Premium
‘My relationships have changed because I’ve changed’: biographical disruption, personal relationships and the formation of an early menopausal subjectivity
Author(s) -
JohnstonAtaata Kate,
Flore Jacinthe,
Kokanović Renata,
Hickey Martha,
Teede Helena,
Boyle Jacqueline A,
Vincent Amanda
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.13143
Subject(s) - ambivalence , subjectivity , normative , narrative , psychology , thematic analysis , social psychology , objectification , life course approach , subject (documents) , developmental psychology , biography , qualitative research , sociology , gender studies , epistemology , history , social science , philosophy , linguistics , library science , computer science , art history
Abstract Early menopause (EM) or premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) can disrupt gendered and age‐related expectations associated with perceived ‘normative’ biographies for young adult women, with implications for subjectivity and relationships. While previous qualitative research has concentrated on the impacts of EM/POI on biography and sense of self, in this article, we examine the enmeshment of personal relationships with the formation of early menopausal subjectivities. Drawing on research exploring concepts of ‘biographical disruption’ and personal relationships, and theoretical work on social norms and subject formation, we present findings from a narrative thematic analysis of 25 interviews with women diagnosed with spontaneous or medically induced EM/POI. We identify three main narrative ‘types’ of subjective and relational experience in response to the ‘disruption’ of EM/POI: interlude and continuity; disruption and adaptation; and disruption and ambivalence. Women’s accounts of their experience of EM/POI indicate that the formation of early menopausal selves is mediated by the extent to which women and those around them identify with gendered norms related to reproduction and age. Consistent with theoretical perspectives that consider the self as relationally produced, we argue that the subjective and relational dimensions of EM/POI are intertwined and must be understood in tandem.