Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice

Breast cancer, if it advances, is life threatening. It is also widespread. My life was changed when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was much that I did not expect, including a hegemonic culture of “breast conservation.” I opted to “go flat” after bilateral mastectomy, resisting reconstruct...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Abigail B. Bakan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Alberta 2020-05-01
Series:Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Media Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/imaginations/index.php/imaginations/article/view/29472
id doaj-f1ef86255d644234a1e37714dd16e09e
record_format Article
spelling doaj-f1ef86255d644234a1e37714dd16e09e2020-11-25T03:26:32ZengUniversity of AlbertaImaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Media Studies1918-84392020-05-0111139–6339–6310.17742/IMAGE.BR.11.1.429472Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of ChoiceAbigail B. Bakan0Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)Breast cancer, if it advances, is life threatening. It is also widespread. My life was changed when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was much that I did not expect, including a hegemonic culture of “breast conservation.” I opted to “go flat” after bilateral mastectomy, resisting reconstruction plastic surgery. A politics of choice—like that demanded for reproductive rights—has yet to find similar resonance in the world of breast cancer treatment. This article considers reconstruction hegemony and the emerging movement to advance the choice to be, in words coined by a pioneering Facebook group, Flat and Fabulous.https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/imaginations/index.php/imaginations/article/view/29472mastectomybreast cancerreconstruction discourse
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Abigail B. Bakan
spellingShingle Abigail B. Bakan
Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice
Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Media Studies
mastectomy
breast cancer
reconstruction discourse
author_facet Abigail B. Bakan
author_sort Abigail B. Bakan
title Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice
title_short Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice
title_full Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice
title_fullStr Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice
title_full_unstemmed Going Flat: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and the Politics of Choice
title_sort going flat: breast cancer, mastectomy and the politics of choice
publisher University of Alberta
series Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Media Studies
issn 1918-8439
publishDate 2020-05-01
description Breast cancer, if it advances, is life threatening. It is also widespread. My life was changed when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was much that I did not expect, including a hegemonic culture of “breast conservation.” I opted to “go flat” after bilateral mastectomy, resisting reconstruction plastic surgery. A politics of choice—like that demanded for reproductive rights—has yet to find similar resonance in the world of breast cancer treatment. This article considers reconstruction hegemony and the emerging movement to advance the choice to be, in words coined by a pioneering Facebook group, Flat and Fabulous.
topic mastectomy
breast cancer
reconstruction discourse
url https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/imaginations/index.php/imaginations/article/view/29472
work_keys_str_mv AT abigailbbakan goingflatbreastcancermastectomyandthepoliticsofchoice
_version_ 1724592167150682112