Illich and Medical Imperialism

Medicalisation is an idea of how the social world understands the medical gaze (Kennedy and Kennedy, 2010). “It can be described as a process by which non-medical problems, usually in terms of illness and disorder” (Kawachi and Conrad:1996 cited in Pollock). In sociology, medicalization is not a “new” concept that has brought some problems when […]

Transgenders and Medicalisation: Theoretical Views and How Medicalisation Has Intervened with The Transbodies of Men and Women

Transgender bodies can be defined in many ways, feminist Meyorwitz (2002) defines it as “transforming bodily characteristics of sex with hormones and surgery” (Stein, 2012). Throughout the history of transsexuality, there have been various forms which have surrounded around how people have desired to be the opposite sex by dressing as a male or female (Meyerowitz […]

AIDS and HIV: Stigma, Medicalisation and Impacts

Illich and Medicalisation Illich, referring to the concept of medicalisation, claims that medicine has the power to baptize the complaints of a patient, legitimate illness, baptise another sick person even though, he does not complain and denies his pain, his disability and his own death. Medicine stigmatises the pain of a person as […]

Death and Dying

If we’d like to give a notion of death or its explanation as the last stage of the biological existence, we should consider the fact that death as an event can be differently described depending on each culture’s perception of it and what chronical period we refer to. However, it is broadly accepted that […]

Conclusion

The chosen case studies support Illich’s argument of “medical imperialism” and “medicalisation”. From the above articles is it perceived that the medical establishment has become a major threat of health. The medical profession dominated medicine. This result is divesting and becomes epidemic, this new epidemic is called “iatrogenesis.” The result is that medicine becomes one […]