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Writer: Da'Zhane Johnson
In 1994, President Clinton and Congress passed a law that was recognized by few across the nation. During this time, it became a law to honor the week of June 12th as “National Men’s Health Week.” For a little over a decade now this law has stood and was even expanded. By the late 1990s, June was made Men’s Health Month. However, thousands in the nation have no clue that annual awareness for men’s health exist. In fact, receiving any type of medical treatment is often targeted to women in our society since a woman’s “role” is to be a caretaker, specifically to any and everyone around them. This outdated narrative needs to be revamped.
In respect for Men’s Health Month, let’s dig deeper into why the men-vs.-women narrative is sometimes only a social ploy.
It is no secret that diseases can be sex specific or occur strictly in one sex but not the other. Nonetheless, sex specific diseases shouldn’t be confused with sex biased diseases. Sex biased diseases just acknowledges the “rate of occurrence, mortality rate, or symptoms are not the same in men as in women.” Generally speaking, confusing the two can cause for a disregard for the differences in diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment that may be inconsistent in women and men.
According to Farida Sohrabji, PhD, “[s]ex is determined by the chromosomal makeup, or genes, that make someone biologically male or female ... [while] gender is the interaction of the individual within the environment based on behavioral, social and psychological factors.”
Biologically speaking a woman cannot receive prostate cancer, meaning this disease is sex biased. Women and men can receive strokes; however, the rate of occurrence and symptoms differ with each sex. A stroke is usually associated with slurred speech and droop in the face by society. The symptoms of women have been reported to be less severe like a migraine and pain in the jaw. As a society, we have normalized stereotypical symptoms as the only expectations for diseases, which has led to a discourse in the health of both sexes. This is what Sohrabji meant by gender vs. sex. The same ideal can even be used to explain why men aren’t conditioned to receive breast cancer screenings.
Additionally, symptoms can vary with one’s mental health as well. The concept of depression in women is often connected with sadness, tears, and isolation. In men, these traits are nearly always the opposite. Men will often experience anger, frustration, and risky behavior.
Men’s Health Month has been used to promote awareness and prevention for men across the entire world. It is important to recognize and be well-rounded in the variations that can occur regarding anyone’s health during a month like this. By staying educated on our health, we can take the initiative to identify these symptoms before it’s too late.
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