Differential knowledgeability

The Case of the Chosen Breast

Bibliographic Data

ID3661237
AuthorsTammar Friedman (0000-0002-2268-5755, Sociology & Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel, corresponding author), Smadar Noy (0000-0003-0099-0158, Sociology & Anthropology, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel), Orly Benjamin (0000-0002-0307-9442, Sociology & Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel)
Year2024
Volume33
Issue3
Pages286-298
Publication date2024-04-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09589236.2023.2169257
OpenAlexW4319835986
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited25

Women’s choice to undergo breast augmentation surgery with silicone implants may develop into a choice to surgically remove them. In our paper, we employ dimensions of power relating to such decisions to elaborate differential knowledgeability as organizing the temporal dimension of the process and its potential for changing the meaning of a decision formerly taken. Until recently, the possibility of differential access to knowledge relating to silicone implants’ hazards was not explored from a temporal perspective, thus leaving vague the weight of women’s participation in digital platforms that constitute knowledge-supporting space. Our findings relate to a turning point in which increased knowledgeability manifests a change in women’s perception of augmentation surgery as a risk and fed a reflexive process towards a decision to remove the implants surgically. The neoliberal discourse our research participants adopted to describe their experiences demonstrates self-critical perception; thus, their increased knowledgeability did not influence the balance of power between women and medical professionals. Our findings also relate to the development of emotional ambivalence post implants removal surgery, anchored in the research participants’ separation from their culturally appreciated former appearance

Aesthetics · Ambivalence · Art · Perception · Psychotherapist · Reflexivity · Silicone · Sociology · Visual arts · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Breast Implant and Reconstruction · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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