The majority of modern societies have moved past the stereotypical gender roles. However, women have been given a subordinate status due to an inevitable implication of their natural inferiority embedded into male-dominated society. Health gaps, which are associated with such determinants of health as race, class, and wealth, still influence the quality of care provided to the population (Sultana, 2010). Gender has been a less visible contributor to health gaps; however, women are less likely to have their pain treated while their symptoms may not be taken as seriously as those reported by men (Sultana, 2010). These issues reflect the deeply-embedded principles of the patriarchy, pointing to the lacking attention to the health concerns of women. For women, who are continuously exposed to the structures rooted in the male domination, encounters of gender bias in healthcare represent a core issue. The main challenge that women continue being exposed to in modern society is the lack of attention to their health needs due to the male-oriented healthcare system (Koebele & Bimonte-Nelson, 2016). Such as a system does not consider the unique needs and challenges that women encounter on their health journeys. As mentioned by Rotenstein (2018), many women going through menopause, both in general practice and in specialist clinics, have neen misdiagnosed as having depression and given antidepressants by their general practitioners.
Little research has been done on the impact of a male-dominated society on women’s health. The gender roles that are being imposed on women can often be daunting as women are seen responsible for childbearing and taking care of their families while men are the patriarchs of their families and provide for them (Sultana, 2010). Thus, when women encounter such issues as menopause, they are seen as no longer valuable due to their inability to give birth (Horwitz, 2006). In the healthcare context, menopause has been predominantly addressed from the standpoint of hormonal treatment that does not go beyond prescription medication (Lobo, 2013). Other changes, including emotional, are often disregarded due to women being seen as fragile or unserious when reporting their symptoms. Also, misdiagnosis takes place due to the limited understanding of the natural rhythms and fluctuations in reproductive biology, especially during menopause (Koebele & Bimonte-Nelson, 2016). Thus, there is a high need to study the impact of the male-dominated culture on both physical and mental health of women.
Applying the feminist perspective is imperative for revealing the disbalance that exists in the current sphere of health and the lack of attention to the adverse consequences that women experience. As a response to the longstanding tradition of diminishing women’s denigration and abuse in the name of science, many feminist theorists have stated that the path toward equality lies in the denial of biologically based differences between sexes and a focus on the social construction of gender (Kuruvilla & Jacob, 2019). The problem is imperative to study because gender determines the levels of control men and women have over socioeconomic influences of their mental health, their position in society, status, and the exposure to the risks that contribute to psychological complications (Kuruvilla & Jacob, 2019). What is problematic is that such theoretical frameworks as evolutionary psychology explained the elevation of the role of men as an inevitable consequence of evolution, which strengthens male domination that reinforces the idea of women’s inferiority.
Statement of the Problem
The problem to be addressed by this study is the inability of male dominated medicine to appropriately diagnose women with menopause due to the lack of understanding of how the female body works and changes over time. Although equal numbers of men and women graduate from medical school, only a small fraction of female physicians become medical leaders that could work on improving female population health (Rotenstein, 2018). For instance, menopausal women may be misdiagnosed with other conditions, including mental illness, as healthcare providers fail to consider the implications of the hormonal changes in the female body. The quintessential feminine experience associated with menopause has always been viewed medically through a masculine lens (Sharma, 2019). Also, the area of health care has mainly been overlooking the gender-specific issues when preventing or treating common disease, failing to address the most important risk factors, such as sex and gender (Sharma, 2019). Thus, if healthcare is ineffective in addressing the differences associated with physical health, the sphere of mental health related to the socially integrated principles of the patriarchy, is also greatly challenged.
The current male-dominated structure that exists in modern society is a keystone in the societal structure, and it is not something that can be solved within a short timeframe. Therefore, this means that the nuances that come with gender roles and masculine-feminine expectations would continue to persist, and the mental health of those groups who remain oppressed would deteriorate (Sharma, 2019). Due to the limitatios in the ways in which healthcare addresses the health needs of the opposing genders, there is the need to understand the power and privilege that is given to one group, which limits the capacity of healthcare providers to offer relevant care to patients whose biological needs have long been overlooled.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study is to explore the impact of the male-dominated social structures on the health of women who have received care for their menopause diagnosis and the issues that they have encountered during the process. The social structures that exist today elevate the role and the experiences of the male gender. Women are placed in this context and have to deal with their secondary role, proposed to be a result of natural selection and evolutionary environmental factors (Liesen, 2012). Health issues that stem from gender inequality find no support in the sphere of healthcare, which has demonstrated gender bias and the lack of gender awareness (Verdonk, Benschop, de Haes, & Largo-Janssen, 2009).
