What progress has been made across generations with regard to women’s health and well-being?

What progress has been made across generations with regard to women’s health and well-being?

Exposure to women’s experience through women’s words provides a glimpse into the complexity of women’s lives. Part of that complexity is the difficulty in separating different areas of a woman’s life. Life experiences blend into one another, each influencing the other. Each experience is filtered through a previous experience, thus connecting them all. Women’s experiences with health and well-being are closely connected.

Consider the intersections between physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of women in the world today. For many women, the absence of health in one area may prevent a total sense of well-being. Issues of healthcare access, violence, poverty, security, and a sense of having a voice in the community impact the health of women. Similar to the connection between women’s health and well-being is the connection between individual health and a community’s health. This week, through a literary lens, you make connections between women’s health, well-being, and social change, critiquing literature and its techniques to effectively convey women’s experiences A young girl, aged 5, whose basic needs are met, experiences an uninhibited sense of self. Confidence and curiosity permeate her orientation to the world and her place in it. Her body is not a burden and her mind and spirit are united. Unfortunately, that confidence, positive body image, and positive sense of self can diminish as she grows up.

What are the factors that cause this perception of self to change over time? What images, words, laws, social norms, and experiences present barriers to maintaining a healthy sense of self? In this week’s Discussion, you explore connections between self-concept and health and well-being and how these connections reflect an awareness of and/or a need for social change.