Men, Women And Madness: Understanding Gender And Mental Disorder

Men, Women and Madness Also by Joan Busfield Thinking About Children: Sociology and Fertility in Post- War England (with Michael Paddon) Managing Madness: Changing Ideas and Practice Men, Women and Madness Understanding Gender and Mental Disorder JOAN BUSFIELD Consultant Editor: Jo Campling © Joan Busfield 1996 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1996 978-0-333-46369-7 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WlP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1996 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-46370-3 ISBN 978-1-349-24678-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-24678-6 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British library. Transferred to digital printing 2005 Contents List qf Tables and Figures Vlll Acknowledgements X Priface xi 1. Introduction PART I 1 GENDER, CONSTRUCTS AND SERVICES 2. The Gendered Landscape Gender and Diagnosis Gender, Age and Mental Disorder Marital Status, Social Class and Ethnicity Historical Changes Conclusion 13 3. Gender and Feminist Theorising The Concept of Gender Theorising Gender The Foundations for a Theory of Gender 31 4. Mental Disorder, Medicine and the Regulation of Rationality The Terrain of Mental Disorder Theorising Mental Disorder The Regulation of Rationality 5. Measuring Mental Disorder Patient Statistics Community Surveys The Case of Depression Conclusion v 14 22 25 28 30 32 38 48 51 52 60 69 76 77 82 90 95 vi Contents 6. Gender and Constructs of Mental Disorder Chesler's Analysis Official Constructions Gender, Agency and Rationality Normal Cases Case Identification Conclusion 98 99 102 105 108 114 117 7. The Historical Context Societal Categories of Madness and Mental Disorder Institutions for Lunatics Outside the Asylum Community Care Conclusion 119 120 123 129 133 138 PART II GENDER AND THE ORIGINS OF MENTAL DISORDER 8. Biological Origins Nineteenth-Century Ideas Twentieth-Century Ideas Conclusion 143 146 152 164 9. Feminist Psychologies and Gendered Individuals Feminists and the Freudian Heritage The Case of Anorexia N ervosa Conclusion 166 167 175 186 10. Stress and the Gender Division of Labour Stress and Mental Disorder The Gender Division of Labour Conclusion 188 189 200 207 11. Trauma and Powerlessness: War and Sexual Violence 209 212 War, Masculinity and Shell-Shock 222 Violence Sexual 229 Conclusion Contents 12. Conclusion An Alternative Approach Policy Implications VII 230 232 232 Notes 241 Bibliograpfry 256 Name Index 274 Suiject Index 280 List of Tables and Figures Tables 2.1 Episodes of Illness in General Practice for Selected Diagnoses by Gender, England and Wales, 1981-82 17 2.2 All Admissions to Mental Illness Hospitals and Units, England, 1986 21 2.3 Patients Consul