Date of Completion

Spring 5-1-2020

Thesis Advisor(s)

Cathy Schlund-Vials; Xinnian Chen

Honors Major

Physiology and Neurobiology

Second Honors Major

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Disciplines

Interprofessional Education | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

“Intersectionality, Access, and Women’s Health: Engaging and Enacting a Feminist Model of Health Care” takes seriously the potential role feminist theory can play in the making of a more accessible and effective model of medical care. In terms of theory and methodology, this thesis draws upon Kimberlė Crenshaw’s influential notion of “intersectionality” as a means of mapping multiple identities and subjectivities; as an additional lens, the thesis accesses Audre Lorde’s insistence that one cannot rely on established systems as the basis for progressive politics. Consistent with the reflexive dynamics of intersectional feminism, and guided by the notion that the personal is indeed political, this thesis likewise utilizes the author’s personal experiences and familial history to establish a distinct academic and professional trajectory. This trajectory presages an intersectional analysis of women’s health and contextualizes the author’s use of feminist practice in a medical setting.

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