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Abstract(s)
Ao longo dos anos, acontecimentos naturais, próprios do desenvolvimento humano,
como a gravidez, o parto, a infelicidade, o envelhecimento e a morte passaram a estar
sob o escrutínio e controlo médico. Passámos a tomar como natural o facto de
precisarmos de cuidados de saúde de rotina, o que, de certo modo, veio retirar a
autonomia aos indivíduos para lidarem com a dor e o sofrimento. O corpo feminino foi
sempre mais medicalizado, quando comparado com o corpo masculino, pois a
medicina, apropriava-se dele como objeto de saber, principalmente no que dizia
respeito à sua sexualidade e reprodução. Esta medicalização advinha sobretudo da ideia
de que o corpo da mulher era sinónimo de doencificação, uma vez que a medicina tinha
o poder de transformar questões fisiológicas em doenças, assim a gravidez e a
menopausa eram entendidas como patologias, a menstruação era associada a
distúrbios crónicos e o parto tornou-se um evento cirúrgico. A menopausa é uma das
fases do ciclo reprodutor da mulher, mais propriamente a cessação da menstruação que
leva à perda da fecundidade, e, como tal, também se viu sob alçada do olhar biomédico.
Definida como doença, devido à redução de estrogénios, a toda a sintomatologia que
lhe está associada, bem como às complicações de saúde que podem surgir no pósmenopausa, esta fase foi alvo de medicalização, através de terapia de reposição
hormonal, a qual acarreta inúmeros riscos. O discurso pejorativo estimulado pela
medicina em torno da menopausa, acaba por gerar uma perceção negativa sobre esta
fase. Impondo-se como uma das etapas mais temíveis, a menopausa apresenta-se como
uma fase de perdas, colocando a autoimagem das mulheres em causa. Numa sociedade
em que os padrões de feminilidade estão enraizados em princípios de juventude,
beleza, fertilidade e sexualidade, a mulher irá ser confrontada com o seu novo “eu”. A
perceção da menopausa varia de mulher para mulher, consoante os contextos sociais e
as biografias individuais, o que estimulará a produção de significados diferentes entre
si. neste sentido ue se torna im ortante olhar al m da defini o biom dica da
menopausa e estudá-la como um fenómeno social, como tal a presente investigação visa
analisar os impactos da construção social e da medicalização da menopausa na vida das
mulheres.
Procedeu-se a uma revisão de literatura com particular enfoque na análise sociológica
dos seguintes temas: a tese da medicalização, o controlo social do corpo feminino e a
definição biomédica de menopausa; e a construção social da menopausa, significados
culturais e sociais da menopausa e os impactos trazidos por esta fase. Uma vez que se
pretendeu analisar a forma como as mulheres constroem a menopausa, e os seus pontos de vista quanto ao impacto desta fase sobre si mesmas e na vida quotidiana,
dando voz e analisando as suas perspetivas enquanto mulheres ativas na construção da
realidade através da atribuição de significados ao social. Adotou-se um enfoque
metodológico de âmbito qualitativo, tendo sido realizadas 20 entrevistas
semiestruturadas individuais. No que diz respeito aos principais resultados obtidos
com a investigação, destacamos que a forma como as mulheres constroem a
menopausa e os significados que lhe atribuem surgem sobretudo da interação entre as
influências dos especialistas, as influências sociais e culturais, as suas observações e
experiências pessoais, assim como da inter-relação de diferentes formas de
conhecimento e de saber interrelacionados, como o saber biomédico e o social. A
construção que as mulheres fazem da menopausa, influencia a perceção que estas têm
sobre a sua própria experiência individual, como a sua feminilidade, a sua sexualidade,
a sua perda da fertilidade, a sua autoestima, mas também o impacto que esta fase causa
na vida profissional e conjugal.
