Gender, health and technology: The rise of femtech - periods, profit and power

Catriona McMillan

Chapter 5 in A Research Agenda for Gender and Health, 2024, pp 87-106 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The analysis in this chapter is motivated by the concern that the rise of ‘femtech’ (a category of personal health tracking technology aimed at women) has entangled technology, gender and personal responsibility in ways that are having a considerable impact on women’s health and well-being. This interdisciplinary analysis places femtech as both (1) a response to histories of oppression and ignorance of female bodies, and (2) as a key factor in perpetuating those same harms because it operates within a so-called ‘free market’ motivated by profit. This free market is enabled by the regulatory vacuum (i.e. relative lack of appropriate law and regulation) in which femtech operates. This chapter finishes, therefore, by arguing that this is both a concern and an opportunity for regulatory regimes around the world.

Keywords: Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Politics and Public Policy Sociology and Social Policy; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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