"The fact that there are more women doesn't guarantee anything": The feminization of obstetrics and gynecology and the experiences of female medical professionals in Mexico

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2014.396

Published 2 December 2014 Open Access


María Pozzio Doctora en Ciencias Antropológicas. Becaria posdoctoral, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (CONICET-UNQ). Docente, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina




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Keywords:

Gender, Anthropology, Health Professions, Medicine, Mexico


Abstract


In the framework of an increasing feminization of the medical profession in Mexico, this article explores the characteristics of this process in the obstetrics and gynecology specialty. Understanding feminization as a process of change to be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, the article focuses special attention on the experiences of female obstetrician-gynecologists within a medical specialty that has since its origins functioned as a mechanism of control over women's bodies. Based on ethnographic research, the article combines statistical and archival sources and field observation. The interviews reveal the experiences and tensions women obstetrician-gynecologists encounter in this context.