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Rethinking the label: who benefits from the PMS construct?
1Graduate Programme in Psychology, York University, North York, Ontario, Canada.
Women & Health
|January 1, 1995
Summary
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) lacks consistent definition and treatment despite decades of research. Feminist analysis reveals PMS is a complex socio-cultural construct, not just a biomedical issue.
Area of Science:
- Feminist theory
- Medical sociology
- Women's health
Background:
- Decades of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) research show a lack of consensus on definition, etiology, and treatment.
- The persistence of PMS as a medical category despite inconclusive research suggests it's more than a biomedical phenomenon.
Observation:
- PMS is a complex, ideologically and culturally constructed category.
- Its popularization and medicalization are influenced by historical, cultural, economic, and political forces.
- These forces often rely on unarticulated beliefs about female biology and psychology.
Findings:
- Feminist theoretical literature critiques the assumptions underpinning PMS research.
- The review explores how societal beliefs shape the understanding and medicalization of PMS.
- Emphasis is placed on the role of female biology and psychology in these constructions.
Implications:
- Rethinking PMS requires a cohesive theoretical framework beyond current biomedical models.
- A new lexicon and research questions are needed to explore women's menstrual health.
- Understanding PMS necessitates examining its socio-cultural and ideological underpinnings.