The work of Judith Butler has had hugely influence within different field of critical thinkers and her book Gender Trouble (1990) is regarded as a ‘break through’ within gender studies. It contributed a radical shift in how we came to see ourselves as gendered beings. The main point is that individuals ‘become gendered’ through performative acts. This gives individuals agency, however, the performativity of gender takes place in relation to certain gender norms within a context. Judith Butler sees both sex and gender as something that becomes ‘reality’ through performing. This concerns ontology and is a controversial point within her theory. I was introduced to the thinking of Judith … [Read more...] about Tone Dahl-Michelsen – Gender trouble – 30DoS #11
Does physiotherapy’s hidden curriculum exclude men?
A recent article in The Conversation explored how training to be a surgeon subtly marginalised women and promoted the idea that surgery was a man's world (link). Surgical training was described as 'powerful, visible, gendered and discriminatory'. Over the last few months I've been writing and thinking a lot about the gendering of physiotherapy. Much of that has revolved around the ways that women masseuses in World War I first came into contact with young male bodies, and the brutal ways they went about rehabilitating them. (The image above is from a classic series of postcards that depicted the dominating and and fearful WWI masseuse - see Carden-Coyne, 2008). Anders Ottosson's … [Read more...] about Does physiotherapy’s hidden curriculum exclude men?
When was physiotherapy born?
I've recently been reading quite a lot of new historical writing around the early history of physiotherapy. Much of it has concentrated on the effect of the First World War on the profession in North America, Britain and the Antipodes, but I've also been reading Anders Ottosson's excellent, and provocative recent papers. Many of you will know of Anders's work, especially his paper The manipulated history of manipulations of spines and joints (pdf) and his thesis Sjukgymnasten - vart tog han vägen?: En undersökning av sjukgymnastyrkets maskulinisering och avmaskulinisering 1813-1934, which argue that physiotherapy originated with the mechano-therapy and medical gymnastics of Pehr Henrik … [Read more...] about When was physiotherapy born?
The sociology of everyday
People often think that philosophy and sociology are concerned with grand ideas like hope, suffering, the meaning of existence, and what it means to be good. And while it can be about these things, it often concerns things that are commonplace, everyday and quotidian (a lovely word, meaning occurring everyday, mundane and repeated). The latest special issue of the journal Sociology (link) is devoted to the study of everyday life and asks some really interesting questions that we can use in our thinking and practice of physiotherapy. In the guest editorial, Sarah Neal and Karim Murji argue that, 'In many ways, it is difficult to overstate the significance of the everyday because it is, … [Read more...] about The sociology of everyday
Three theses on gender and physiotherapy
Gender is an issue that has become increasingly important in physiotherapy scholarship in recent years. The first time research by a physiotherapist that specifically addressed this question was a paper by Anne Parry with what must still be the best title for any research paper ever written: Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did backwards and in high heels (pdf). The paper still resonates strongly with me and has some important things to say about our professions gendered history. Anders Ottosson's seminal work on the 'feminization' of physiotherapy in 19th century still stands as one of the most important works on the subject, but there are other important works too, and these … [Read more...] about Three theses on gender and physiotherapy
Critical physiotherapy research update
Lived Observations: Linking the Researcher’s Personal Experiences to Knowledge Development Lisbeth Thoresen & Joakim Öhlén As researchers in palliative care, we recognize how involvement with seriously ill and dying persons has an impact on us. Using one’s own senses, emotional and bodily responses in observations might open intersubjective dimensions of the research topic. The aim of the article is to highlight how phenomenological theories on intersubjectivity can be useful to develop rich and transparent data generation and analysis. We present three field note examples from observation in a hospice ward, which illuminate how researcher awareness of aspects of intersubjectivity can … [Read more...] about Critical physiotherapy research update
Suffrage suspended? Counter-narratives of womens’ quest for professional legitimacy
Each day over the next week I'll post up an abstract for a paper being presented by a member of the Critical Physiotherapy Network at the In Sickness and In Health conference in Mallorca in June 2015. (You can find more information on the conference here.) Suffrage suspended? Counter-narratives of womens’ quest for professional legitimacy David Nicholls A great deal has been written about the role the suffrage movement played in the development of nursing and midwifery during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Much of this research points to roles played by middle- and upper-class women in professionalizing socially validated notions of caring, and the importance of this … [Read more...] about Suffrage suspended? Counter-narratives of womens’ quest for professional legitimacy