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Identity ambivalence and embodiment in women's accounts of the gynaecological examination

Dariusz Galasiski

University of Wolverhampton, UK, d.galasinski{at}wlv.ac.uk

Justyna Ziókowska

Warsaw School of Social Psychology, Poland

In this article we are interested in the negotiation of identities in women's narratives of their gynaecological examination and more particularly, the shifts of identity positions that permeate their stories.

Taking a constructionist view of discourse and identity, we make two arguments in the article. First, we demonstrate that women talking about their gynaecological examinations constructed their selves ambiguously. The identity spaces that they discursively opened in the narratives were not inhabited. Second, we show that the embodiment of their identities — the inclusion of the body into the construction of self — fluctuates depending on the stage of the narrative of the examination.

Key Words: embodiment • gynaecological examination • identity • narrative

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Health:, Vol. 11, No. 4, 455-474 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1363459307080864


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Galasinski, D. Articles by Ziólkowska, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Galasinski, D. Articles by Ziólkowska, J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Health Checkup Social Bookmarking                         What's this?