Dancing Around Infertility: The Use of Metaphors in a Complex Medical Situation

Palmer-Wackerly, Angela L.; Krieger, Janice L.

doi:10.1080/10410236.2014.888386

Cited by 37 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…As elaborated above, the spatial arrangements in the drawings of the prison, the rift valley and the triptych with the mosque at its centre give form to some of the specific social and structural contexts that shape the participants' experiences of fertility problems: feelings of emotional entrapment and escape, social isolation and strength of self, the comfort and transfiguring potential of faith. By contrast, none of the women's drawings contain any references to military metaphors, and nor do any of them represent their desire for a baby as a game or race with winners and losers, even though these images are apparently widespread in verbal discourses about infertility in Western societies (De Lacey, 2002;Friese, Becker and Nachtigall, 2006;Palmer-Wackerly and Krieger, 2015). This suggests that many of the most conventional verbal metaphors may miss or even contradict key aspects of some women's infertility experience, especially if, like our participants, they are more concerned with their relationships than with individualistic notions of personal success or failure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the US and Australia, by contrast, the most common metaphors used to talk about infertility reflect a shared cultural assumption about the need for individualistic, goal-directed, competitive agency. In the media and self-help books, women undergoing fertility treatment are typically framed as winners or losers in a kind of game, lottery, or a race against the biological clock, whereas infertile men and women themselves often prefer to conceptualize the process as a journey, battle, or a type of job involving the deliberate investment of their bodily and monetary resources (De Lacey, 2002;Friese, Becker and Nachtigall, 2006;Palmer-Wackerly and Krieger, 2015).…”

Section: Culture Metaphor and Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

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Pictorial and spatial metaphor in the drawings of a culturally diverse group of women with fertility problems

Refaie

Payson

Guevara

et al. 2018

Visual Communication

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Metaphor has been shown to be pervasive in the way people talk and write about a whole range of diseases, including infertility. Indeed, some of the most conventional of these metaphorical expressions have become so entrenched in particular discourse communities that they are used unconsciously and automatically, even by people who do not, in fact, agree with their underlying ideological implications. As the authors argue in this article, eliciting visual metaphors in the form of drawings may reveal the meaning-making processes of individuals in a way that more richly reflects their unique experiences, including those that challenge or disrupt dominant cultural models. Based on an analysis of drawings created by a group of women in Wales from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, the authors show the importance of taking into account both explicit pictorial metaphors and any metaphorical meanings suggested by spatial composition, as well as the specific socio-cultural context in which they were created.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Culture Metaphor and Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Pictorial and spatial metaphor in the drawings of a culturally diverse group of women with fertility problems

Refaie

Payson

Guevara

et al. 2018

Visual Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our findings also extend this prior research by showing that when the health effects were abstract or not associated with one specific visual representation, the symbolic icons more perceived as more representative and effective. These icons relied on metaphorical interpretations to communicate the health effect, metaphors that individuals continuously rely upon to understand complex phenomenon, such as health or disease (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Palmer-Wackerly & Krieger, 2015). Thus, it may be that individuals were easily able to connect the symbolic icons to their own lay theories of health to interpret the intended meaning (Sopory, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Icons for health effects of cigarette smoke: a test of semiotic type

Lazard

Schmidt

et al. 2017

J Behav Med

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Purpose We sought to identify icons to effectively communicate health harms of chemicals in cigarette smoke. Methods Participants were a convenience sample of 701 U.S. adults. A within-subjects online experiment explored the effects of icon semiotic type: symbolic (arbitrary, most abstract), indexical, and iconic (representative, most concrete). Outcomes were perceived representation, affect toward smoking, elaboration, perceived severity, and perceived effectiveness. Results For not-easy-to-visualize harms of cancer and addiction, symbolic icons received the highest ratings (all p<.001). For easy-to-visualize symptoms of heart attack/stroke, indexical icons received the highest ratings (all p<.001). For easy-to-visualize harm of reproductive organ damage, the iconic image did best (all p<.001). Icon type often had a larger impact among participants with higher health literacy. Conclusions Symbolic icons may be most effective for health effects not easily visualized. Iconic or indexical icons may be more effective for health effects attributable to specific body parts or symptoms.

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“…Evidence showing sociocultural variation in the metaphors used to describe infertility experiences also made the use of DrawingOut attractive. While in Western societies infertile patients are typically framed as winners or losers in a game, lottery, or race against the biological clock, patients themselves often prefer to conceptualize the process as a journey, battle, or a job involving the goal-directed investment of their bodily and monetary resources [ 24 – 26 ]. In other cultures, however, different metaphors have been observed; for instance, women in 1980s rural Cameroon expressed their reproductive health concerns through the use of violent imagery involving plundered kitchens and the interference by supernatural forces in the preparation of food [ 27 ].…”

Section: Pilot Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

DrawingOut – An innovative drawing workshop method to support the generation and dissemination of research findings

et al. 2018

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A growing body of literature has explored the potential for arts-based methods to generate and disseminate research, particularly on sensitive or complex topics. This article presents DrawingOut, a metaphor-centred drawing workshop designed to collect visual and textual data about individuals’ experiences of sensitive or taboo health experiences. The visual data, consisting of the artwork produced by participants, and the textual data, all conversations and discussions occurring during the workshop, can also be used to create engaging outputs for dissemination. We piloted DrawingOut in a study of nine women with a minority ethnic or religious background in Cardiff, UK. The women were invited to participate in a series of structured drawing activities. The conversations occurring during the workshop were recorded and then subjected to thematic analysis. Results showed that women’s views and experiences could be grouped in eight major themes covering their wellbeing, relationship with others, and healthcare views and experiences. We produced an A5 16-page booklet that presents the pilot study results, illustrated with participants’ own drawings and quotes, which was disseminated among participants, their community and other relevant stakeholders. This pilot study supports the view that healthcare actors can use the DrawingOut method to engage people to talk about sensitive health topics, while simultaneously providing them with an enjoyable and empowering research experience. In our pilot study the DrawingOut was successful in eliciting rich visual and textual data that captures a diversity of views and experiences, with the added benefit that these can be used to produce engaging outputs for dissemination.

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Dancing Around Infertility: The Use of Metaphors in a Complex Medical Situation

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Pictorial and spatial metaphor in the drawings of a culturally diverse group of women with fertility problems

Pictorial and spatial metaphor in the drawings of a culturally diverse group of women with fertility problems

Icons for health effects of cigarette smoke: a test of semiotic type

DrawingOut – An innovative drawing workshop method to support the generation and dissemination of research findings

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