The collection of readings we’ve reviewed and discussed all targeted a different aspect of gender, health, and/or medicine. All varying from each other, the topics ranged from definitions of “illness” and medical perceptions of gender to global health issues and the idea of health being a right to all humanity. No matter how different the topics appear on the exterior, they still shared commonalities. The main viewpoint that I kept seeing as an underlying message in most of the articles was the discrepancy among perception. Our world has such differing societies and cultures and with that comes different beliefs and viewpoints on life; health is no exception to those diverse viewpoints. Health and illness do not even share the same definition in all areas of the world. In the text written by Judith Lorber and Lisa Jean Moore, they explain, “Illness is not just a physical state; it is a social phenomenon. Different cultures consider some physical states “illness” that others consider “normal.’” Maybe this is why our world cannot seem to come together and agree on simple necessities of health. As displayed in some of the later articles, health disparities are occurring all over the world, examples including poor healthcare and treatment for “non-white, non-upper class” individuals in our own backyard and the HIV/AIDs epidemic leaving fellow human beings with daily suffering, death, and becoming orphaned. Can it possibly be that all the health “problems” in our world are connected to the fact that humanity simply can’t agree? What is illness to some is not to others, yes. But when illness is recognized by all, not everyone receives help or treatment to promote better health. This leads into the debate about health as a human right. Without good health and sufficient healthcare, we find death to be more frequent and occurring at earlier ages. We don’t all need the exact same healthcare plan, but everyone deserves the chance to maintain (what he/she or his/her culture believes to be) good health. No factors should predetermine whether or not one receives care; a basic form of healthcare should be accessible and affordable to everyone. Whether that means coverage for a yearly doctor appointment/check-up or assistance in paying for vital medications, the definition shouldn’t matter. We can’t continue to make the excuse that one culture perceives health totally opposite from what we perceive as health. We all have the right to live. But in order to fulfill that right, every individual needs the chance to access basic healthcare.
The buildup of discussion and readings about health and its diverse definitions made a large difference in how I reacted to the video, “A Closer Walk.” It tied together my thoughts about healthcare and struck home with a crucial message of the need to help others. Watching the video, images and facts were being thrown at me about the horrific epidemic killing millions of men, women, and children. HIV/AIDs is effecting people all over the planet, and it seems that few are taking notice and helping to change its detrimental affects. The movie immediately made me think of the connection of AIDs and the Holocaust. Over J-Term, I traveled to Central Europe and studied the Holocaust; I was exposed to photos, stories, and sites of former camps that flooded my mind for weeks. People were being killed, tortured, and denied food simply because they did not fall under one man’s definition of “the perfect human race.” One speaker we had during the trip continually emphasized how important awareness is so we do not let history repeat itself. But after watching “A Closer Walk,” I couldn’t help but think that we’re letting history do just what we’ve wanted to avoid. On the exterior, AIDs seems to be unstoppable which is equivalent to the Nazi party in Germany in the 1940s. It’s destroying lives and torturing people, and we sit by watching it happen, doing nothing. Are we scared of taking on the difficult battle just like the Allies were of taking on the Axis Powers in World War II? We can’t let history repeat itself. We can’t stand by watching while a million more innocent lives are taken. The only way to stop it is to fight; we need to fight for medical assistance, proper healthcare, and the education to prevent this from continuing. As history shows, it’s possible to stop the “seemingly impossible” by doing what is right and helping fellow human beings gain back their opportunities to live.
