A large body of research suggests human health is strongly influenced by social circumstances. Living in societies that are more unequal is associated with negative health outcomes.
Photo: Pexels
Share this article
Gender disparities in health are not a phenomenon unique to the pandemic. Long before COVID-19, women made less money than men, had more child care responsibilities and were at increased risk of gender-based violence. But now, the pandemic has made women and their children even more vulnerable.
Women typically live longer than men but experience generally worse health, including higher risk for many chronic diseases, a phenomenon often referred to as the health-survival paradox. Many see this as due to biological differences between women and men. Female reproductive hormones affect many tissues in the body; pregnancy and childbirth come with additional risks to health.
But a large body of research suggests human health is strongly influenced by social circumstances. Living in societies that are more unequal is associated with negative health outcomes. Preferences for sons can cause neglect of daughters, which can lead to poor health and even death. What role, then, do gender norms play in subtler gender health disparities?
Two of us are anthropologists, the other an epidemiologist. Together our team developed a study to investigate how male-biased versus female-biased gender norms impact health.
That study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted in two farming communities in southwestern China. Both communities, part of the Mosuo ethnic minority, share a common language, religion and rites of passage. They differ, however, in one key way that made this unique study possible: kinship.
Some Mosuo pass land and other resources from mothers to daughters. Anthropologists call this system matriliny. The role of men in Mosuo families is de-emphasized, although some take active roles as fathers and husbands. About 30% are in walking marriages: Men and women are together at night, but do not formally marry. Instead, the men remain part of their mothers or sisters household. The men in matrilineal communities often provide financial support to women, and the walking marriages, though easy to dissolve, are often monogamous.
Compare this with a smaller, less well-known population of patrilineal Mosuo, who typically marry monogamously and pass inheritances from fathers to sons. They are more similar to many Euro-American families, where gender norms typically empower men.
With that as background, we began to wonder if the Mosuo would show evidence of improved health for women in matrilineal communities, where women have greater autonomy and access to resources. This proved difficult to test, because communities differing in kinship and degree of womens autonomy also differ in other ways.
Our team traveled to hundreds of households in both the patrilineal and matrilineal communities of Mosuo. We asked participants about their social, economic and household circumstances. We measured their blood pressure and collected small specimens of blood for other health assessments. From that, we could compare matrilineal and patrilineal communities, and we found this: Gender disparities in health were completely reversed in matrilineal communities.
Womens health was poorer than mens in patrilineal settings. But it was better than mens in the matrilineal communities. There, womens rates of chronic inflammation were roughly half of mens, with rates of hypertension roughly 12% lower.
Both chronic inflammation and hypertension are early indicators of long-term chronic disease. Both put people at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders and death. The poorer health that women experienced in the patrilineal Mosuo communities likely occurred due to differences in daily experiences, including stress that accumulated both in the short and long term.
Our findings challenge simplistic notions that biology is the only or primary determinant of gendered health differences. This is not a new revelation, but the study suggests an even stronger role for culture than previously evidenced.
This does not mean biology plays no role in the health differences between men and women. Virtually all diseases are biological at the cellular level. But emphasizing only biological differences assumes everything else between men and women is equal. This is rarely, if ever, the case.
Child care and household duties are easier when women have help and autonomy. Mosuo women in both matrilineal and patrilineal communities take on substantial responsibility for both. But those in matrilineal communities do so with greater autonomy and more support from relatives and childhood friends. Those in patrilineal communities are more isolated from their sisters and often take on household chores with less help.
These findings are relevant to womens health, not just in Mosuo communities, but elsewhere. Everyones health is affected by their autonomy and access to support. Now, with a better understanding of how kinship and gender norms can impact womens health, we can work to lessen health disparities and decrease the ever-growing burden of chronic disease.
A version of this piece was previously published in The Conversation.
