title: Male physicians and female health and sexuality in 19th century English and American society.
abstract: Health care and the potential for health occur in a cultural context. Culture varies with time and place. This paper consists of a description of some 19th century medical opinions about female health and sexuality which present day writers have interpreted as being pertinent at the time, to the general medical attitude towards female health in English and American society. It is also possible to discover non-medical implications associated with the opinions. These could be described as cultural implications. They relate in this case to: -the acquiescence of both sexes in the reinforcement of repressive values; the suggestion of punishment of women by physicians for failure in their feminine roles; and the responsibility of females for the degeneration of society.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000266:history*; D012723:Sex; D012922:Social Change; D014481:United States; D014930:Women