Lorber would have us believe that the social construction of illness is thoroughly gendered and the only way to make this clear is to understand the daily life experiences of men and women. Lorber argues this is necessary as we experience illness in daily routines and throughout this process with take on and shed various social roles. These roles, akin to Parson’s sick role, are a composite of how we as individuals view our state (illness) and more importantly, how others treat us when we are in a particular state.

Lorber starts from the premise that gender, more than any other social force, is embedded in our social structure, value system, and of course, our Western Medical Model. Her solution is a model that takes this into account and looks to explain differences in life experiences- what she refers to as a Feminist Health Perspective.

So for this week, Lorber sets the theoretical stage and the remaining articles examine, in differing degrees, the role that gender plays in the perception, experience, and treatment of illness.