- Title:
- Minor tranquilizing drugs and the medicalization of everyday life, in English-speaking Canada, 1945-1962.
- Creator:
- Crabb, Leona
- Date Created:
- 1997
- Degree Awarded:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Subjects:
- Tranquilizing Drugs Drug Utilization Social Aspects Mental Health Women Social Conditions
- Geographical Focus:
- Canada
- Supporting Materials:
- n/a
- Description:
- In 1955, meprobamate became the first minor tranquilizing drug to appear on the pharmaceutical market in both Canada and the United States. It was promoted as a safe and effective means of alleviating mild to moderate anxiety, tension, and mental stress, and was originally intended for use in clinical practice to treat conditions of a medical nature. But, almost overnight, the consumption of meprobamate became quite fashionable, especially in the show business community and among the middle class. Demand for the drug increased, sales figures grew, and the conditions for which it was used expanded to include minor worries and everyday upsets. Significantly, women were twice as likely as men to receive a prescription for this new product. This thesis explores the meprobamate phencmenon as a case study in the process of medicalization. It asks two main questions: What does the introduction and widespread use of minor tranquilizing drugs in English-speaking Canada during the 1950s reveal about the medicalization of life in general and the medicalization of gender in particular? In what way can this investigation shed new light on the historical interpretation of Canada in the postwar period? Drawing on a wide range of written material, this thesis argues that any postwar analysis of the medicalization process needs to take into consideration the role of pharmaceutical companies. After the war, the drug industry grew dramatically and assumed more and more responsibility for informing and educating both doctors and the general public about the latest in drug therapy. It also arques that the fifties decade in Canada was a time of great paradox in that it was characterized by the desire for progress through medicine and medical science, and the desire for stability through the strict adherence to narrowly-defined gender roles. Meprobamate and other minor tranquilizing drugs promoted by pharmaceutical companies appealed to both the desire for progress and change and the search for stability and status quo. Together, these factors helped contribute to the medicalization of everyday life in general and the medicalization of gender in particular in English-speaking Canada after World War II.
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- Crabb, Leona. 1997. "Minor tranquilizing drugs and the medicalization of everyday life, in English-speaking Canada, 1945-1962.", Department of History, Carleton University
- Link to this page:
- https://cuhistory.github.io/grads/items/hist_207.html
Rights
- Rights:
- Copyright the author, all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.