Gender identity, embodiment and liminality in women΄s experience of mastectomy

Abstract

In addition to a potentially life-threatening illness, women with breast cancer also face several challenges related to the effects of medical treatment on their bodies and their embodied identity. Mastectomy, as a highly invasive treatment, has significant impact on women's lives. This study aims to investigate the experience of mastectomy and the subjective meanings that it holds for women, in relation to their identity and relationships. The research questions were explored through a phenomenological approach in order to better understand the role of the body in this experience, and a gender perspective was adopted in order to critically examine the socio-cultural background that shapes women’s experience. Seventeen women, aged between 26-57, who had undergone mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis, participated in the study. The research material was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using phenomenological analysis. The analysis also drew upon a gender perspective, given a focus of the study on the gendered dimension of embodied identity.  Findings indicate that a core element of the experience of mastectomy concerns the alteration of embodied identity and a sense of liminality, an unresolved state of being in between the previous normal life and life post-diagnosis. The analysis highlighted the need to expand the concept of liminality in psycho-oncology, to include the ambiguity associated with women’s self-identification as ‘normal women’, in relation to embodied experience and the socio-cultural constructions of the female breast. Interestingly, liminality in relation to gender identity characterizes many women’s experience, despite the use of silicone pads and/or plastic reconstructive surgery to manage the altered body. The findings enrich our theoretical understanding of the experience of mastectomy, broaden the concept of liminality, highlight the gendered dimensions of identity and the role of the socio-cultural context in shaping the experience of mastectomy. Moreover, they point to useful directions for the design and delivery of individualized support to women who have undergone mastectomy.