Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Gender and Degendering in Autobiographical Narratives of Physical Scars

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Gender Issues Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Numerous researchers have explored how individuals alter their bodies to conform to or challenge gendered bodily norms. In contrast, most that live with scars must after the fact either reconcile their changed bodies with those norms or change their ideas to better match their changed bodies. This article uses narratives written by 284 male and female college students to explore the meanings individuals assign to unwanted scars, focusing on what this process tells us about the gendered body. The three most common meanings—scars as reminders of overcoming adversity, reminders of loved ones, and markers of athleticism—occur equally often in narratives written by men and women. The data illustrate how both gendered bodily norms and recent moves toward degendering affect young people’s embodied experiences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. (2009). Report of the 2008 statistics. Arlington Heights, IL: American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Becker, G. (1997). Disrupted lives: How people create meaning in a chaotic world? Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bell, S. E. (2000). Experiencing narrative in/and illness. In C. E. Bird, P. Conrad, & A. M. Fremont (Eds.), Handbook of medical sociology (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Brock, S. C., & Kleiber, D. A. (1994). Narratives in medicine: The stories of elite college athletes’ career-ending injuries. Qualitative Health Research, 4, 411–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Brown, B. C., McKenna, S. P., Siddhi, K., McGrouther, D. A., & Bayat, A. (2008). The hidden cost of skin scars: Quality of life after skin scarring. Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgery, 61(9), 1049–1058.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Brown, B. C., Moss, T. P., McGrouther, D. A., & Bayat, A. (2010). Skin scar preconceptions must be challenged: Importance of self-perception in skin scarring. Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgery, 63, 1022–1029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Brumberg, J. J. (1997). The body project: An intimate history of American girls. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Budgeon, S. (2003). Identity as an embodied event. Body and Society, 9, 35–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Burnett, K. A., & Holmes, M. (2001). Bodies, battlefields and biographies: Scars and the construction of the body as heritage. In S. Cunningham-Burley & K. Backett-Milburn (Eds.), Exploring the body (pp. 21–36). New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Burriss, R. P., Rowland, H. M., & Little, A. C. (2009). Facial scarring enhances men’s attractiveness for short-term relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 213–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bury, M. (2001). Illness narratives: Fact or fiction? Sociology of Health and Illness, 23, 263–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Larsen, R. J. (2001). A half century of mate preferences: The cultural evolution of values. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 491–503.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Connell, R. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Coughlan, G., & Clarke, A. (2002). Shame and burns. In P. Gilbert & J. Miles (Eds.), Body shame: Conceptualisation, research and treatment (pp. 156–170). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Dworkin, S., & Wachs, F. (2009). Body panic: Gender, health, and the selling of fitness. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Featherstone, M. (1982). The body in consumer culture. Theory, Culture and Society, 1, 18–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Featherstone, M. (1991). Consumer culture and postmodernism. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Feingold, A. (1992). Good-looking people are not what we think. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 304–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Feingold, A., & Mazzella, R. (1998). Gender differences in body image are increasing. Psychological Science, 9(3), 190–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Fenske, M. (2007). Tattoos in American visual culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  21. Frank, A. W. (2000). Illness and autobiographical work: Dialogue as narrative destabilization. Qualitative Sociology, 23, 135–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Gagné, P., & McGaughey, D. (2002). Designing women: Cultural hegemony and the exercise of power among women who have undergone elective mammoplasty. Gender and Society, 16(6), 814–838.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self identity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Gilbert, P., & Miles, J. (Eds.). (2002). Body shame: Conceptualisation, research and treatment. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Goffman, E. (1959). Presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Goode, E. (1996). Gender and courtship entitlement: Responses to personal ads. Sex Roles, 34, 141–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Groesz, L. M., Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2002). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Grogan, S. (2007). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children. Revised edition. New York: Routledge.

