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Young women's perspectives on public health knowledge and adolescent bodies

Department of Sociology, Åbo Akademi University, Åbo Finland, elina.oinas{at}abo.fi

This study examines health information about adolescent bodies from the perspective of young middle-class women, with the aim of determining ways in which health and education professionals could better serve young women. This qualitative study comprised ``memory work'' with eight Finnish women students. The findings suggest that young women prefer the information on menstruation that is given by public health professionals, because of its impersonal form, rather than personal encounters with relatives and peers. The information provided by public health professionals does not, however, meet the women's needs. This discrepancy can be explained by the gap between the narrow medical discourse on women's bodies held by the professionals and the experiences of young women. It is argued that public health representatives need to accommodate their knowledge to the everyday life interests and needs of adolescent women.

Key Words: education • medicalization • menstruation • public health knowledge • young women.

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