Abstract
Research Objective: The present study contends that there is a gap between the way in which the Israeli dominant medical discourse, representing the secular majority, contextualizes and manages the female body, sexuality and menstrual cycle vs. how these are defined and managed by the ultra-Orthodox minority group. This gap can cause uncomfortable meetings with medical professionals, and disrupt the medical care offered to patients. Research Method: Scientific analysis of the literature in the fields of menstrual management in Judaism vs. Western modern medicine, biopolitics and sexual education, multiculturalism and asymmetry between doctors and patients. Also, data from the researcher’s experience in medical sessions with ultra-Orthodox women in an Israeli hospital. Findings: Several gaps were found in such encounters: By turning to the dominant secular health system, the religious women meet another authority – the medical professional, as opposed to the rabbi who customarily determines her life practices. Whereas the discourse on the body in ultra-Orthodox society is closed and alienated, in the medical world it is open and direct. Finally, the way in which the medical establishment proposes to manage body hygiene differs from the customary religious practices in Orthodox Judaism. Implications: Similarities and differences between the conventional medical discourse on the body vs that of the ultra-Orthodox are revealed. The study also illustrates the asymmetrical interaction when medical professional and religious patient meet, the tensions that occur, and the possible ways to reduce them for optimal medical care.
Keywords: Menstrual cycle; doctor patient asymmetry; biopolitics; sexual education; ultra-orthodox women.
How to cite
Sharabi-Nov, A., Cojocaru, S., Rabbinic authority vs. medical biopolitics: ultraorthodox Israeli women encounter the medical. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 8, 403-414. DOI: 10.15405/epsbs.2021.03.02.41.
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