The problem of care associated with menopause is especially relevant to consider as the history of male-dominated culture has always rejected the process as important to address. For example, the menopausal stage can manifest itself through dozens and hundreds of symptoms, which may last long-term. However, the symptoms are often vague and amorphous and are mistaken for such conditions as mood swings, anxiety, fatigue, allergies, weight gain, and others (Newson, 2017). The fact that the hormonal changes can lead to the symptoms that women experience is overlooked and leads to potential misdiagnosis, which is associated with deteriorating health. As a response to menopause, hormone replacement therapy is often prescribed as the key medical intervention to stabilize estrogen and progesterone levels in a woman’s body (Gersak, Gersak, & Turcin, 2018). Although, such an approach has its risk, and much of the topic is understudied despite the potentially adverse effects on the body. Add to this the wildly fluctuating hormones during menopause, hormone replacement continues to receive mixed results.
Because of the mentioned limitations, this study will involve the experiences of women who encounter gender inequality in their everyday lives to connect them to health issues that may potentially arise as a result of those experiences, such as the challenges associated with menopause and the associated misdiagnosis. Some patients presenting with heart palpitations have been referred to cardiologists while those with urinary symptoms have been referred to urologists, although their age and accompanying menopause symptoms were disregarded (Newson, 2017). Therefore, the symptoms associated with menopause are disregarded as not important and not deserving the attention of the male-dominated sphere of healthcare. With the help of a qualitative approach toward data collection, it is possible to draw from the standpoint of women without pre-established themes or expectations. Approximately 20-30 participants will be recruited through a social media advertisements on Instagram and Facebook groups for menopausal women. As suggested by Vasileiou, Barnett, Thorpe, and Young (2018), studies involving individuals interviews should include no more than 50 participants to ensure the appropriate management of the analytical task’s complexity. The research sites will depend on convenience for the researcher and the participants; a negotiation prior to the interview will take place regarding this issue. It is likely that the researcher will meet with interviewees one-on-one in person or though Skype.
Theoretical or Conceptual Framework
The role of feminist theory is highly relevant to this study because of its attempts to describe and explain how gender systems work, including considerations of normative and ethical issues, such as whether the arrangements established in society are fair (Berle, 2004). Feminism goes against traditional philosophical frameworks with new ways of addressing problems that affect humanity, encouraging the replacement of the dominant male-led structures with systems that focus on equal rights, fairness, and justice. Based on the principles laid out by radical libertarian feminists, the system of patriarchy within which women feel oppressed and limited in their freedoms should be abolished entirely to reach positive outcomes related the freedom to make choices on their health, such as sexual and reproductive rights. This issue is especially relevant in the context of this proposal because radical libertarian feminism suggests that the root of all female oppression is associated with women’s ability to bear children (Berle, 2004). Researchers have traced connections between the decreased mental health of women undergoing the challenges of motherhood, such as post-partum disorder that leads to further complications that require serious intervention. The pressure placed on women regarding their decisions of bearing children can cause significant mental distress, and the radial libertarian feminism implies that the social structures that facilitate such pressure should be abolished.
Applying evolutionary psychology to the current proposal and disputing its principles is important for understanding the emergence of gender roles and their influence on the lives of individuals. Criticism of the theoretical framework is necessary to illustrate the adverse impact of evolutionary psychology approaches, which will also be applied to the current study, on shaping the male-dominated structures and contributing to gender inequality. Evolutionary psychology has defended gender roles and the subsequent inequalities that stem from them as innate, thus insisting that females and males have differentiated strategies of mating (Crane-Seeber& Crane, 2010). Forces of evolution would encourage men to ‘spread their seeds’ through any means possible while women were expected to find dominant mates to ensure the survival of their progeny. It is a standard approach of evolutionary psychology to engage in the inference of genetic selection of specific behaviors and gender-associated personality traits occurs from Darwinian selection and psychological surveys (Zietsch, de Candia, & Keller, 2015). In addition, the arguments of the theory have also been supported by comparing humans to other species, thus underlining the role of alpha males and the submissiveness of females, which illustrates patriarchal assumptions within animal behaviors.
