The Sick Role

In regards to talking about cancer patients in class on Thursday, it made me think of some of the disucssions we have had in other classes about similar topics. We have talked about this theory in literature classes in regards to stories such as "The Death of Ivan Ilych" and "The Yellow Wallpaper."

Talcott Parson’s “the sick role” loosely defines how long a sick person is allowed to be off from work, duties, responsibly, etc. before they either return to their duties or get rejected from society. It also defines the other obligations of sick persons.

It is simply defined by Wikipedia as:

The Sick Role was a concept invented by Talcott Parsons in 1951. It is a term widely used in medical sociology. ‘Being Sick’ is not simply a ‘state of fact’ or ‘condition’, it is a specifically patterned social role. The theory outlined two rights of a sick person and two obligations:

Rights:

1. The sick person is exempt from normal social roles
2. The sick person is not responsible for their condition

Obligations:

1. The sick person should try to get well
2. The sick person should seek technically competent help and cooperate with the medical professional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sick_role


A study about media coverage on the lives of cancer patients would be great for the final project. I am going to look into it. I have seen episodes of shows like Martha Stewart that have done episodes on topics such as breast cancer. However I am not sure whether to focus on television or print and how I would do that.

Cheating Women

I have noticed that the number of women who cheat on their husbands or boyfriends portrayed in movies and television shows has recently increased and seems disproportionate to statistics and my own experiences. Some examples include Unfaithful, Carrie from Sex and the City, Nicco on Lipstick Jungle, Celia on Weeds and so many others ….
I have never met or known anyone who knows a woman who has admitted to cheating on their husbands or boyfriends. However I have known firsthand and met people who know firsthand women who had been cheated on by their husband or boyfriend.
I tried to find statistics online on infidelity. I was unable to find one up to date reliable source. Most sources said that men cheat more often than women and others said the numbers were about equal amongst men and women. I would be interested to find a reliable source. It just seems I have seen the cheating woman too often in TV and film.