Along the years, natural events, proper of the human development, such as pregnancy, childbirth, unhappiness, agedness and death came under medical scrutiny and control. It became normality the requirement of routine medical care that in a way, withdrew the individual autonomy to handle pain and suffer. The feminine body has always been more medicated, when compared with the masculine one, since medicine seized it as a knowledge object, mainly in what concerns sexuality and reproduction. These medications accrue mostly from the idea that the female body was a synonym of sickness, since medicine had the power to turn physiological questions into diseases. In this way, pregnancy and menopause were understood as pathologies, menstruation was linked to chronical disturbs and childbirth became a chirurgical event. Menopause is one of the phases of female reproduction cycle, more precisely the ceasing of menstruation that leads to loss of fecundity, and, as such, also saw itself under the remit of biomedical look. Defined as disease, due to estrogenic reduction, all the symptoms associated, and the health complications that may follow the post menopause, it was target of medication, through therapy of hormonal reposition, which brings a various number of risks. The pejorative speech stimulated by medicine around menopause, generates a negative perception on this phase. Imposing itself as one of the most feared phases, menopause presents itself as a loss phase, putting the self-image of a woman in cause. In a society where the pattern of feminism is unrooted in youth principles, beauty, fertility and sexuality, women will be confronted with its new "self". Menopause perception varies from women to women, according the society contexts, and the individual biographies, which stimulates the different meanings amongst themselves. In this sense, it becomes important to look behind the biomedical definition of menopause by studying it as a sociological phenomenal, as such, the present investigation, pretends to analyse the impacts of the social construction and medicalization of menopause in women life. A literature review was performed, with focus in a sociological analyse in the following topics: the medicalisation thesis, the social control over the female body and the biomedical definition of menopause; and the social construction of menopause, cultural and social meaning of menopause and the carried impacts for this phase. Once it was intended to analyse the way women build menopause, and its points of view in the impact of this phase on their own and their quotidian life, by giving voice and analysing their perspectives as active women in the construction of reality through the meaning attribution of social. A methodological focus of the qualitative ambit was adopted, being performed a total of 20 individual semi structured interviews. In what concerns the principal results obtained with the investigation, we highlight that the way women build menopause and the meanings that are attributed to it emerge mostly of the interaction between the specialists influences, the social and cultural influence, their observations and personal experiences, as well as the interrelations of the different ways of knowledge and interrelated savvy, as the biomedical and social knowledge. The construction that the women do of menopause influences the perception that they have on their own personal individual experience, such as its feminine, sexuality, loss of fertility, their self-esteem, but also the impact that this phase causes in the professional and marital life.
Along the years, natural events, proper of the human development, such as pregnancy, childbirth, unhappiness, agedness and death came under medical scrutiny and control. It became normality the requirement of routine medical care that in a way, withdrew the individual autonomy to handle pain and suffer. The feminine body has always been more medicated, when compared with the masculine one, since medicine seized it as a knowledge object, mainly in what concerns sexuality and reproduction. These medications accrue mostly from the idea that the female body was a synonym of sickness, since medicine had the power to turn physiological questions into diseases. In this way, pregnancy and menopause were understood as pathologies, menstruation was linked to chronical disturbs and childbirth became a chirurgical event. Menopause is one of the phases of female reproduction cycle, more precisely the ceasing of menstruation that leads to loss of fecundity, and, as such, also saw itself under the remit of biomedical look. Defined as disease, due to estrogenic reduction, all the symptoms associated, and the health complications that may follow the post menopause, it was target of medication, through therapy of hormonal reposition, which brings a various number of risks. The pejorative speech stimulated by medicine around menopause, generates a negative perception on this phase. Imposing itself as one of the most feared phases, menopause presents itself as a loss phase, putting the self-image of a woman in cause. In a society where the pattern of feminism is unrooted in youth principles, beauty, fertility and sexuality, women will be confronted with its new "self". Menopause perception varies from women to women, according the society contexts, and the individual biographies, which stimulates the different meanings amongst themselves. In this sense, it becomes important to look behind the biomedical definition of menopause by studying it as a sociological phenomenal, as such, the present investigation, pretends to analyse the impacts of the social construction and medicalization of menopause in women life. A literature review was performed, with focus in a sociological analyse in the following topics: the medicalisation thesis, the social control over the female body and the biomedical definition of menopause; and the social construction of menopause, cultural and social meaning of menopause and the carried impacts for this phase. Once it was intended to analyse the way women build menopause, and its points of view in the impact of this phase on their own and their quotidian life, by giving voice and analysing their perspectives as active women in the construction of reality through the meaning attribution of social. A methodological focus of the qualitative ambit was adopted, being performed a total of 20 individual semi structured interviews. In what concerns the principal results obtained with the investigation, we highlight that the way women build menopause and the meanings that are attributed to it emerge mostly of the interaction between the specialists influences, the social and cultural influence, their observations and personal experiences, as well as the interrelations of the different ways of knowledge and interrelated savvy, as the biomedical and social knowledge. The construction that the women do of menopause influences the perception that they have on their own personal individual experience, such as its feminine, sexuality, loss of fertility, their self-esteem, but also the impact that this phase causes in the professional and marital life.
Description
Keywords
Feminilidade Construção Social Envelhecimento Fertilidade Medicalização Menopausa Mulher Sexualidade Trh