Cult Med Psychiatry. 1988 Jun;12(2):219-38.

Biomedical versus cultural constructions of abnormality: the case of idiopathic hirsutism in the United States.

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Dept. of Sociology, University of Cincinnati, OH 45221.

Abstract

From an examination of (1) psychological and social stresses documented by the medical profession of women with amounts of hair departing from what is considered to be the "feminine" distribution of hair (idiopathic hirsutism), (2) biomedical information about male and female hair growth and distribution, (3) definitional influences of society, and (4) instrumental maneuverings of depilatory industries, this paper offers insights about the alteration of natural female facial and body hair to conform to a social construct of gender status. Although the hair problem is interesting in itself, its implications are much broader, for what lies behind conceptions of abnormality is a biological reality mediated by social constructs and classificatory schema.

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