From evil to illness: Medicalizing racism

Journal/Book: Amer J Orthopsychiat. 2000; 70: 330 Seventh Ave, 18Th FL, New York, NY 10001, USA. Amer Orthopsychiatric Assoc. 28-32.

Abstract: Arguments for treating racism as an illness or an addiction are critiqued, and it is suggested that such efforts constitute a step backward in the battle against racism and discrimination. Medicalization, rather than being a catalyst for social change, is a mode of social control. The assumptions underlying the disease model are examined, and a strategy is outlined for dealing with racism as a structural phenomenon broader and more complex than personal prejudice and individual pathology.

Note: Article Wellman D, Univ Calif Santa Cruz, Dept Community Studies, Santa Cruz,CA 95064 USA

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