Addiction, Patriarchy, Capitalism, and Power

Talk about the relationship between “Addiction”, “Patriarchy”, “Capitalism”, and “Power”. Discuss how these concepts affect one another/perpetuate or influence the cycle of addiction. Refer to page 7 of the Northrup piece and reflect on the ways you contribute to the “Addictive System”.
The relationship between addiction, patriarchy, capitalism, and power is often not recognized in our society, much less discussed. Regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge it the relationship exists and, like the circle of life, is cyclical. Unlike the circle of life, the cyclical relationship of addiction, patriarchy, capitalism, and power has many different ways of playing out.
In Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom Christiane Northrup, MD lays out one cycle for us on page six. This circle starts with our patriarchal society which “demands” women to “ignore or turn away from their hopes and dreams in deference to men and the demands of their families.” Because of this, women deny their need for “self-expression and self-actualization” leading to great emotional pain. Rather than face the pain head on, women commonly with turn to “addictive substances” and develop “addictive behaviors”. This process is what Charlotte Kasl refers to as psychic numbing and dissociation in her book Many Roads, One Journey: Moving beyond the 12 Steps. These substances and behaviors result in a cycle of abuse because, according to Northrup, by “being abused or abusing ourselves, we become ill” and “when we become ill, we are treated by a patriarchal medical system.” This system looks down on a woman’s body, which is seen as dysfunctional and it doesn’t bother to look at the whole person or attempt to get to the root of a problem. Rather, our medical system is designed to treat part of a person and believes that science is always right and intuition cannot be trusted. As if these beliefs aren’t hard enough to overcome there is also the issue of access to good medical care. Often women don’t receive the same type of care that men do for the same illnesses leading to more sickness or the development of chronic health problems “for which the medical establishment has no answers or treatments” (Northrup, 6). The cycle starts with a patriarchal society and ends with a patriarchal medical system which we are taught never to question.
In Feminist Perspectives on Addiction Cynthia Downing shows us another cycle. She cites studies showing that women are disproportionately victimized in alcohol related battering, sexual abuse, and rape cases. Child abuse is common when one or both parents are alcoholics, especially neglect which “is a form of emotional violence” (Downing 52). Because the child is being neglected their basic needs are not being met which can lead to impairments that “can contribute to the development of the child’s own alcoholism or drug addiction” (Downing 52).
Capitalism also plays a role in the cycle by feeding into insecurities and addictive behaviors, persuading and encouraging us to purchase and consume more things to fill the voids in our life. And yet, the more we buy the less we're satisfied and then we feel the need to buy more and the cycle goes on and on.
The “Addictive System”
The medical side of the Addictive System is a hard road to navigate. I often forget to listen to my body and find myself relying on what the doctor says or the latest study. But then when I remember that this is my body and no one understands it the way I do, and I listen to what it is trying to tell me, I'm a much happier and healthier person. In my job, I walk a fine line between reminding women that they indeed know how to birth and, at the same time, trying to remain neutral about natural verses medicated birth. In natural birth, a woman does what feels right to her and she is able to listen to her inner wisdom. In medicated birth, you do what you're told and the machines know more than you because you're numb, literally and figuratively, to the process. I do what I can in my classes to give birth back to women and take it away from the Addictive System by changing vocabulary and showing women how they can move when not tied down to a bed. I talk about doctors catching their baby that they've just birthed rather than the doctor delivering the baby. But, as Northrup points out on page ten, even the studies we rely on are founded in this system that only studies the abnormal and not the normal.
As a mother, I do my best to teach my son and daughters that being a woman is a wonderful thing and the female body is just as beautifully designed as the male body. I celebrated with my stepdaughters when they had their first periods and plan to do the same for my daughter. I don't complain when my period comes around and I take that time to give my body a break and let it do what it is suppose to do, and I make sure my kids know and understand this.