Sarah Wills Week 10

The articles PMS as a Culture- Bound Syndrome, Women with Disabilities, and Stigma Management discuss the affects of “disabilities”. Although the issues discussed in each article may seem irrelevant to each other, they actually have a lot in common.

            The article PMS as a Culture- Bound Syndrome discusses the ways in which society views PMS. As the article points out, PMS has only recently become well known. A few decades ago, when people were surveyed, they didn’t know what the term was, or answered, “Do you mean cramps?”. This PMS phenomenon is very recent and the author, Chrisler, questions the legitimacy of its symptoms and diagnosis. As Chrisler points out, “PMS is not a disease. There are no laboratory findings that can discriminate PMS sufferers from non-sufferers. The symptoms of PMS are not specific to it…the only clinical sign of PMS is that it is generally followed by menstruation”. This shows how there is no real concrete evidence that along with menstruation, there are side affects that affect women days before. The article argues that PMS is “illness behavior” and that women are culturally bound to this condition. Chrisler states that women use PMS as a clutch for acting “unfeminine” and can blame their moodiness on PMS. However, if the convenience factor of PMS is intriguing to some women, Chrisler points out the backlash against using it to women’s advantage. If women are considered “ill” for half of a month, then men will think so as well. This is a hindrance in the workplace as well “self-expression”. Overall, Chrisler questions the legitimacy and severity of PMS. Since women decades ago had never even heard of the term, it raises some questions as to why it is becoming so prevalent in today’s culture.

            The article, Women with Disabilities, discusses the inequality that people with disabilities face, especially women.  One thing that stood out to me form the article is when the author said, “many people wear the gender hat, but usually I am the only one in the room wearing the disability hat”. The author, Olkin, feels the pressure to be the disabilities spokesperson and is labeled as her disability. Olkin discusses the similarities between the Women’s and disability rights movements. She describes both movements as “social constructs”, where the person has not changed but in one environment, a person is disadvantaged, whereas in another environment a person is not. In both movements, the issues have been over generalized, and the minorities have been overlooked. For people with disabilities, the focus is on physical handicaps rather than other forms impairments. In the women’s rights movement, straight, white women were advantaged. Despite the similarities, people with disabilities face many more issues than women in society. People with disabilities are forced to be integrated into a society molded for able-bodied people. Women with disabilities face even more adversity when it comes to pregnancy and sexual attributions. Women are more insecure about decision-making, especially when it comes to child rearing.

            The article Stigma Management discusses the challenges that men face with disabilities. Interestingly, men with disabilities find sports and physical activity a rebellion against their disability. Since athleticism is sometimes definitive of ones masculinity, it is very interesting that men with disabilities use sports as a way to counter their handicap.  The author mentions how swimming can be therapeutic for some people with disabilities. It “frees” them of their chair and allows them to float in the water. Despite what people may think about people with handicaps, sports are a liberating way for some to deal with the challenges they may face.