Metaphors of menopause in medicine : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

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dc.contributor.authorNiland, Patricia Ruth
dc.date.accessioned2010-05-24T03:27:05Z
dc.date.availableNO_RESTRICTIONen_US
dc.date.available2010-05-24T03:27:05Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.description.abstractMedical textbooks have previously represented women’s bodies and menopause life transitions by using notions of ‘machine productivity’ and ‘machine breakdown’ (Martin, 1987). This study aimed to explore whether these representations have changed, especially given recent HRT clinical trial results. Eight relevant compulsory medical textbooks for first and second year medical students at two New Zealand Universities were identified. A Foucauldian discourse analysis (Parker, 1990) was undertaken on relevant content to identify representations of menopause, HRT, women’s bodies, and ageing. Five major discourses were employed in the textbooks in descriptions of menopause and HRT: failure, estrogen deficiency as disease; HRT as saviour; obscurity and the new discovery discourse. Menopause continues to be represented as resulting from a ‘failure’ of a machine-like body. Although the recent HRT clinical trials were reported as a serious risk factor in half of the textbooks, HRT was also represented as a saviour particularly against postmenopausal osteoporosis. The discovery of ‘new’ drugs to ‘treat’ HRT and the ‘postmenopausal’ patient were heralded with much excitement. Medical textbooks continue to use failure discourses to describe women’s bodies at menopause. New risk-based HRT assessments for ‘patients’ with menopause ‘symptoms’ are promoted. These portrayals reinforce linear and reductionist ways of thinking about menopause and women at midlife and provide few spaces for resistance or alternative constructions to more accurately reflect women’s embodied worlds.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/1338
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectMenopauseen_US
dc.subjectPsychological aspectsen_US
dc.subjectHealth psychologyen_US
dc.subjectFoucauldian discourse analysisen_US
dc.subject.otherFields of Research::380000 Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences::380100 Psychology::380107 Health, clinical and counselling psychologyen_US
dc.titleMetaphors of menopause in medicine : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorNiland, Patricia Ruth
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychologyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (M.A.)en_US
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