The construction of gender and mental health in Nordic psychotropic-drug advertising

The authors examine the advertisements for psychotropic drugs in the major medical journals of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in 1975, 1985, and 1995, with the object of illuminating the gender construction of the portr ayed user. Using both a longitudinal and a cross-sectional approach, the st udy looked for a common Nordic gender display and whether it varied over ti me. The Nordic journals clearly conveyed a message that psychotropics are a gendered product, but without any uniform pattern. In 1975, men dominated the gender portrayals in Finland and Denmark, and women in Norway and Swede n. in 1985, the pattern was reversed: women dominated in Finland and Denmar k, and men in Sweden and Norway. By 1995, the advertisements were mainly fo r antidepressants, and women were portrayed as the predominant users in Den mark, Finland, and Norway; the Swedish journal displayed couples only. In a dvertisements with dual-gender positions, however, the focus was on the fem ale; they showed that the drug would assist her in fulfilling the expected supportive female gender behavior.