Self and Personal Development ←→Public Health

    As adolescents grow, their understanding of body or physical health and sexes and genders would inevitably be affected by society s demands on public health. For instance, the mainstream concepts of public health in Hong Kong are based on Western medicine and middle-class aesthetics (for example an emphasis on tidiness and cleanliness to fence off bacteria and viruses). During their process of growth and development , children and adolescents who are exposed to these concepts of public health will acquire  life skills  and the  cultural capital  that are unlikely to include traditional medical and health knowledge (for example Chinese medicine and folklore wisdom). Furthermore, their self-image of and control over the body as well as their acquired knowledge about sexes and genders will affect the implementation of public health. For example, if students are over enthusiastic about losing weight, their health will obviously be affected. If they do not have access to sufficient and correct knowledge about sexes and genders , the youths  ability to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases may also be weakened.

 

This learning and teaching resource is provided by by Kwan Fong Cultural Research and Development Programme, Lingnan University.