Angelina Jolie’s Ovaries: Influence of Metaphors of the Ovary and Ovarian Cancer on Public Discourse of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecologic cancers; yet public discourse about and understanding of the disease is limited. Metaphors used to discuss the ovaries and ovarian cancer may have a role to play in the limited public discourse about the disease. In this article, I offer a critical analysis of the limited visibility for ovarian cancer in the public sphere using Angelina Jolie’s case as an example. Jolie announced in 2013 that she had had double mastectomy and may in the future remove her ovaries because of an inherited faulty BRCA1 gene and a family history of cancer. I argue that presentation of Jolie’s decision as coming from an informed woman who understood her medical choices, coupled with public perception of the breast as a symbol of sexuality, made the public to be more receptive of the decision. I contend further, however, that making her plan for preventative treatment of ovarian cancer secondary to that of breast cancer even though her risk of dying from ovarian cancer is higher, points to current public notions of ovarian cancer. The breasts are sexualized in American culture hence the “heavy” media presence of Jolie’s mastectomy but an absence of public discourse about ovarian cancer. By using Angelina Jolie’s situation as a case in point, I do not mean to suggest that her decision was right or wrong; neither am I advocating for removal of healthy ovaries. I am only using her case to highlight how current discussion (or non-discussion) of ovarian cancer does little to bring the severity of the disease to the public radar

U.S. Newspapers Coverage of The 2009/10 Healthcare Reform Debate: A Content Analysis.

The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which U.S. newspapers covered the chatter surrounding the 2009/10 healthcare reform debate at the expense of the substance. Also of importance was how the political leanings of newspapers influenced the coverage they gave the issue in terms of tone and page or story prominence. Newspaper endorsement data from Editor & Publisher magazine were used to determine the political leanings of U.S. newspapers based on the candidate they endorsed in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the Lexis-Nexis database and analyzed. The results showed that overall the healthcare reform debate received substantial coverage in U.S. newspapers; but the major part of the coverage was dedicated to the arguments, protests, and thoughts of people concerning the issue (90.3%) rather than the substance of the issue (9.7%). Implications of the results for media practitioners, communication scholars, and researchers were discussed

Stories of Teal: Women\u27s Experiences of Ovarian Cancer

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of ovarian cancer. I used feminist ethnographic methods of in-depth interviews and focus groups to collect data from 28 ovarian cancer survivors in Northwest Ohio and Southern Michigan. The concepts of social support, uncertainty in illness, and intersectionality are used to understand women’s experiences of the disease and their quality of life post-treatment. My grounded theory analysis shows the ovarian cancer experience as a process involving three phases including (not)making sense, owning the experience, and becoming a survivor. The phases are neither linear nor distinct, and each presents unique challenges to survivors, helping shape how they make meaning and communicate about their experiences. I identify managing uncertainty as the core variable in the ovarian cancer experience; uncertainty is high at diagnosis, plateaus during treatment, heightens again at the end of treatment, and remains in the backgrounds of women’s lives as they navigate treatment aftereffects and/or recurrences. The ovarian cancer experience is influenced by women’s age, religion, socioeconomic status, level of available social support, stage of disease, and treatment protocol. These factors work through and with each other to impact women’s meaning making about the disease. This research helps demystify the ovarian cancer experience and puts human faces on the disease. It also provides a deeper understanding about the factors that influence women’s experiences of ovarian cancer and the communicative strategies they use to determine their experiences

Feminism in a Global Context

This panel considers the cultural, national, and international contexts that feminists operate within, and how these complicate the expression of their goals. Looking at feminist projects in Ireland, Nigeria, and Poland, the presenters explore the complicated dynamics that occur between feminists and other local actors, and how feminists engage with and are affected by national and international discourses that attempt to align with or discredit feminism. Mary Maxfield: “History Retweeting Itself: Imperial Feminist Appropriations of ‘Bring Back Our Girls’”: Racist and imperialist narratives continue to underpin U.S. representations of the African continent and of people of color. This essay considers that history of transnational representation and exploitation in the context of feminist collaboration. By examining this thread of feminist history, and placing a current campaign -- the Nigerian “Bring Back Our Girls” movement -- in its context, the project challenges perceptions of digital campaigns as technologically determined or ‘outside history.’ It draws on textual and historical analysis to consider variations within “Bring Back Our Girls”– the online campaign to locate and return 276 abducted high school students – between “Western” and “Third World” activists, and ultimately reconsiders that discourse in light of anti-racist and anti-imperialist critiques. Erin Mulligan: “Dismantling the Capitalist-Meat-Patriarchy: Intersectionality in Feminist and Vegan Activism”: This paper looks at the activist work of the Vegan Information Project, a vegan activist group based out of Dublin Ireland. VIP\u27s activism is examined to reveal the various ways vegan activism incorporates feminist thought. This includes intersectionality, the feminist care ethic, and ecofeminism. Conversely, VIP is also reveals some of the ways veganism can be understood as a feminist action by itself. This includes the rejection of meat as a symbol of patriarchy and the value placed on caring, cooperation, and community. This paper puts feminism and veganism in conversation in order to better understand their connections. Dinah Tetteh: “Feminism, Breast Cancer Support, and the Cause for Women’s Health: The Case of the Polish Amazons”: The Amazons is a self-help support group in Poland aimed at providing emotional and practical support for women affected by breast cancer. It draws on the experience of breast cancer survivors to help those currently dealing with the disease; through its activities, the group has been instrumental in helping improve the quality of life of women who have undergone mastectomy. The Amazons, however, does not identify as feminist or as working to empower women. I draw from the work of feminist scholars including Alice Echols, Simone de Beauvoir, Robin Morgan, and the history of the feminist movement in the United States to draw parallels between issues that led to challenges faced by the early feminist movement in the U.S. and the limitations of the operations of the Amazons. I argue that the Amazons is reinforcing traditional gender norms and views of women by failing to take up issues that affect the totality of women’s lives in Poland. I note further that the Amazons may be projecting a distorted notion of the lived experience and reality of breast cancer, projecting a normative experience and narrative of the disease, and thus may be hampering the cause for women’s issues and health in Poland. I also discuss ways that the Amazons can learn from and collaborate with their counterparts in the U.S