‘Normalizing’ female cancer patients: Look good, feel better and other image programs

Abstract

Image programs are a specific type of psychosocial cancer service developed to help women address the appearance‐related side effects of cancer treatment. They include the Look good, feel better program, medical and mastectomy boutiques and other cosmetic and makeover programs. In this paper I argue that the primary goal of image programs is to ‘normalize’ female cancer patients by hiding the physical evidence of illness and by reconstructing women with cancer as physically attractive, heterosexual and not disabled. The recovery of femininity and a feminine appearance is seen as central to recovering health. As a result, image programs take on a certain clinical legitimacy and become powerful reproducers of heterosexist and ableist discourses of gender and wellness.

Keywords:

• gender
• sexuality
• disability
• psychosocial cancer care

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all of the women and men interviewed for this project and all of the people with cancer who spoke to me or participated in the events where I completed my participant observation. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers whose feedback was essential in helping me organize and clarify my arguments. Finally, this project would never have been completed without the American Association of University Women’s American Fellowship (2003–2004). The research was carried out at The University of California–Irvine.

Notes

1. This paper relies mainly on data from the textual analysis and participant observation portions of my study. Readers interested in a full treatment of the interviews should see the larger work (Kendrick 2004).

2. South County and the names of all hospitals and interviewees are pseudonyms. The names of national programs are unchanged.