Read the original here:
Women's Health Is Better When They Have More Autonomy in Society - BRINK
- Global Women's Health Diagnostics Market Report 2021-2025: Home Care Segment is Expected to Register the Highest Growth - PRNewswire - February 20th, 2021
- Lindsey Vonn's Home Workout Is So Intense She's Dripping Sweat Off Her Chin - Women's Health - February 20th, 2021
- Lockdown is hitting women's health, warns Tanni Grey-Thompson - The Guardian - February 20th, 2021
- New Research Published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology Confirms Black Women More Likely to Receive Inferior Breast Cancer... - February 20th, 2021
- Ashley Judd Shares Photos, Video After Breaking Leg In Democratic Republic Of Congo - Women's Health - February 20th, 2021
- Urinary Incontinence in Women Common, but Treatable - WebMD - February 20th, 2021
- Heres Exactly What SWEAT Trainer Kelsey Wells Eats In A Day - Women's Health - February 20th, 2021
- Local nonprofits awarded grants from Chester County Fund for Women and Girls - The Phoenix - February 20th, 2021
- Women's Health Announces 4th Annual National Workout Buddy Day On March 1 - PRNewswire - February 17th, 2021
- Talking Women's Heart Health Until We're Red in the Face - TCTMD - February 17th, 2021
- Yelitsa Jean-Charles On Why She Created The Healthy Roots Doll - Women's Health - February 17th, 2021
- 'I'm A Longtime 'Bachelor' Fan And Chris Harrison Must Go For The Show To Have A Future' - Women's Health - February 17th, 2021
- New research suggests women underreport pain in the presence of men - Women's Agenda - February 17th, 2021
- Speakers at Howell Foundation event review top women's health stories of 2020 - La Jolla Light - February 16th, 2021
- Reality Steve Just Shared The Bachelor's 'Women Tell All' 2021 Spoilers - Women's Health - February 16th, 2021
- See red for womens heart health month: Valley Views - cleveland.com - February 16th, 2021
- America Ferrera's Anti-Aging Skincare Routine And Products - Women's Health - February 16th, 2021
- How Did Elisa Lam Die At The Cecil Hotel? All The Theories, Explained - Women's Health - February 16th, 2021
- 2021 Reset: Jacqui Mooney on the Women's Health Magazine comeback - Mediaweek - February 16th, 2021
- How Many COVID-19 Variants Are There? The 3 Most Concerning Strains, Explained - Women's Health - February 16th, 2021
- Is Elisa Lam's Tumblr From 'The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel' Active? - Women's Health - February 16th, 2021
- What Nina Dobrev And Shaun White's Body Language Says About Their Relationship - Women's Health - February 6th, 2021
- Female-Founded and Owned, First-to-Market Women's Health Company pH-D Feminine Health Announces Revenues Doubled to $12MM in 2020, Will More Than... - February 6th, 2021
- Veteran Biotechnology Executive Elizabeth Cormier-May Recruited to Lead Women's Health Startup Mammogen Inc. - PRNewswire - February 5th, 2021
- Athena Film Festival Sets Curated Sections Centered Around Women's Health, Dismantling White Supremacy, Other - Hollywood Reporter - February 5th, 2021
- Jenna Dewan On Postpartum Life, Pilates, And Why She Follows An 80-20 Diet - Women's Health - February 5th, 2021
- National Wear Red Day: Perspectives on Women's Cardiovascular Health - MD Magazine - February 5th, 2021
- Womens Health: Cancer disparities in Black women - NEWS10 ABC - February 4th, 2021
- HealthyWomen and Black Women's Health Imperative Partner on National Obesity Awareness Campaign - PRNewswire - February 4th, 2021
- Womens health is better when women have more control in their society - News24 - February 4th, 2021
- Mirrabooka womens health service named finalist in industry award - PerthNow - February 4th, 2021
- 'What It's Like To Have Multiple Sclerosis As A Black Woman' - Women's Health - February 4th, 2021
- Jessica Alba, 39, Shared Her Nighttime Skincare Routine, and Its Full Of Honest Beauty Products - Women's Health - February 4th, 2021
- Heres how Texas GOP lawmakers are pushing to restrict abortion - The Texas Tribune - February 4th, 2021
- Does Aspira Women's Health Inc (AWH) Have What it Takes to be in Your Portfolio? - InvestorsObserver - January 31st, 2021
- Biden expands ACA, Medicaid access, protects women's health rights - UPI News - January 31st, 2021
- Women's health is better when women have more control in their society - Trumbull Times - January 31st, 2021
- Im A Breastfeeding Mom And An Emergency Room Doctor: This Is Why I Got Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Women's Health - January 31st, 2021
- Your February 2021 Horoscope Is Here, And Friendship Is More Important Than Ever - Women's Health - January 31st, 2021
