Chapter 10

Question 1

Sociological Perspectives of the Body

Answer 1

Sociological focus on the body goes beyond the physical or biological aspects
- Focus on social & cultural influences on the way we interpret & experience the body

Question 2

Embodiment

Answer 2

The lived experience of both being a body and having a body

Question 3

Social Construction of Chronic Illness

Answer 3

• Important to understand individuals’ experiences of health & illness
• Understandings & experiences of chronic illness are mediated through culture, ethnicity, class & age
• Meanings of illness & bodily experiences are shaped through our social interactions & social context

Question 4

Irving Zola

Answer 4

The process by which people construct symptoms as illness is complex
- people seek medical advice because of social-psychological circumstances

Question 5

Acute Illness

Answer 5

Develops quickly & is short lived

• Can be treated or goes away on own
• Does not affect self-identity

Question 6

Chronic Illness

Answer 6

Ongoing, recurrent, non-communicable disease (except HIV)

• often lasts a lifetime, is degenerative & has no known cure
• Often need to manage illness constantly
• May face unpredictable symptoms & trajectory
• 16 million Canadians & families are affected by chronic illness
• Cardiovascular disease type 2 diabetes, & cancer are leading causes of death & disability

Question 7

Implications for Relationship with the Body

Answer 7

• Research has found that chronic illness damages individuals’ relationship with body, self-identity & social world
• Our body is taken for granted or absent (Leder, 1992) until illness arises, especially when we are young
• Ill health brings our physical being to the forefront of consciousness
• Can no longer function in the same way and may struggle with what was previously taken-for-granted
• Reminds us of our limitations, dependencies & mortality

Question 8

Implications for Self-Identity

Answer 8

• Who we are is linked to our bodies & everyday functioning
• The Self is a social product that arises only in interactions with others & evolves with time
• Chronic illness often challenges & disrupts our sense of Self- can constitute a ‘diminished self’ or ‘loss of self’
• Former self crumbles due to implications of illness & development of new self does not readily occur
• Experiences & meanings on which people had built former positive self-images are no longer accessible

Question 9

Implications for Anticipated Life Course

Answer 9

• Radical assessment of one’s self in relation to one’s past & one’s future occurs in light of changed & changing capacities

Question 10

Chronic Illness as Biographical Disruption (Bury 1982)

Answer 10

• Study of middle-aged individuals with rheumatoid arthritis
• Required the examination of various aspects of life, including everyday activities, relationships & expectations for the future
• This is especially true for those who experience illness as “off-time” such as young adults

Question 11

Implications for Everyday

Answer 11

• The biomedical approach is limited in its ability to account for the complexity of chronic illness
• Need to understand the subjective experiences of those affected & what is involved in managing illness
• Life takes on a new schedule; medication, appointments, uncertainty etc.
• The nature of time changes

Question 12

Social Implications

Answer 12

• Experiences of chronic illness take place within a broader cultural context in which certain discourses surround health & illness
• Societies develop social meanings of bodily states, which influence individual experiences, expectations for illness behaviour & social status
• Cancer experiences include social response & cultural meanings

Question 13

Social Stigma

Answer 13

A physical or social trait that results in negative social reactions such as discrimination & exclusion

Question 14

Extent to which illness is stigmatized varies by

Answer 14

1. The specific character or how illness is acquired
2. Contested illnesses especially, chronic pain & fatigue
3. When illness results in loss of independence & ability to fulfill roles

Question 15

Healthism (Crawford, 1982)

Answer 15

In Western culture, it is a prominent discourse which suggests that individuals should take responsibility for health

• produces stigma & feelings of blame & judgement
• reflects neoliberal ideology & belief that individuals possess control over well-being
• Can cause individuals to be judged for whether they deserve to be ill
• People can also be judged by how they act when ill

Question 16

Constructing Chronic Illness Online

Answer 16

• Due to illness-imposed limitations, stigma & other factors the internet has become an important social space for those with chronic illnesses
• Online support forums are very popular & give people a place to share their experiences & information & to access support
• Gives lay people the opportunity to give voice to the condition based on lived experience, which can involve challenging dominant characterizations & stigma

