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Sex-Role Stereotypes in Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2020

Mary B. Mahowald
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Abstract

I argue for compatibility between feminism and medicine by developing a model of the physician-other relationship which is essentially egalitarian. This entails rejection of (a) a paternalistic model which reinforces sex-role stereotypes, (b) a maternalistic model which exclusively emphasizes patient autonomy, and (c) a model which focuses on the physician's conscience. The model I propose (parentalism) captures the complexity and dynamism of the physician-other relationship, by stressing mutuality in respect for autonomy and regard for each other's interests.

Type
Articles
Information
Hypatia , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , Summer 1987 , pp. 21 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 by Hypatia, Inc.

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