O corpo sentido e os sentidos do corpo anoréxico

The ethereal bodies of pro-Ana blogs: emotional communities and spaces of sociability on the web

The study presented in this paper aimed at understanding how anorexic young women use virtual environments as spaces of sociability in order to construct a narrative about anorexia, anchor their experiences through emotional mutuality and validate discourses. To do so, an analysis of the content found in the commenting and posting sections of pro-anorexia blogs was carried out. Three thematic categories were identified: body, personal identity and sociability on the web. It was observed that blogs are virtual spaces of sociability and construction of identity groups. The representations and the experiences lived by the corporal materiality feed cyberspace and are the starting point for understanding a phenomenon particular to the contemporaneity, that is the virtual exchanges. In blogs, one can find body narratives that seek to give coherence to an individual and to his or her existence as well as narratives that aim at anchoring and legitimizing personal experiences and validating pro-anorexia attitudes. Social ties are strengthened within the group, which becomes an emotional community. The meanings of the spreading discourses allow us to infer that in these groups, the materiality of anorexic bodies emancipates itself from the social stigmas of a disease.

Maternidade e amamentação: identidade, corpo e gênero

Resumo A amamentação é um fenômeno multifacetado que envolve a complexidade do mundo social, os papéis assumidos pela mulher, seus atributos e expectativas sociais. Este ensaio teórico propõe uma reflexão em torno da maternidade, problematizando a experiência da amamentação e a construção de identidade se aproximando de conceitos sociológicos do interacionismo de Anselm Levi Strauss. Procurou-se fazer associações entre o corpo, a identidade e os processos de socialização na vida adulta gerados pelas novas demandas sociais na realização de papéis de mulher e mãe, concentrando-se na experiência da amamentação. Problematiza-se a forma como a maternidade é concebida na sociedade contemporânea e a inscrição da amamentação como fenômeno da natureza, de tal forma que se confere à mulher uma vocação à maternidade e ao aleitamento, produzindo-se uma expectativa social de habilidade nata para o desempenho dos mesmos.

Feelings and perceptions of women recovering from anorexia nervosa regarding their eating behavior

Abstract: According to the phenomenological approach, observing a phenomenon through the perspective of those who lived it may be necessary to acquire fully comprehension of it. Therefore, to fully understand the eating behavior during anorexia nervosa and during its recovery, this study investigated individual perceptions and feelings of three women recovering from anorexia nervosa. This study is characterized as a qualitative research with phenomenological approach. The data were collected through interviews and analyzed following steps proposed by phenomenology researchers. During the anorexia nervosa experience, food restriction and irregular meal patterns were observed. Controlling food intake was associated with happiness. Guilt, anguish, sadness, fear and anger were associated with eating, and food was considered a villain. An obsessive thinking about food and a paradox between liking to eat and not wanting to eat were also observed. During recovery, it is important to have a more flexible eating behavior without negative feelings regarding food; however, feelings of guilty and fear were still detected. Perceptions about contact with nutritionists revealed the use of ineffective strategies. Although similarities were found in all reports, every woman had their own particular and singular experience. Rescuing their memories and experiences through their speech was important to fully understand and comprehend these personal experiences, and this complete understanding may enable health professionals to act more efficiently in the treatment of this complex phenomenon.