Question 17

Berard & Smith (2018) Fibromyalgia

Answer 17

*Explores the use of social media (Instagram) by individuals affected by Fibromyalgia

Question 18

Chronic Illness

Answer 18

Recurrent or ongoing & typically lasts over a person’s life time
-has a physiological basis & generally can be identified using diagnostic procedures

Question 19

Impairment

Answer 19

Loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical functions (WHO)
- Result of genetic disorder,, injury or trauma

Question 20

Disability

Answer 20

Any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a manner considered ‘normal’

Question 21

Rioux & Daly (2010)

Answer 21

Chronic illness & disability are often conflated because of the biomedical reading of the disabled body as ill

• but people with disabilities experience periods of good & ill health just like everyone else
• Defining disability, impairment or illness is political

Question 22

Disability as individual pathology (Biomedical)

Answer 22

• Locates problem within individual (a condition or pathology)
• Assumes impairment= abnormality
• Focuses on functional limitations & diagnosis & treatment of dysfunction
• Medical profession act as gatekeepers for who is considered disabled & receives benefits, accommodations, specialized training, etc.

Question 23

Disability as social pathology (sociology)

Answer 23

• Critiques individual pathology model for failing to look at societal factors & how they prevent certain individuals from leading their lives as they would like
• Locates disability within society, not within individual
• Whether something is constructed as a disability is dependent on physical, social & cultural environment in which people live
• The social system is the disabling factor

Question 24

Systemic Discrimination

Answer 24

When organizational structure, policies, practices & procedures serve to discriminate against certain groups of people

Question 25

Environmental Approach

Answer 25

Disability arises from the failure of environments to accommodate people's differences & needs

Question 26

Right-outcome approach

Answer 26

Underscores respect for diversity, right to autonomy & inherent self-worth of all

Question 27

Criticisms of social model

Answer 27

- Does not address personal experiences of impairment - Does not account for the pain & suffering that accompanies impairment - Does not address the intersecting sources of oppression for some

Question 28

Wendell (2001, 2010)

Answer 28

* Draws upon feminist theory in her work on disability & the construction of the body - Wendell & others highlight the need to recognize diversity & variation in how disability is socially experienced, defined & marginalized

Question 29

Healthy Disabled

Answer 29

People whose physical conditions & functional limitations are relatively predictable & stable - Wendell & others highlight the need to recognize diversity & variation in how disability is socially experienced, defined & marginalized

Question 30

Unhealthy Disabled

Answer 30

People with obvious impairments that limit participation in various activities on a regular basis

Question 31

4 groups of people who experience systemic discrimination

Answer 31

1. Aboriginal peoples 2. women 3. Visible minorities 4. Disabilities

Question 32

Equality

Answer 32

Everyone must be treated the same

Question 33

Equity

Answer 33

Ensuring fairness through a recognition of difference

Question 34

Eldridge v. BC

Answer 34

affirmed when it ruled that the provincial government was discriminatory in its health-care services because it did not include sign-language interpreters as an insured service not did it require hospitals to provide such services

Question 35

Disease

Answer 35

Refers to a biophysical condition diagnosed by a medical practitioner

Question 36

Illness

Answer 36

The subjective response to a disease

Question 37

Embodiment

Answer 37

The lived experience of both being a body and having a body

Question 38

Sickness

Answer 38

Refers to the actions an individual takes while sick, including taking on the sick role

Question 39

Sick Role

Answer 39

A concept used by Talcott Parsons to describe the social expectations of how sick people should act and how they are meant to be treated

Question 40

WHO

Answer 40

Chronic diseases are the most significant cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 36 millions death a year

Question 41

Canada and Chronic Diseases

Answer 41

* 3 out of 5 people over the age of 20 have a chronic disease and 4 out of 5 are at risk * 2014, 67% of deaths were attributed to one of the four major chronic diseases

Question 42

Four Major Chronic Diseases

Answer 42

1. Cancer 2. Cardiovascular disease 3. Diabetes 4. Chronic Respiratory Disease