ABSTRACT
Gender-role stereotypes and inequalities need to be understood in the context of a system of power-structured relationships. This chapter explores how gender stereotypes impact on our health and well-being and on our relations to society and the wider world. High scores on authoritarianism were related to traditional gender-role identity and attitudes, rating political events concerning women as less important, and rating feminists and women as having relatively more power and influence in society. Some health and well-being issues are more commonly associated with one gender. For example, dementia, depression and arthritis are more common in women. Men are more prone to lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and suicide. However, the three leading causes of death in the Western world are cardiovascular disease, cancer, and accidents. The two main factors implicated in better health are eating and exercise. Both show gender differences.
