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The implications of objectification theory for women's health: menstrual suppression and "maternal request" cesarean delivery.

Andrist LC

Professor and Director, Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. landrist@mghihp.edu

Menstrual suppression with oral contraceptives and cesarean delivery on maternal request (CDMR) are relatively new options for women and increasingly are available, particularly in developed countries, around the world. In this article, I explore these issues using objectification theory as a framework for deconstruction. I offer a provocative hypothesis: Women who objectify their bodies are not only interested in menstrual suppression, but also in surgicalized childbirth at their request. I argue that because patriarchal societies have aligned women's reproductive functions with nature, disinterest in menstruation and vaginal childbirth has become another way for women to separate themselves from their "earthly" nature and transform or maintain their bodies as idealized cultural symbols.

Published 25 April 2008 in Health Care Women Int, 29(5): 551-65.
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