Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Protocol for Studying Extinction of Conditioned Fear in Naturally Cycling Female Rats
Published on: February 23, 2015
Sex, gender, and vulnerability
1School of Public Health and Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA. rcsnow@umich.edu
Abstract:
This paper is concerned with how sex chromosomes and gendered experience differentially contribute to health outcomes, and how gender effects provide an under-explored avenue for health intervention. Research on gender and health is currently undermined by conflation of sex and gender in much of the epidemiologic and clinical literature. This precludes any meaningful reflection on the extent to which our genetic blueprint, versus gendered socialization, contributes to the specific health vulnerabilities of males or females. Drawing on the 2002 global disability adjusted life years (DALYs) for males and females, this paper looks at health outcomes that differentially affect males and females, and distinguishes between vulnerabilities linked to the XX or XY genotype, vulnerabilities due to gendered life experience, and vulnerabilities about which we understand relatively little. The paper highlights the dynamic and changeable nature of gendered health vulnerabilities. Given that gender-based risks are, in principle, amenable to social change, they offer untapped potential for health interventions.
Related Concept Videos
Sex Linked Disorders
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Amebiasis
Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin create...
Relationship Formation