The juxtaposition of feminist theory and evolutionary psychology is expected to illustrate the formation of thought that encouraged the prevalence of male-dominated thought in society. It is notable that evolutionary psychologists have responded to the criticism of their theory by suggesting that the variability in most human traits of behavior does not challenge human nature, which is innate and universal due to shared and functionally specialized cognitive adaptations that can encourage the formation of unique and different life experiences (Crane-Seeber& Crane, 2010). Nevertheless, evolutionary psychology suggests that there is a genetic basis for the history of gender domination. The feminist theory aims to challenge these ideas and calls for the normalization of equality within gender identity. The genetic basis for the domination of males of females supported by evolutionary psychology led to the difference in expectations from males and females.. At the same time with limiting the agency of women along with their creativity, the male domination rooted in the genetic relations led to violence against men who do not repress or brutalize women (Crane-Seeber& Crane, 2010).
The framework guided the research decisions by pointing out the existence of male-dominated relations that developed as a result of the genetic background require the participation of both men and women as well as their acceptance of gendered binaries, the domination of males, the repression of feminine in males as well as the repression of the masculine in females. Because of the risks to develop psychological issues as a result of oppression of females in a male-dominated society, as suggested by feminist theory, a problem and purpose statement were formed. Research questions also heavily relied on the discussed theoretical frameworks as they point to the limitations in the current studies on the topic.
Nature of the Study
The current study aims to approach the issue at hand from the standpoint of phenomenology. Therefore, non-numerical data will be collected to interpret relevant meanings from the collected data to help understand the problem through the study of the target population. In the mental health field, qualitative research has been widely used because of the capacity to focus on descriptive case studies that would contribute to the understanding of the problem at hand. In addition, descriptive phenomenology is appropriate for the current study because of the focus on the social underpinnings of mental health issues, which is the relationship between male-dominated structures and women’s mental health. The techniques for the data collection will include semi-structured interviews that will offer qualitative data to be interpreted in further analysis. The strategy of data analysis is expected to be inductive and based on decsctiptive phenomenology principles (Palinkas, 2015). The qualitative method implemented in this study is expected to be especially useful within the context of the first stages of research because of the capacity to acquire a baseline understanding of the issue. Moreover, since already available research is highly limited, qualitative research will enable the exploration of women’s experiences with mental health within the male-dominated culture. By conducting a qualitative study initially, it would be possible to conduct quantitative research on a similar topic to broaden the scope of the study and contribute to the scientific foundation of social studies and mental health services research.
Study participants are engaged in qualitative research to provide their perspectives on the issue at hand. First-hand experiences of women will reveal the key problems that women experience within the male-dominated setting. The qualitative approach is among the tools that would allow people to speak their minds and express personal opinions instead of conforming to terms and categories that would be imposed on them on others (Jamshed, 2015). Eliciting the perspectives of real participants in the study will serve as a means of enhancing the validity of data that is being collected, which would allow the investigator to compare their personal perceptions of reality with the perceptions of study participants (Palinkas, 2015). Depending on the experiences of research subjects, it is possible to reveal the different ways in which the male domination influences the mental health of women. While some experiences may be negative, illustrating significant oppression of women, other experiences may show no relationship between mental health and the social environment that is predominantly male-dominated.
Thematic analysis represents the core data analysis framework that could be used in the current qualitative research. Such analysis would involve the carrying out of a rigorous review of transcripts and other documents containing the data collected in the course of the study (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Codes will be assigned to the emergent or already established topics. However, it is important to have a holistic perspective on the current study. This perspective will require the investigator to reach beyond the enumerations of themes that emerge in the course of the study to provide a bigger picture to reach a more comprehensive understanding of their meanings, role, relationships, as well as paying specific attention to the context. The analysis is expected to reveal the broader picture of mental health experiences of women living in the context of a male-dominated society.
