女性的角色、權力與健康

The Role, Power and Health of Women

婦女的健康問題常與生殖或育兒問題合併為婦幼問題，婦女的健康問題在醫療體系也很少被放在主角的立場來關注。回顧女性的角色在社會建構過程中常是以生理的性別來建構社會性別，在社會脈絡中常是依據刻板印象成為母親、媳婦、妻子及女兒的角色而被對待。在父權化的社會，雖然女性和男性共同攜手創造了當前的生產結構及社會經濟發展，然而其社會地位及價值仍然處於輔助的立場，男女的社會階序仍然有著性別差異與區隔。女性不論在公領域或私領域上其地位及價值常被忽視。女性的地位及權力會影響其身心健康，然而如何影響女性的健康，卻很少被醫護人員討論。本文旨在討論女性的地位如何在社會經濟的發展過程中被社會建構、形塑、漠視及對婦女健康的影響。

Women's health issues, often addressed together with reproduction and children's health under the broad based ”women and children's health” category, receive inadequate attention from the medical system. In retrospect, the social construct of the female role has been grounded in the physiological nature of sex. Thus, women are often treated based on their stereotypical roles (e.g., mother, daughter-in-law, wife, daughter) rather than on their needs as distinct individuals. Although modern society was built by women and men together, patriarchic values continue to relegate the social status and value of women to that of assistant. Social opportunity remains significantly different for men and women, with discrimination persisting. The status and value of women are often ignored in both the public and private sectors. While status and power influences the health of women, such mechanisms are rarely discussed in the medical field. This paper discusses how women's social status has been formed by social and economic development, how it has been ignored, and the influence of such developments on women's health.