Reading Log #6

In this week’s set of readings, the articles were all focused on the idea of authority and ideals of medical experts. Catherine Carstairs and Rachel Elder spoke to the rise of fluoridation in the dental profession and in public health and how there was a very vocal part of society that was against this revolution. In the chapter of Mary-Ellen Kelm’s book Colonizing Bodies, she focuses on how the Canadian government was focused on the medicalization of the indigenous people as a way to integrate them into society. Finally, Cynthia Comacchio  highlights the Canadian’s governments role in controlling the healthcare and body image ideals that children/teenagers should aspire to. After reading both articles and the book, I found that hidden in each reading was an example of people contesting illness and standing up against the medical authorities of the time period. This is interesting, because it highlights how people were constantly aware of the government’s role in society and in many cases they chose to stand up against it. Furthermore, there are suggestions in each reading that people in authoritative roles decided to speak for the entire population. In Comacchio’s article, she highlights how many young men were told that in order to be a man, a boy would have to learn to have “physical strength and dominance”[1]. Which is an ideal that is being placed on a child, who is still growing and learning what it is to be a child, let alone a man. Comacchio also talks about how doctors wanted to keep the healthcare of children to themselves and steer away from routine check-ups in schools. This points to the fact that doctors who insisted upon their authority, often neglected the patients that they should have been treating. In Kelm’s book there are also examples of how doctors mistreated their patients. Kelm states how when doctors were appointed to a certain area, they were often not concerned with the health and well-being of the indigenous community. Kelm comments on how “native people were seldom well-served”[2]. Furthermore, many doctors were simply involved for the salary or the political power that came with the position. The idea of medical authority is also highlighted in Carstairs and Elder’s article. In their article they cite a doctor who is quoted as saying “’the idea of holding plebiscites to decide on fluoridation is a lot of nonsense’”[3]. Essentially, this doctor is saying that citizens should have no voice in their own health. However, Carstairs and Elder point out that many people did not accept this viewpoint and decided to contest it. What I found interesting was that all the readings focused on the medical authority, however, in every reading there was also examples of how citizens contested this idea. Whether that be the indigenous people fighting for proper healthcare and not accepting the drunk or uncaring doctors they were left with. Or the parents and teachers who resisted the medical professionals in Comacchio’s article. Or all the “anti-fluoridationists”[4] that sprung up against the doctors and scientists pushing fluoride down the throats of Canadian citizens. I enjoyed this week’s readings, because they all highlighted the fact that humans have never been completely without agency, even when fighting with the intimidating forces of the Canadian Medical Association.

For my own readings this week, I looked at the article by Ellexis Boyle entitled “Marketing muscular masculinity in Arnold: the education of a bodybuilder”. This article is particularly relevant, because it is directly related to one of the primary sources I chose and it also highlights the effect that marketing can have on male body image. Furthermore, it comments on ideals of masculinity and how these ideas can affect a man psychologically and physically. Boyle comments on how Schwarzenegger contributed to the idea of a “physical perfection” [5] and how that relates to masculinity. In my research project, I really want to emphasize how being healthy is important, but not to the point of psychological or physical damage. I think this article will help to show how having a perfect physical physique may be attractive, but it can also cause unhealthy issues as well.

[1] Cynthia Comacchio, “The Rising Generation: Laying Claim to the Health of Adolescents in English Canada, 1920-70,” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 19, (2002): 142.

[2] Mary-Ellen Kelm, Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900-50 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998): 129.

[3] Catherine Carstairs, and Rachel Elder, “Expertise, Health, and Popular Opinion: Debating Water Fluoridation, 1945-80,” The Canadian Historical Review 89, no.3 (September 2008): 355.

[4] Catherine Carstairs, and Rachel Elder, “Expertise, Health, and Popular Opinion: Debating Water Fluoridation, 1945-80,” The Canadian Historical Review 89, no.3 (September 2008): 355.

[5] Ellexis Boyle, “Marketing Masculinity in Arnold: the education of a bodybuilder,” Journal of Gender Studies 19, no.2 (June 2010): 153.

Bibliography

Boyle, Ellexis. “Marketing Masculinity in Arnold: the education of a bodybuilder.” Journal of Gender Studies 19, no.2 (June 2010): 153-166.

Carstairs, Catherine and Rachel Elder. “Expertise, Health, and Popular Opinion: Debating Water Fluoridation, 1945-80.” The Canadian Historical Review 89, no.3 (September 2008): 345-371.

Comacchio, Cynthia. “The Rising Generation: Laying Claim to the Health of Adolescents in English Canada, 1920-70.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 19, (2002): 139-168.

Kelm, Mary-Ellen. Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900-50. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998.