Research Questions
The research questions for the current study are associated with discovering the effects of male domination on the well-being of women in the sphere of health care. The focus on health is important as the exploration of the theoretical frameworks showed that the male-dominated structurers developed over time to include the characteristics of oppressive structures that diminished the roles of women to childbearing. Thus, there is a need to reflect on the struggles that women face as a result of the structures, with the focus on the limitations in the treatment and diagnosis of the menopause. The research questions are the following:
- How does the medicine in male-dominated culture influence women’s health?
- What are the challenges of misdiagnosis and improper health management in regard to menopausal symptoms?
- How do women navigate the identified healthcare challenges?
Significance of the Study
There is a lack of attention given to women’s health issues within the male-dominated structures, with relevant research that applies to this study focusing primarily on health in general rather than specific limitations, such as menopause diagnosis and treatment. According to Sharma (2019), who studied the application of feminist theory to medical education, there is still not enough understanding and potential applications of feminist theory within the sphere of women’s health. In addition, according to Sharma (2019), the overall approach to gender within medical education was associated with handling gender in isolation from other forms of oppression when it is needed to conceptualize issues that are relevant to gender as more inclusive of other discrimination forms. Thus, as the medical field does not cover problems gender-related as a means for overcoming the challenges that women may face, there is a need to study the issue in further detail, adding to the body of research, which is limited at this time.
The health crisis among women, which has been widely reported, is a challenge that remains unaddressed. According to Hall (2018), women’s health problems are overlooked due to the inconsistency of care, as well as the lack of research and attention to the adverse psychological effects associated with being a woman. For example, the psychological and long-term physical influence of the contraceptive pill remains under-researched despite the fact that the production of a male version was halted for the reasons of the adverse impact on mental health (Hall, 2018). In regards to menopause, both specialized and generalized practice settings are ill-equipped to effectively diagnose the condition as well as recommend sustainable and appropriate treatment that would alleviate the burden of hormonal changes on the body (Newson, 2017). The evidence pointing to the inequality in approaches to the health of women and men shows that the signs of oppression are present while the body of research on the problem is insignificant. The research will also illustrate the disparities embedded in the male-dominated system that prevent gender-sensitive health care from being effective. In most instances, gender-sensitive medicine focuses on women’s health during pregnancy (Regitz-Zagrosek, 2012).
The knowledge acquired with the help of the current research is expected to result in positive changes in the care for women with menopause as well as women overall. The analysis of women’s experiences with menopause-related care in male-dominated healthcare will result in the increased awareness that the population faces on the part of providers. In addition, women with menopause will get to know the perspectives of other individuals in the same position as them, which can foster a sense of solidarity and collaboration to challenge the status quo. Since there is limited research on the identified issue, this study could be regarded as basis for future studies.
For the sphere of health care overall, the study will help overcome the limitations in practice that have been caused by the lack of training and the understanding of the challenges that women face in diagnosis. It will also be empowering for women to learn that the barriers in health that they have faced would be addressed through further research and ongoing practitioner education. For families, the study can be helpful for getting an understanding of critical roles that women play in family dynamics as well as to which extent they rely on external support within the male-dominanted structure.
Definitions of Key Terms
Term 1. Femininity. A set of attributes, roles, and behaviors usually attributed to women and girls from the sociologic perspective (Little, 2014).
Term 2. Gender equality is defined as the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities for both genders, including decision-making and participation (Liesen, 2013). It challenges the ideas set forth by the patriarchy that elevates the role of one gender over the other (Liesen, 2013). The term relates to the current proposal to introduce the principles of equality as solutions to the identified problem.
Summary
The oppression and discrimination that is embedded in the principles of the male-dominated society influence the lives of women and can have a potentially adverse influence on their general health and well-being. The issue to be addressed by this study is the inability of male dominated medicine to appropriately diagnose women with the menopause due to the lack of understanding of how the female body changes. The impact of male-dominated social structures on the health of women who have received care for their menopause diagnosis will be studied in-depth through the phenomenological research standpoint.
Evolutionary psychology has provided longstanding support for the domination of the male gender and the submissiveness of the female gender. However, a radical libertarian feminist framework will be used to oppose the principles of evolutionary psychology to underline the ways in which the male-dominated system oppresses women through the limitations of their freedoms, including sexual and reproductive choices. Therefore, the study will engage real-life participants into qualitative data collection to allow them to reflect on their experiences with health in the male-dominated world to find common themes and patterns, which would point to the wider picture of the problem.
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