Kelsey Warkentin-Week 10

Kelsey Warkentin

These three articles, “PMS as a Culture Bound Syndrome”, “Women with Disabilities” and “Stigma Management” may seem to be covering different sociological ideals. Yet when analyzing every aspect, they are all actually very similar. Throughout this course we have talked about how people perceive one another, and these articles are just more examples of this. Whether the readings talk about men, women or disabled persons, it is important to keep in mind how and why people perceive one another in certain ways.

“PMS as a Culture Bound Syndrome” was an article not only about the history of PMS, but how it is not viewed the same way in every country. In the United States, women with PMS are seen as “menstrual monsters”. They are perceived as violent and crazy, someone that people don’t want to be around. But PMS wasn’t always such a big deal. Before the 1970’s-80’s, PMS wasn’t a recognized syndrome. Although in 1981, there was a court case involving female murderers. There punishment ended up being lessened because they claimed they were “PMSing”, therefore they felt out of control and were acting like “monsters”. Ever since that case, PMS has become well known in the United States and some other countries. Women tend to use it as an excuse for their feelings and actions, but should they? Women are menstruating much of their lives. Regardless of their symptoms of PMS, is it fair to overplay the syndrome? Dr. Chrisler argues that it’s not because PMS is “culture bound”. A culture bound syndrome is a constellation of symptoms that have been categorized as a dysfunction or disease in some societies, but not in others. Basically, PMS does exist, but it is viewed and acted on in different ways. Women in other countries report little to no symptoms of PMS, whereas people here describe it as a “psychological inconvenience”. In our society, PMS is completely negative and depicts women as unstable. And because our country is developed, stable and industrialized, women with PMS are seen as unhealthy. PMS also hits on gender roles because its gets rid of equality. Women who make a big deal out of PMS are perceived as week, emotionally unstable and overdramatic. Therefore, PMS (in this country) diminishes gender equivalence by categorizing women a certain way. In the end, Chrisler argues that our situation does not relate to other countries. Thus, PMS is a culture bound syndrome because “it is only necessary in societies in which women have made major gains toward equality of rights and opportunities”. All in all, while we may be a mature country, we should not perceive PMS as negative because it will cause our country to take a few steps back in the gains we’ve made in feminism and equality.

            Like the previous article, “Women with Disabilities” focuses in on how people with disabilities (especially women) are perceived unfairly in society. They are seen as people who are week and disadvantaged, unable to be normal. Thus, women with disabilities have a constant pressure to conform to majority norms. Although, before we talk about the pressures women experience, we must talk about the differences between the women’s and disability and rights movements. First of all, people with disabilities aren’t raised by or with other disabled people whereas women are. Therefore they isolate themselves from people who they can relate to. Also, in the women’s movement, women advocate for themselves, whereas mothers of disabled children usually advocate for people with disabilities. One of the last differences is about reproduction. Women fight for reproductive freedom whereas disabled persons are fighting to remain alive and be born! All of these differences intertwine when we focus in on a woman with a disability. These people are constantly being affected by the myths of sexuality, the ability to be a mother, divorce issues and pregnancy. Because of the myths of sexuality (ex. Women with disabilities can’t function sexually), these women are least likely to get married, which also limits them to be a mother and be pregnant. I think that Olkin wrote about women specifically with disabilities because the two issues relate so much. As said in the article, “the effects of being a woman and person with a disability are not simply additive, they interact synergistically”. Women and people with disabilities have always been perceived as inferior to the rest of society. Therefore life is a harder for a woman with a disability then a man with one.

            Interestingly enough, “Stigma Management” focuses in on men with physical disabilities. In general, people with disabilities frequently experience forms of devaluation and discrimination. People view the differences in a disabled body as negative with a condition of helplessness, passivity and dependency. Having a physical disability often reduces opportunities and affects the attitudes of others. Men specifically feel the need to compensate for a reduced stigma. In numerous interviews with male college students, the article talks about how the involvement in sport and physical activity may be one strategy to manage the stigma of a disabled body. The primary themes in these interviews were a sense of physical competence and enhanced body appearance. Some secondary themes were physical skill, a fit healthy body, a muscular body and a liberated body. Men with disabilities who participated in sports believed to be countering stereotypes. They felt that being fit and athletic influence the attitudes of others around them. The concept of “getting bigger” made them feel more masculine and more able. This idea reminded me of the “Adonis complex” and how so many men are becoming obsessed with their appearance. The fact that disabled men see being athletic as fitting in just shows how true the Adonis complex and “body panic” is. In fact, at the end of the article, the article states that the compensations men go through portray a “socialization for the demonstration of masculine characteristics”. When people see men with disabilities working out or playing sports, the views of them change. While this may not be the most ideal way to manage stigma, it does change the way people perceive men with disabilities.

            While all of these articles analyzed different things, a common theme between all of them was perception. No matter who you are, society is going to perceive you a certain way whether it’s because of your gender, appearance or disability. Women with PMS are characterized as unstable monsters. Women with disabilities apparently can’t sexually function. And men with disabilities are thought to be unmasculine. No matter what the stereotype, its up to us to defy them. Those groups of people are only perceived those ways because of societal flaws, and it is up to us to change them.