ABSTRACT

Medicalisation studies became popular in the early 1970s when sociologists began to explore the expanding realm of medicine.6 Hyperactivity, menopause, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism were among the first medical diagnoses that were analysed critically within this frame of reference.7 One of the predecessors, Austrian-Mexican theologian and social critic Ivan Illich, had already written about medical imperialism, but others saw more complex social forces and processes that could be bi-directional and partial rather than complete.8