WS 209 Q - Gender & Health

Minimum Credit(s) Awarded: 4
Maximum Credit(s) Awarded: 4

In this course, we will cover material on both the biology/physiology of individual bodies as well as the social contexts in which people with bodies must function, are viewed as “healthy” or “sick,” and navigate healthcare systems. We will pay particular attention to physiological processes and health concerns that are often understudied or dismissed due to their association with women or female-assigned people, with the recognition that any of these issues may also affect transgender, non-binary, and intersex people, and that there is no “universal experience” of womanhood, physical or social. For example, while menstruation, pregnancy, and birth disproportionately affect women, people who are not women may menstruate, become pregnant or give birth, and people who are women may be unwilling or unable to do any or all of these.

Throughout the course, we will try to highlight the experiences and needs of all people marginalized within healthcare systems and the larger society by sex and gender, including transgender folks, intersex people, and cisgender bisexual, pansexual, asexual, gay, and lesbian people. We will maintain an intersectional lens to explore how people multiply marginalized by other identities such as race, ability, size, etc. are specifically and holistically affected in terms of their health and healthcare outcomes.

Offered Fall