- Who Is Wendy Williams' Son, Kevin Hunter Jr.? What To Know About The 20-Year-Old - Women's Health - January 31st, 2021
- What are the symptoms of HPV in women? Signs, testing, and treatment - Medical News Today - January 31st, 2021
- Concert Health Completes $14M Series A Financing to Deliver Evidence-based Behavioral Health Services at Scale - Business Wire - January 31st, 2021
- What is colitis? Definition, types, symptoms, treatment, and more - Medical News Today - January 31st, 2021
- Nurx CEO on what's next for women's health in 2021 - Mobihealth News - January 15th, 2021
- Piped water boosts women's health, happiness and income in rural Zambia - Reuters - January 15th, 2021
- Inside Out Foundation to host 9th Annual Women's Health Seminar virtually Saturday - fox34.com - January 15th, 2021
- What Is Resistance Training? Benefits, Examples, And How Start - Women's Health - January 15th, 2021
- Eat Healthy, Be Active Community Workshops implemented with rural Hispanic women - DocWire News - January 15th, 2021
- New Haven "Go Red for Women" Event on Feb. 11 - Yale School of Medicine - January 15th, 2021
- Why Did LeeAnne Locken Leave 'Real Housewives Of Dallas' Before Season 5? - Women's Health - January 5th, 2021
- Platonic Friendships And How To Make It Work, Per Experts - Women's Health - January 5th, 2021
- Texas gives Medicaid recipients on Planned Parenthood until Feb. 3 to find new provider - The Texas Tribune - January 5th, 2021
- National Women's Hockey League partners with Yale on COVID-19 testing - Yale News - January 5th, 2021
- Immunity-boosting foods for women over 40 - The Indian Express - January 5th, 2021
- Hologic to Acquire SOMATEX, Leader in Biopsy Site Markers and Localization Technologies, for $64 Million - Business Wire - January 5th, 2021
- Oregon out of top 10 of womens Top 25 after loss to UCLA - NEWS10 ABC - January 5th, 2021
- Women's Health Day is Feb. 6 | Bandon News | theworldlink.com - Coos Bay World - December 27th, 2020
- NON-FICTION: ADDRESSING WOMEN'S HEALTH - DAWN.com - December 27th, 2020
- Womens Health: Fighting obesity - NEWS10 ABC - December 27th, 2020
- Should Pregnant and Breastfeeding Patients Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? - University of Michigan Health System News - December 27th, 2020
- Fibromyalgia affects seven times more women than men. Why don't we know how to treat it? - Women's Agenda - December 27th, 2020
- Jessica Alba's Got A Fresh New Perspective On Exercise, Family, And Business - Women's Health - December 23rd, 2020
- Will Aspira Women's Health Inc (AWH) Beat the Rest of the Stocks in the Healthcare Sector? - InvestorsObserver - December 23rd, 2020
- Dr. Pimple Popper Just Squeezed The Biggest Blackhead With A Tool To Match In New Instagram Video - Women's Health - December 23rd, 2020
- Women's Probiotics Benefits for Women's Health Go Beyond the Digestive System, Says Brand - PRNewswire - December 23rd, 2020
- Are Tayshia Adams And Zac Clark Still Together After 'The Bachelorette' 2020? - Women's Health - December 23rd, 2020
- Is Aspira Women's Health Inc (AWH) The Right Choice in Diagnostics & Research? - InvestorsObserver - December 23rd, 2020
- My journey to becoming alcohol-free and how you can do the same in 2021 - Women's Agenda - December 23rd, 2020
- Provident Healthcare Partners Advises Mid-Atlantic Women's Care On Its Affiliation With Unified Women's Healthcare - PRNewswire - December 23rd, 2020
- Anxiety before period: Causes and treatment options - Medical News Today - December 23rd, 2020
- Rhia Ventures Invests in OCON Healthcare's Ballerine, the first ever 3D spherical copper intrauterine contraceptive with a superior safety profile, a... - December 23rd, 2020
- Menopause discharge: Is it normal, and what is healthy? - Medical News Today - December 23rd, 2020
- Embry Women's Health: Some patients need to be retested for COVID-19 - FOX 10 News Phoenix - December 18th, 2020
- Women's Health USA Continues Growth in Nevada With First of Its Kind Partnership - Business Wire - December 18th, 2020
- Gal Gadot Ate Five Times A Day On Her 'Wonder Woman 1984' Diet - Women's Health - December 18th, 2020
- The COVID-19 Vaccine Has Finally Arrived. Experts Explain How It Works, And When You Can Get It - Women's Health - December 18th, 2020
- Should You Buy Aspira Women's Health Inc (AWH) Stock on Thursday? - InvestorsObserver - December 18th, 2020
- Ice Baths: Benefits, Do's And Don'ts, Research, And More - Women's Health - December 18th, 2020
- Where Is Bennett Jordan Now And What Is He Up To Post-Bachelorette 2020? - Women's Health - December 18th, 2020
- Jesy Nelson Leaves Little Mix: Being in the Band Has Taken a Toll on My Mental Health - Women's Health - December 18th, 2020