A Critical Scrutiny - Research Paper Example

A Critical Scrutiny The National Institutes of Health or NIH is a website which is a significant part of the United sDepartment of Health and Human Services. This website endeavors to tackle issues with regards to the health of individuals, at the same time, giving utmost recognition to the role and contribution of women in consideration to this aspect of life. Keywords: NIH, health, women, role, recognition A Critical Scrutiny The National Institutes of Health or NIH is a website which is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The page of this vital part of the aforementioned health agency can be located at http://www.nih.gov/. For most individuals, man is said to be the focus of everything. Man is supposed to dominate its opposite, that is, a woman. Even though, this may be the perspective for most people, the National Institutes of Health partakes equal information on both genders, it is even apparent that the main page of the website offers facts, news and events that gives high regard to women. This paper will provide an appraisal of the highlighted website focusing on concepts related to women specifically with the aspect concerning their health utilizing the strategies for analysis of women’s health from a feminist perspective.

There are a variety of health websites in the Internet at present but this paper will give attention to The National Institutes of Health or NIH website in particular. Most individuals deem that men are superior to women; hence, this gender should be the bestowed with utmost recognition and attention especially in tackling contemporary issues centering on different aspects of life. However, this is not the case with the website chosen to be explored and scrutinized. The main page of the aforementioned website gives the viewer an outlook on the contents of the website.

The tagline utilized by the National Institutes of Health or NIH website is “turning discovery into health”, such catchy phrase suggest that the website seeks to be in touch generally to every individual without taking into consideration the gender of a person. It is apparent that the institute desires to touch the lives of individuals in general through the means of discoveries which could benefit every person’s health and well-being. The color chosen by the website is blue which may suggest a masculine feel to the website; nonetheless, it is balanced by a white background which is often associated with purity which is often a characteristic or virtue often linked with women.

Therefore, it can be considered that the website gives equal attention to both genders considering that they had balanced a stronger color with a lighter one to imply generalization and to prevent an inclination to the masculine impression when viewing the website. Moreover, it recognizes the women’s agency and role in the midst of social constraints at present and the biomedical paradigm. The website is subdivided into tabs for easier navigation across the site namely, Health Information, Grants and Funding, News and Events, Research and Training, Institutes at NIH and About NIH.

Considering the titles employed for the tabs, it is obvious that there is no gender inclination. The titles utilized by the website suggest gender impartiality, not a word would imply favor towards any of the two genders. The words used pertain to elements concerning the issues regarding people in general and not giving inclination to any gender. In a way, the social construction of genders are given high regard; this website showcases options and choices for both genders giving either viewers of the opposite gender the power to remain in control.

The main page also showcases a slideshow of the current events tackled in the site where a viewer could easily access the shortcut towards the particular topic one wishes to view. The topics presented in the slideshow are applicable to both men and women for the topics chosen were concern on the health of a human person in general. It is also shown that pictures of women are also used here; for instance, in slide 1 highlighting Advancing Translational Sciences, it exhibits also a picture of a woman doctor which suggests that in terms of medical advances and discoveries, women are not behind their opposite with regards to this aspect.

Women are also dominating a field which was previously foreseen to be governed by men. This also stresses the strategy of considering the risks and benefits of generalizations or speaking in terms of a group versus individuals in the sense that this website gives women the chance to exhibit their contributions to society as a group to contradict the typical belief that they are lesser to men in different aspects such as stature. Upon browsing the main page of the website, the picture of the National Institutes of Health director can be seen though he is a male, the website does not suggest adherence to male issues alone for if a viewer will take a glance at the lower part of the main page of the aforementioned website, one can see six links.

The six links at the bottom of the page are Health Topics A-Z, Clinical Trials and You, Feedback NIH, NIH Research Matters Weekly, Translational Sciences and Medical Research Initiatives respectively. With the links previously mentioned, the role and significance of women is implied through the utilization of pictures of women as thumbnails in three of the links specifically, Health Topics A-Z which features a photo of a man embracing a woman depicting the equality between the two genders with regards to focus and concentration in health topics; Clinical Trials and You which uses a general pronoun “You” that could denote either a woman or man who may be viewing the website and a picture of a woman which many know that in clinical trials, women could be vulnerable subjects, it is probably the reason why women seemed to be given significance here and lastly, a picture of a woman scientist showing kids a chemical experiment in the link NIH Research Matters Weekly which suggests that women are gaining reputation with regards to this field of science.

Gender usually defines or affects power relationships, a doctor or a scientist is usually viewed as someone who is a man but in the picture wherein the woman is the scientist counters the usual notion that men are the only ones who can be skillful and experts in the medical or science field. Finally, another apparent example that women are given focus as equal to that of men as shown in the link Medical Research Initiatives wherein there is a shortcut to “Women in Biomedical Careers”, proving that this website recognizes the triumph and contributions of women in the field of health and science.

With the instances presented as depicted in the website tackled, women indeed are given utmost recognition and significance not only in terms of the health aspect but also because of their contributions to the society as a whole. References National Institutes of Health. Main Page. Retrieved January 17, 2012, from http://www.nih.gov/.