Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper argues that metaphorical formulations around genetic categories have important implications for individuals’ experiences of their at-genetic-risk bodies vis-à-vis the market for prevention. Drawing on Jacques Derrida’s concept of usure, our findings unpack three central biomedical metaphors that shape the ways in which ‘previvor’ women with the BRCA gene mutation manage and experience their (risky) body-in-transition against the market for prevention. These are the metaphors of: the container, the omnipresent danger, and battle and journey. Our discussion unravels the processes of the de/re-stabilisation of the (risky) body-in-transition, as well as the reconfiguration of individuals’ rights and duties in the market for prevention to become a good genetic citizen. Moving beyond a discussion of ‘consumer sovereignty’, we contribute to developing a contextually nuanced understanding of the complex relations between the lived experiences of ‘losing control’ and the consumption of prevention.
Highlights
Plastic surgery is perceived as a means of "exercising control over one's body and one's destiny", and the body-in-transition is presented as relatively risk-free or a path to desirable interpersonal outcomes (Schouten 1991, p. 418)
We study the metaphorical formulations and their effects in the context of preventative healthcare consumption. 2.2 Biomedical metaphors and the body-in-transition: Metaphorical formulations are ubiquitous within biomedical sciences and healthcare discourses
In order to explore the role of metaphorical formulations in shaping the experiences of bodies-in-transition vis-à-vis the market for prevention, we examine the narratives of women who are at-genetic-risk for breast and ovarian cancers
Summary
Consumer researchers have long been interested in the role of the body in driving individuals' consumption decisions and experiences (Arnould and Price 1993; Askegaard, Gertsen, and Langer 2002; Liu 2019; Roux and Belk 2019; Ruvio and Belk 2018; Scaraboto and Fischer 2013; Schouten 1991; Scott, Cayla, and Cova 2017; Takhar 2020). The body-in-transition is depicted as risk-laden, painful (e.g., bruises and injuries), yet sensational and freeing, at least from the perspective of the inner self
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