (Conrad, 2007).

Within an ageist society where aging is often resisted and feared (Conrad, 2007), medicalisation brings to light negative social beliefs about the fears of the ageing process in men where as this is a natural process. Rather than accept the natural progression of the life course, we medicalise old age in an attempt to control it (Katz and Marshall, 2004).

Although research argues that women are more vulnerable to medicalisation due to traditional definitions of a healthy body (Peterson, 1984), we are still aware of the medicalisation toward men’s bodies and how they are affected, especially socially. With a variety of social traits that are seen to make a man masculine, for example, testosterone (increasing sex drive), musculature, aggressive behavior, hair growth all natural diminishing as a man ages, this can become a psychological issue for any individual as they may begin to feel ‘less of a man’ (Bordo (1993). “With its perceived potential to return the ageing male body to a state of socially valued youthful vigor, testosterone has an almost magical attraction. Current media attention, the development of new pharmaceuticals, and the push to cast male ageing and testosterone in medical terms are contributing to the further medicalisation of the male body” (Conrad, 2007: 27). On the turn of the 20^th century a shift in focus from physiologists occurred, they became more concerned with masculinity opposed to fertility as they defined men in terms of ‘manliness’ not reproduction (Rothman and Rothman, 2003).  When the male hormone was discovered in 1935, pharmaceutical companies jumped onto this and published articles at the time painted men, who did not have testosterone therapy, as pathetic, broken men with little ability to function in a society which demanded so much of them (Kearns, 1939). Therefore the isolation of testosterone became a drug in search of a disease to treat (Conrad, 2007). All of this feeds into hegemonic ideal of masculinity and wraps up ideas of a healthy body as being a masculine one ultimately resulting in a growth of the medicalisation of men’s bodies and this growing view as the body ‘as a machine’. Supporting that statement, testosterone is usually portrayed as something that is ‘running out’ and that needs ‘topping up’. In addition, it appears that more prescriptions are cosmetic opposed to health related.

Baldness

“The medical profession is hesitant to call baldness a disease however the medicalisation of baldness is gaining momentum in the light of new treatments for hair loss” (Conrad, 2007: 34). During the late 19^th century scientific ideas were brought to light about male baldness.  Hats were seen to be a cause as it was believed the pressure of the hat was stopping the heads circulation and preventing the hair to be nourished. Also the ‘germ theory’ arose, whereby it was thought a microbe could cause baldness. Today, the medical understanding of baldness is that is it referred to as ‘androgenic alopecia’ and there is a disagreement as to whether it is a medical condition or not.  Testosterone has a significance in baldness too as it is the male hormones which are making the changes resulting in hair loss.

The physical change during ageing, loss of physical strength, hair loss, sexual prowess and dependency can often cause psychological distress and mental health issues. Research has found that hair loss within men is associated withdepression, low self-esteem, neuroticism, introversion and feelings of unattractiveness (Willmouth and Russell, 1995).  

In the birth of the clinic, Foucault argues how the medical profession received respect by using “scientific” knowledge which gives them power in characterising reality (Foucault, 1975). In relation to men, sociology theorists state that men’s bodies have been socially constructed and several factors have influenced the way we view the male body, such as pharmaceutical influences and the media (Harvey, 2013).

Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Erectile dysfunction is when a male has the inability to have an erection for sexual activities, and this is a common problem. It will happen to most males in their lifetime however the effects of this on males and even their partners can be psychologically harmful. This can have a dramatic effect on masculine self esteem and their sense of masculinity (Tiefer, 1994). With stress, relationship concerns, too much alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs or just being worries all being a cause of ED the target group for Viagra changed to expand its influence and ‘female Viagra’ is also in the making (Hartley, 2003).

Initially tested as a heart medication, Viagra was not originally developed for ED. Therefore, if any group can be held responsible for the initial push to get Viagra on the market, it is the pharmaceutical industry (Carpiano, 2001). In the past ED treatments (i.e., penile pumps, injections and implants) were developed with only the intention of managing or curing the condition.  Furthermore, because no clinical definition exists for what comprises a normal erection (Tiefer, 1994), any erection that is not fully erect can be viewed as a problem by the patient, even if he has no problems functioning sexually. The fact that urologists did not help develop Viagra, combined with the lack of definition for a normal erection, tends to lend further credibility to the argument that Viagra has been passively medicalised (Carpiano, 2001).

Overall, men and masculinity have been omitted from the process of medicalisation until recently. It is clear they are becoming part of a process of medical surveillance and control (Conrad, 2007). Medical treatments can help men to achieve a youthful appearance and performance. Hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 2005). There is a substantial amount of evidence to support Illich (1976) notion of ‘medical imperialism’, as stated, normal bodily functions relating to aging such as baldness and erectile dysfunction are being medicalised. This is due to the infiltration of medicine into everyday life through labels or treatments that redefine ‘normal’ and ‘healthy’ male bodily functions. As the body declines this leaves men in peril searching for solutions to restore or retain the body where parts of ageing is seen as controllable. Behind all of this is a huge capitalist market and corporate interest and men are a part of this, pushing medicalisation forward.

References:

Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body

Carpiano, R, M. (2001). Passive Medicalisation: The Case of Viagra and Erectile Dysfunction, 444-445

Conrad, P. (2007) The Medicalisation of Society. On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Estes and Binney (1989). The biomedicalization of aging: dangers and dilemmas

Foucault, M. (1975) he Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception. A. M. Sheridan Smith, trans. New York: Vintage Books cited in

Harvey, K. (2013). Medicalisation, pharmaceutical promotion and the Internet: a critical multimodal discourse analysis of hair loss websites. Social Semiotics, 23(5),

Illich, I. (1975) Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health, London: Marion Boyars

Katz and Marshall, 2004, Anti-Aging and Biomedicine: Critical Studies on the Pursuit of Maintaining, Revitalizing and Enhancing Aging Bodies

Peterson, A. (1998) Unmasking the Masculine: Men and Identity

Pylypa, J. (1998) Power and Bodily Practice: Applying the Work of Foucault to an Anthropology of the Body, University of Arizona, Department of Anthropology

Rothman and Rothman. (2003) The Medicalisation of Society, 99-104