Melting bones: The social construction of postmenopausal osteoporosis in Turkey

The increased medicalization of different life stages, including menopause, is a subject studied mostly in the Western context. Examining medicalization in the non-Western world advances discussions of body, identity and health. In this paper, I analyze the discourses around postmenopausal osteoporosis in Turkey, focusing on the different constructions of risk in the medical and popular literature. The empirical basis of the paper draws on ethnographic research done in Istanbul, Turkey between June 2006 and March 2007. The research includes participant observation in gynecology clinics, interviews with clinicians and menopausal women and archival research on the representations of menopause in the Turkish media between 1999 and 2006. Referred to as kemik erimesi (melting of the bones) in colloquial Turkish, osteoporosis has been an essential component in the medicalization of menopause in Turkey. I argue that postmenopausal osteoporosis is defined as a combination of embodied risk, which is related to the definition of menopause as a risky period, and lifestyle risk, demonstrated in discussions around “traditional” vs. “modern” clothing and healthcare habits. The Turkish example emphasizes the importance of local conditions in defining medical risk and complicates the embodied vs. lifestyle risk categories.

► This article analyzes discourses around postmenopausal osteoporosis in Turkey, focusing on the different constructions of risk.
► Osteoporosis risk has been an essential component in the medicalization of menopause in Turkey.
► Osteoporosis is defined both as embodied risk and lifestyle risk in the medical and popular literature.
► Lifestyle risk is demonstrated in discussions around “traditional” vs. “modern” clothing and healthcare habits.
► This study emphasizes how local discourses can complicate the embodied vs. lifestyle risk categories.