Year of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Anthropology

Department or School/College

Department of Anthropology

Committee Chair

Meradeth Snow

Commitee Members

Anna Prentiss, Tre Blohm, Andrew Whiteley, Michael Muehlenbein, Seth Quintus, Tara Cepon-Robins

Abstract

This dissertation examines women’s health through a biocultural framework that integrates biological anthropology, medical anthropology, and public health, with a central focus on the Pacific. It advances embodiment theory as a unifying approach for understanding how lived experience becomes biologically incorporated across the life course, shaping reproductive, endocrine, and immune outcomes. Grounded in research in Sāmoa and situated within broader comparative contexts in the United States and Amazonian populations, this work argues that women’s health cannot be fully understood through biomedical indicators alone, but must instead be interpreted within historically, culturally, and environmentally embedded Pacific contexts and beyond. The dissertation is organized across three interrelated sections. The first develops embodiment as a theoretical framework by integrating life history theory, reproductive endocrinology, and molecular perspectives, including epigenetic regulation. This section situates embodiment within the Pacific by examining how migration histories, colonial legacies, and cultural systems shape patterns of health and biological variation. Particular attention is given to Sāmoa as a site where culture, history, and the body intersect. This section also engages Indigenous Data Sovereignty, emphasizing the importance of ethical, community-driven research practices and Pacific authority over biological and genetic data. The second section examines women’s health through empirical and conceptual studies of reproductive function, with sustained attention to how these processes are shaped by Pacific and global contexts. Analyses of polycystic ovary syndrome consider how early-life conditions, energetic trade-offs, and psychosocial stress contribute to variation in reproductive development and disease risk. Additional work explores age at menarche as a potential marker of endocrine disruption and examines how stigma shapes diagnostic experiences and health outcomes. These chapters demonstrate how reproductive health reflects the cumulative interaction of biology, culture, and structural inequality. The final section extends embodiment to broader physiological processes, including immune function and ovarian aging. Research in Sāmoa on traditional tattooing (tatau) examines how culturally meaningful practices are associated with variation in stress and inflammatory biomarkers, illustrating how identity and social belonging become biologically expressed. Comparative analysis of anti-Müllerian hormone among Shuar women further demonstrates how shifts in subsistence and market integration shape reproductive aging. Together, this dissertation positions the Pacific not simply as a field site, but as a critical theoretical and empirical center for understanding embodiment and women’s health. It demonstrates that biological variation emerges through ongoing interactions among social conditions, cultural practices, and environmental change, and advances a model of research that is both scientifically rigorous and ethically grounded in community engagement.

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© Copyright 2026 Courtney Callidora Manthey