Healthism and the medicalization of everyday life

Authors

  • Robert Crawford School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma. Tacoma, WA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29397/reciis.v13i1.1775

Keywords:

Medicalization, Self-care, Wellness.

Abstract

This article considers some implications of the new health consciousness and movements – holistic health and self-care – for the definition of and solution to problems related to ‘health’. Healthism represents a particular way of viewing the health problem, and is characteristic of the new health consciousness and movements. It can best be understood as a form of medicalization, meaning that it still retains key medical notions. Like medicine, healthism situates the problem of health and disease at the level of the individual. Solutions are formulated at that level as well. To the extent that healthism shapes popular beliefs, we will continue to have a non-political, and therefore, ultimately ineffective conception and strategy of health promotion. Further, by elevating health to a super value, a metaphor for all that is good in life, healthism reinforces the privatization of the struggle for generalized well-being.

Author Biography

Robert Crawford, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma. Tacoma, WA

Doutorado em Ciências Política pela University of Chicago.

Published

2019-03-29

How to Cite

Crawford, R. (2019). Healthism and the medicalization of everyday life. Revista Eletrônica De Comunicação, Informação & Inovação Em Saúde, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.29397/reciis.v13i1.1775