ABSTRACT
The distinction between sex (biology) and gender (social) has been a conceptual treasure trove for research on health, but one that nevertheless has harboured problems. The foremost of these has been the tendency to draw research in one of two directions. One strand of research has stressed women’s parity with men, played down biological difference in favour of social similarity and viewed the route to liberation in women’s equal access to positively valued social positions that have traditionally been the preserve of men. Research on gender inequalities in health grew out of and generally continues within this framework. The other strand has tended to emphasise women’s difference from men, has taken the reproductive body as the major site of women’s oppression and has viewed the route to liberation in female difference. Research on reproductive health has been associated with this position.
