Defining normal: Constructions of race and gender in the DSM-IV Casebook

This article explores the ways in which the DSM-IV Casebook constructs gend er and race/ethnicity in depictions of individuals with mental illness. Ana lyses indicated that the case studies were gendered in accordance with soci ally sanctioned descriptions of women and men, with women more likely to be described negatively and in terms of physical attractiveness, and that wom en of color in particular were more likely to be sexualized. We argue that the studies in the Casebook contribute to a gendered and raced conceptualiz ation of mental illness, and that these explicit definitions of pathology r eflect implicit definitions of normalcy.