  29. Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2006). Cult of thinness (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Hochschild, J. L. (1996). Facing up to the American dream: Race, class, and the soul of the nation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (2000). The self we live by: Narrative identity in a postmodern world. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Hudson, J. I., Hiripi, E., Pope, H. G., & Kessler, R. C. (2007). The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 348–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Hughes, M. J. (1998). The social consequences of facial disfigurement. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Hydén, L.-C. (1997). Illness and narrative. Sociology of Health and Illness, 19, 48–69.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Isaacs, J. B., Sawhill, I. V., & Haskins, R. (2008). Getting ahead or losing ground: Economic mobility in America. Philadelphia: Pew Charitable Trusts.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Jackson, L. (1992). Physical appearance and gender: Sociobiological and sociocultural perspectives. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kaiser, S. B. (1997). The social psychology of clothing: Symbolic appearances in context (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Kent, G., & Thompson, A. R. (2002). The development and maintenance of shame in disfigurement: Implications for treatment. In P. Gilbert & J. Miles (Eds.), Body shame: Conceptualisation, research and treatment (pp. 103–116). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Kessler, R. C., Borges, G., & Walters, E. E. (1999). Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts in the national comorbidity survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 617–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Klein, A. M. (1993). Little big men: Bodybuilding subculture and gender construction. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Kohut, A., & Stokes, B. (2006). America against the world. New York: Henry Holt.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Kosut, M. (2010). Extreme bodies, extreme culture. In L. J. Moore & M. Kosut (Eds.), The body reader: Essential social and cultural readings (pp. 103–116). New York: NYU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Lawrence, J. W., Fauerbach, J. A., Heinberg, L., & Doctor, M. (2004). Visible versus hidden scars and their relation to body esteem. Journal of Burn Care Rehabilitation, 25, 25–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Leit, R. A., Pope, H. G., Jr., & Gray, J. J. (2001). Cultural expectations of muscularity in men: The evolution of playgirl centerfolds. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 90–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Lorber, J. (2005). Breaking the bowls: Degendering and feminist change. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Luciano, L. (2002). Looking good: Male body image in modern America. New York: Hill and Wang.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Malcom, N. L. (2006). “Shaking it off” and “toughing it out”: Socialization to pain and injury in girls’ softball. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35, 495–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Martin, K. A. (1998). Becoming a gendered body: Practices of preschools. American Sociological Review, 63(4), 494–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. McAleer, K. (1997). Dueling: The cult of honor in fin-de-siecle Germany. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University press.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Milkie, M. A. (1999). Social comparisons, reflected appraisals, and mass media: The impact of pervasive beauty images on black and white girls’ self-concepts. Social Psychology Quarterly, 62, 190–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Mohaupt, S. (2008). Review article: Resilience and social exclusion. Social Policy and Society, 8(1), 63–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Monneuse, O. J., Nathens, A. B., Woods, N. N., Mauceri, J. L., Canzian, S. L., Xiong, W., et al. (2008). Attitudes about injury among high school students. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 207, 179–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Morrison, M. A., Morrison, T. G., & Sager, C.-L. (2004). Does body satisfaction differ between gay men and lesbian women and heterosexual men and women? A meta-analytic review. Body Image, 1, 127–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Moss, T. (1997). Individual variation in adjusting to visible differences. In R. Lansdown, N. Rumsey, E. Bradbury, T. Carr, & J. Partridge (Eds.), Visibly different: Coping with disfigurement (pp. 121–130). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Nixon, M. K., Cloutier, P., & Jansson, S. M. (2008). Non-suicidal self-harm in youth: A population-based survey. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 178(3), 306–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Pascoe, C. J. (2007). Dude, you’re a fag. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Pitts-Taylor, V. (2003). In the flesh: The cultural politics of body modification. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Pitts-Taylor, V. (2007). Surgery junkies: Wellness and pathology in cosmetic culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Pope, H. G., Jr., Olivardia, R., Gruber, A., & Borowiecki, J. (1999). Evolving ideals of male body image as seen through action toys. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26, 65–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Pope, S. J., Solomons, W. R., & Done, D. J. (2007). Body image, mood and quality of life in young burn survivors. Burns, 33, 747–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Robinson, E. (1997). Psychological research on visible differences in adults. In R. Lansdown, N. Rumsey, E. Bradbury, T. Carr, & J. Partridge (Eds.), Visibly different: Coping with disfigurement (pp. 102–111). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Ross, S., & Heath, N. (2002). A study of the frequency of self-mutilation in a community sample of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 67–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1995). Failing at fairness. New York: Touchstone.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Shilling, C. (1993). The body and social theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Stinson, K. M. (2001). Women and dieting culture: Inside a commercial weight loss group. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Thompson, A., & Kent, G. (2001). Adjusting to disfigurement: Processes involved in dealing with being visibly different. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 663–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Thompson, A. R., & Broom, L. (2009). Positively managing intrusive reactions to disfigurement: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of naturalistic coping. Diversity in Health and Care, 6, 171–180.

    Google Scholar 

  68. Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M. N., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  69. Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998). Prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the national violence against women survey. Rockville, MA: National Institute of Justice Research in Brief.

    Google Scholar 

  70. Turner, B. S. (1996). The body and society: Explorations in social theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Udry, J. R., & Eckland, B. K. (1984). Benefits of being attractive: Differential payoffs for men and women. Psychological Reports, 54, 47–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Weitz, R. (1991). Life with AIDS. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  73. Weitz, R. (2004). Rapunzel’s daughters: What women’s hair tells us about women’s lives? New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

    Google Scholar 

  74. Zautra, A. J., Hall, J. S., & Murray, K. E. (2008). Resilience: A new integrative approach to health and mental health research. Health Psychology Review, 2, 41–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

My thanks to Shari Dworkin, Lisa Jean Moore, Vania Brightman Cox, and Judith Lorber for their very helpful comments. I am also very grateful to Joyce Coninx-Wright for all her help and encouragement.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Transformation, Women and Gender Studies, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 87-4902, Tempe, AZ, 85287–4902, USA

    Rose Weitz

Authors
  1. Rose Weitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rose Weitz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Weitz, R. Gender and Degendering in Autobiographical Narratives of Physical Scars. Gend. Issues 28, 192–208 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-011-9107-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-011-9107-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation