Differential knowledgeability: the case of the chosen breast

ABSTRACT

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Differential knowledgeability
• augmentation surgery
• implants removal surgery

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. To describe a phenomenon, Deleuze and Guattari (1987) employ the ‘rhizome’ metaphor of a vast network of strangling roots, spreading out in a nonlinear pattern unhindered by structure as the rhizome spreads in different directions simultaneously. Thus, emphasis is placed on the becoming process – the change from one position to another.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this article.

Notes on contributors

Tammar Friedman

Tammar Friedman, Ph.D. student in Sociology & Anthropology dept. in Bar-Ilan University. Teaching Assistant in Bar-Ilan University in Cultural Studies: Introduction to Fieldwork, and Introduction to Anthropology. Research interests are body image, gender, and embodiment. ORCID: 0000-0002-2268-5755.

Smadar Noy

Smadar Noy, Faculty Member in Sociology & Anthropology dept. in Ashkelon Academic College. Research interests are body image, gender, and sociology of medicine. ORCID: 0000-0003-0099-0158.

Orly Benjamin

Orly Benjamin, Senior Faculty Member in Sociology & Anthropology dept., and the Director of Graduate Program in Social Psychology in Bar-Ilan University. Research interests are stratification, class and ethnicity, gender, and body & emotions. ORCID: 0000-0002-0307-9442.