Women's troubles: The impact of gendered assumptions in women's experiences of diagnosis and stigma.

研究目的：探讨性别框架在多大程度上影响生活经验的性质，从而与标准的女性气质相抵触。方法：在社会建构主义和批判现实主义思想的理论重叠范围内，这项研究将进一步发展对诊断范畴如何在性别背景下以可能影响疾病生活经验的方式进行解释的理解。两个研究不足的群体--多囊卵巢综合征妇女(PCOS)和高功能自闭症妇女(ASC)--是内在兴趣的案例研究，并构成了将慢性病作为一种性别经验进行深入社会学分析的基础。对多囊卵巢综合征和自闭症的医学和文化表现的话语分析(在硕士论文中)支持了对女性经历的博士水平的探索，特别是诊断和耻辱的经历。混合方法(定量调查和定性照片日记访谈)将能够选择不同的样本，并将适应预期的交流偏好的多样性。除了统计分析，定性数据分析的系谱方法将借鉴福柯和戈夫曼的观点，以洞察人际交流和制度权力如何塑造女性的诊断和耻辱经历。贡献：分析两种可能被认为违反标准女性气质的条件，这项研究将产生有助于将医疗保健经历作为一种性别现象的长期辩论的知识。它将扩展与患有多囊卵巢综合征和自闭症的女性之间可能存在的医疗不平等有关的社会学知识，并增加我们在性别、健康和身份认同之间的交叉点的理解。

Study objective: To explore the extent to which the gendered framework in which diagnostic categories are operationalised influences the nature of lived experience in conditions that contravene normative femininity. Methods: Working within the theoretical overlap of social constructionist and critical realist thought, this research will further develop understandings of how diagnostic categories are interpreted in gendered contexts, in ways that may influence lived experiences of illness. Two under-researched groups - women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and women with high-functioning autism (ASC) - are case studies of intrinsic interest, and form the basis of an in-depth sociological analysis of chronic illness as a gendered experience. A discourse analysis of medical and cultural representations of PCOS and ASC (in the MA dissertation) supports the doctoral level exploration of women's experiences, in particular, experiences of diagnosis and stigma. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative surveys and qualitative photo-diary interviews) will enable the selection of a diverse sample and will accommodate anticipated diversity in communication preferences. Alongside statistical analysis, a genealogical approach to qualitative data analysis will draw on Foucault and Goffman to offer insight into how interpersonal exchanges and institutional power shape women's experiences of diagnosis and stigma. Contribution: Analysing two conditions which could be considered to contravene normative femininity, this research will generate knowledge that contributes to long-standing debates about healthcare experiences as a gendered phenomenon. It will extend sociological knowledge relating to possible healthcare inequalities among women with PCOS and ASC, and add to our understanding at the intersection between gender, health and identity.