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em_r 's review for:
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture
by Daniel Maté, Gabor Maté
challenging
reflective
A slightly mixed bag for me. On the one hand I think lots of coherent arguments were made about the negative impacts a capitalist and hyper materialistic society has on human health - something I've already pondered before so didn't require any convincing on that part, as well as the influence of childhood experiences on later health.
The proposed link between patriarchal expectations on emotional repression and links to the rises in autoimmune diseases / women being disproportionately affected I think carries *some* weight to it, however I wasn't convinced to the extent that the author was implying (particularly due to the rise in numbers being fairly recent, when patriarchal expectations are nothing new at all so it would make sense that there are other factors going on). Yes there's the capitalist influences as loosely outlined at several points, but would also have appreciated a deeper look into medical bias - including the historical lack of research into the female body (something that's only begun to improve relatively recently).
In reference to toxicity at the start the author explains their focus will be on the wider context of social structure (rather than focusing, in the literal sense, on environmental pollutants). However at least some reference around that could still have been included, such as considering:
- the boom of the cosmetics industry + the prevalence of endocrine disruptors and the lack of understanding around female hormones
- the prevalence of micro plastics and the effects on the body
(which all fits within the context of a patriarchal/consumerist society). Tbh those topics could be whole books by themselves so I guess my overall issue was the emotional repression being the running theme; without at least giving clearer nods to potential environmental factors.
TL;DR Overall brings a fresh perspective that's long overdue in western medicine, but I think lacks consideration for other factors influencing health in modern society.
The proposed link between patriarchal expectations on emotional repression and links to the rises in autoimmune diseases / women being disproportionately affected I think carries *some* weight to it, however I wasn't convinced to the extent that the author was implying (particularly due to the rise in numbers being fairly recent, when patriarchal expectations are nothing new at all so it would make sense that there are other factors going on). Yes there's the capitalist influences as loosely outlined at several points, but would also have appreciated a deeper look into medical bias - including the historical lack of research into the female body (something that's only begun to improve relatively recently).
In reference to toxicity at the start the author explains their focus will be on the wider context of social structure (rather than focusing, in the literal sense, on environmental pollutants). However at least some reference around that could still have been included, such as considering:
- the boom of the cosmetics industry + the prevalence of endocrine disruptors and the lack of understanding around female hormones
- the prevalence of micro plastics and the effects on the body
(which all fits within the context of a patriarchal/consumerist society). Tbh those topics could be whole books by themselves so I guess my overall issue was the emotional repression being the running theme; without at least giving clearer nods to potential environmental factors.
TL;DR Overall brings a fresh perspective that's long overdue in western medicine, but I think lacks consideration for other factors influencing health in modern society.