Abstract
Over the past half century, sociologists
have watched a range of social and personal problems that were previously
thought of as non-medical become
defined as medical problems or “medicalized.” A new book by historian David
Herzberg explores one manifestation of
this trend: the tremendous rise in the use
of psychiatric drugs since the 1950s,
both for serious mental disorders and for
everyday psychic troubles. The widespread use of psychiatric wonder drugs
like Ritalin, Prozac, and Paxil (now household names) has contributed to Americans’ redefinition of what constitutes
“normal mental health.” But shifting
definitions can occur in physical as well
as psychological normalcy. What constitutes “normal height” has, as journalists Susan Cohen and Christine Cosgrove
illustrate in their recent book, changed
dramatically: tall girls have become more
athletically valuable, while boys’ shortness has been increasingly pathologized.
As it happens, happiness and stature
both constitute fascinating entry points
for an analysis of medicalization.