ABSTRACT Breasts are a symbol of femininity, sexuality and maternity and therefore play a role in the way breast cancer is perceived by society. Goffman in 1963 sees stigma such as arising out of disease, by noting that people with socially undesirable characteristics have “spoiled identity” that leads to social discrimination and devaluation. This qualitative feminist ethnographic study explores understanding of breast cancer in a patriarchal setup and the stigma arising out of it. Here I use the six dimensions of stigma as a theoretical framework, as defined by Jones, Scott and Markus. After approval of an ethics committee, 37 research participants (22 patients who had undergone mastectomy and 15 caregivers) were included in the study sample. The data collected via in-depth interviews/focus group discussions was examined thematically. The emerging themes included concepts of shame, self-disclosure of serious illness, loss of breast/s, maternal symbol, beauty, femininity, adjusting to a “new identity,” alopecia and the overburdened caregiver. It is seen that breast cancer poses a threat to femininity as it leads to a distortion of beauty ideals and disrupts the domestic roles of women as housewives and mothers which stigmatizes them and they have to make multiple efforts to restore themselves physically and mentally.

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谈判女性气质、母性和美丽：巴基斯坦女性乳腺癌患者的经验

摘要 乳房​​是女性气质、性欲和母性的象征，因此在社会对乳腺癌的认知中发挥着重要作用。戈夫曼在 1963 年看到了诸如疾病引起的污名，他指出具有社会不良特征的人具有导致社会歧视和贬值的“被破坏的身份”。这项定性的女权主义民族志研究探讨了对父权制背景下乳腺癌的理解以及由此产生的耻辱感。在这里，我使用耻辱的六个维度作为理论框架，正如琼斯、斯科特和马库斯所定义的那样。在伦理委员会批准后，37 名研究参与者（22 名接受过乳房切除术的患者和 15 名护理人员）被纳入研究样本。通过深入访谈/焦点小组讨论收集的数据按主题进行了审查。新出现的主题包括羞耻、严重疾病的自我披露、失去乳房、母亲的象征、美丽、女性气质、适应“新身份”、脱发和负担过重的照顾者。可见，乳腺癌对女性气质构成威胁，因为它会导致美丽理想的扭曲，破坏女性作为家庭主妇和母亲的家庭角色，使她们受到污名化，她们必须多方努力恢复自己的身心。