Bodies, health, gender—bridging feminist theories and women's health

Abstract In this article, we discuss body concepts in recent feminist theories and women's health research. We argue that a dissociation process has occurred between women's and gender studies, on the one hand, and research and activism on women's health issues, on the other. These findings are chosen as a starting point for considering the material body. In a comparative approach we sketch statements on the body in the works of Judith Butler, Donna Haraway, and Elisabeth Grosz followed by summaries of developments within key areas of women's health research. The article argues that no single perspective offers completely satisfying answers to the issues of the materiality of the sexed body and the processes of health and illness. We propose the bridging of divergent perspectives to bring the material body back into feminist theory and to further new concepts that take the living and changing body into account.