The Normal Body: Female Bodies in Changing Contexts of Normalization and Optimization

Jansen, Julia; Wehrle, Maren

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-72353-2_3

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…After different types of obesity treatment, affected individuals still state they are struggling with their notions of self-existence (Rørtveit, Furnes, Dysvik, & Ueland, 2017). The current health services offered carry norms concerning the ideal body size and lifestyle, which tend to impose an objectifying and disciplinary control on the body (Jansen & Wehrle, 2018;Knutsen, Terragni, & Foss, 2011). Focusing on bodyweight and lifestyle change can be understood as a way of directing individuals towards what the culture sees as "normal" (Jansen & Wehrle, 2018;Knutsen et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we need competence regarding existential experiences. Consciousness about one's lived body is essential to be able to think of oneself as an embodied unity (Jansen & Wehrle, 2018;Murray, 2010). Unity must be the primary approach for health care with a humanistic and holistic attitude (Knutsen et al, 2011;Natvik, Råheim, Andersen, & Moltu, 2018;Zeiler, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living with obesity — existential experiences

Ueland

Furnes

Dysvik

et al. 2019

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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Aims and objectives : The aim was to gain in-depth understanding about individuals’ existential experiences of living with obesity. Background : People living with obesity face great vulnerability and existential challenges. The different treatments offered do not seem to meet the individual needs of persons with obesity. A deeper understanding of existential experiences from an individual perspective is needed to individualize treatment. Design : An exploratory phenomenological–hermeneutical design was used to gain a greater understanding of the existential experiences involved in living with obesity. Methods : The participants represented a convenient sample. 18 qualitative interviews were conducted and subjected to phenomenological–hermeneutical analysis. Results : Four themes emerged: shaped by childhood; captured by food; depressed by the culture ; and judged by oneself . Conclusions : The burden of being obese can be experienced as being objectified and alienated as a human being. We need to turn towards a life-world perspective, seeing each human being as a living body to overcome objectification and alienation, and then move them towards becoming subjects in their own lives, through giving space for self-love . Health care workers need to assist persons living with obesity to reduce objectification and alienation. It is important to develop intervention that has an individual, holistic approach.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living with obesity — existential experiences

Ueland

Furnes

Dysvik

et al. 2019

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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“…They reproduce expectations of “natural” bodily comportment, cognition, style, and mobility at the expense of those who fall outside these lines. Thus the normative constraints that arise from our perception and categorization of bodies contributes to consolidating binary categories such as healthy or sick (Toombs , Carel , ; Freeman ), able or disabled (Erevelles ; Herndon ; Kattari, Olzman, and Hanna ), sane or mad (Kafai ; Wolframe ), and normal or abnormal (Wehrle , , ; Weiss ; Jansen and Wehrle ). These notions, along with many others (for example, race, gender, class, sexual expression), converge in our own and others’ representation and perception of our bodies (Ahmed ; Alcoff ; Al‐Saji ; Hall ), coiling personal and shared social horizons.…”

Section: A Feminist Phenomenology Of Illnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being at Home: A Feminist Phenomenology of Disorientation in Illness

Lajoie¹

2019

Hypatia

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This article explores the relation among illness, home, and belonging. Through a feminist phenomenological framework, I describe the disorientations of being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and living with mental illness. This research anticipates the consequences of illness and serious (bodily) disorientations for a conception of belonging as seamless body–world compatibility. Instead, this article examines how the (in)stability of bodily dwellings in experiences of disorientation can suggest ways of being in the world that are more attentive to interdependency, unpredictability, and change in human experience. I argue that these types of dwellings function as a more capacious and apposite metaphor to account for variations in belonging. This discussion outlines the ethical importance of building worlds that make room for different ways of being at home in and through our interactions with others. Although my discussion does not supply norms for ethical action, I contend that a feminist phenomenology of illness generates saliences and illuminates sensibilities that can transform our ways of being with others.

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“…Stigma, stereotypical thinking, and objectification attract moral pressure from the community. This pressure can lead to self-stigma and self-objectification ( Grønning, 2014 ; Jansen & Wehrle, 2018 ; Pantenburg et al., 2012 ; Spahlholz et al., 2016 ; Throsby, 2009 ). A hostile or indifferent view of oneself can create further alienation, and feelings of being not quite human may arise ( Barber, 2016 ; Merrill & Grassley, 2008 ; Pila, Sabiston, Brunet, Castonguay, & O’Loughlin, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living With Obesity: Expressions of Longing

2020

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Those who are obese experience complex moral distress. The norm in Western societies is to be slim, and people living with obesity experience challenges under the gaze of society. They feel great vulnerability and the available treatments seldom meet individual needs. New concepts of embodiment need to be developed to include phenomenological investigations. There is limited knowledge about longing among those suffering from obesity. A deeper understanding of longing from an individual perspective is required to improve treatment. The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of longing by those suffering from obesity. The research was approved by the Norwegian Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics. An explorative phenomenological-hermeneutical design was used. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 participants, all with body mass indexes in the range of 30 to 45, which were then analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach. Three main dimensions of longing were revealed: longing for normality, longing for what was lost, and longing for simplicity in life. The health service needs to understand better the longings of obese individuals to help them live their lives in greater freedom, based on their own longings and self-care. Focusing on longing may reveal a person's true desires, and the longing may be a form of resistance to the disciplination of society.

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The Normal Body: Female Bodies in Changing Contexts of Normalization and Optimization

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

Living with obesity — existential experiences

Living with obesity — existential experiences

Being at Home: A Feminist Phenomenology of Disorientation in Illness

Living With Obesity: Expressions of Longing

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