Essay Question:

 

In what ways have the notions of ‘normality’ and ‘abnormality’ changed since

1979 (the year when Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of the UK

and emphasis was placed upon the New Public Health agenda) and what are the

consequences of this shift for individuals deemed ‘abnormal? (You should

consider how the neoliberal discourse has altered these terms and what impact

this has had upon ‘abnormal’ people, such as the obese, smokers, drug takers

etc.)

 

• Introduction – ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ concept pre and post 1979.

Talking about how the view of what is normal and abnormal has changed over the last 2 centuries. Linking it to the most recent change since NPHA came into place and set a target for the essay: In this essay the subject the social changes that have come alongside with the political changes will be analysed.

 

• Foucault – madness in the eighteenth century and stigmatisation now.

Going a bit into history, how we used to treat people who were considered ‘mad’ and discussing what it is to be ‘mad’ nowadays. Also discussing the stigmatisation of ‘abnormality’ now.

 

• Rise of neoliberalism and its views on the NHS.

Focusing on health and medicalisation, discussing how the political changes since 1979 (so called impact of Thatcherism) have also changed the way the NHS works and what is seen as ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ by professionals and how the NHS now treats people who are deemed ‘abnormal’.

 

• Obesity and ‘abnormality’

Focus on how what is viewed as a healthy diet is every changing and those who are considered obese are stigmatised by the neoliberal society due to their said ‘lack of self-medicalisation’ – example study

 

• Conclusion

Neoliberalism has fundamentally changed the way people with ‘abnormalities’ are treated not just within the community but also when in need of care. As neoliberalism has created a shift from collectivism to individualism, people have also shifted who they see is to blame for ‘abnormality’.

 

Learning Objectives:

 

1. Explain how individual bodies are controlled through social surveillance and

analyse the consequences of this upon their behaviour and identity.

 

2. Cross-apply the theoretical assumptions to contemporary society, specifically in relation to the NHS, media narratives and scientific engineering developments.

 

3. Evaluate a range of sources and theoretical perspectives.

 

4. Demonstrate an understanding of how citizenship rights have become affiliated with an individual’s health and how the ideology of individualisation has re-shaped decision-making processes and the meaning of self-responsibility in countries across the world.

 

UK English and Harvard Referencing!

 

 

‘Normality’ and ‘Abnormality’ in a Neoliberal Society and its Consequences

 

Introduction

 

Over the last two hundred years the view of ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ has changed. With that, so has the way us humans have treated those said to be ‘abnormal’. Foucault (1989) was famously intrigued as to why it took us so long to begin studying and understanding the concept of ‘madness’, as it was only in the nineteenth century that studies were developed and before then, ‘mad’ people were treated as a burden to society and either imprisoned or excluded to the countryside. Since 1979, with the creation of the ‘New Public Health agenda’ the views of ‘normality’ and ‘abnormality’ have shifted and with the rise of neoliberalism, society starts to shift the blame for ‘abnormality’ towards self-surveillance or the lack there of (Petersen, 2003). In this essay the subject the social changes that have come alongside with the political changes will be analysed.

 

Madness in the eighteenth century and stigmatisation in the twenty first century.

In the eighteenth century people who were considered ‘mad’ or ‘insane’ were seen as a burden to the society and society in their turn, agreed that it was appropriate that those ‘madmen’ were kept in confinement and away from the population. As society casted those with ‘abnormalities’ as ‘monsters’ and deserving of violence, it became acceptable for such maltreatment to occur in the civic eyes. As Foucault (1989) explored, ‘madmen’ were punished for what was seen as a lack of self-discipline.

Since the development of psychiatry and the more people started to understand about the mind, the previous treatment of those ‘madmen’ became more controversial and deemed inhumane (Foucault, 1989). Nevertheless, the stigmatisation of such mental illnesses was still at the forefront of the way people were treated.

 

Although the way society treats people with mental illnesses has changed a lot since the eighteenth century and most mental illnesses have been normalised by society, there is still social stigma towards the terminology. A more recent study by Yang et al. in 2006 supports that people who are diagnosed from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, for example, are significantly less likely to get a promotion at work.

 

 

The Rise of Neoliberalism and its views on the NHS

 

Obesity and ‘Abnormality’

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

Reference list:

 

Foucault, M., 1989. Madness and civilization: a history of insanity in the age of reason. London: Routledge.

 

Petersen, A., 2003. Governmentality, critical scholarship, and the medical humanities. Journal of Medical Humanities, 24(3/4), 187-201.

 

Yang, L., Kleinman, A., Link, B., Phelan, J., Lee, S. and Good, B. (2006). Culture and stigma: Adding moral experience to stigma theory. Social Science & Medicine, 64(7), pp.1524-1535.