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Gender and Ethnicity in Health

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Abstract

There are persistent disparities in health outcomes by ethnicity and gender. This chapter addresses a range of explanations for these disparities including systemic discrimination, the legacies of colonization and patriarchy, and the influence of medical practitioners’ attitudes on their interactions with patients. A case study of discrimination in the United States, including a discussion of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, illustrates its ongoing impact. The chapter concludes that the complex interactions between ethnicity and gender within a wider system of social stratification, contribute to discrimination and oppression which manifest in various forms in health and illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Kevin Dew & Allison Kirkman

  2. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

    Anne Scott

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  1. Kevin Dew
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  2. Anne Scott
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  3. Allison Kirkman
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Dew, K., Scott, A., Kirkman, A. (2016). Gender and Ethnicity in Health. In: Social, Political and Cultural Dimensions of Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31508-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31508-9_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31506-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31508-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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