Gender and Health

An Op-Ed piece in the NY Times argues that the medical world is now too focused on women-specific health issues and in the process has neglected men-specific health issues:

Over the past two decades, we've radically revised how we conduct medical research and take care of our female patients. And we've made valuable discoveries about how gender helps determine vulnerability to illness and, ultimately, the timing and causes of death. But I now believe that we doctors and researchers may have focused too much on women.

She suggests the medical world now direct their focus to men's health issues. But why not advocate for equal attention rather than try to promote the needs of one sex above the other?

Comments

[Drew Kaplan]

It may be because male and female physiologies are different? I dunno. One thing I do want to point out is that I don't know what gender has to do with the discussion as much as sex does. But maybe the author of the article isn't aware of the sex/gender distinction.

[Karen]

Drew,

Not sure you understood my question. I was asking why advocate for more resources to go to one "sex" (not gender) instead of alloting nice amounts of resources to both. In any case, I know what you mean about the sex/gender linguistic distinction but the word gender is used instead of sex so often (except in very academic circles) and that may be why it was okay to use it that way.