Lesley Roberts UP794341 Thesis Final
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Life after Traumatic Injury: Narratives of Embodiment and Identity of United Kingdom ex-Service Personnel Lesley Allison Boas Roberts, BA, MA PhD Sociology The thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth. Date: December 2019 Declaration Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award. Word Count: 91,802 ii Abstract This PhD thesis explores the life stories of veterans who were medically discharged due to severe trauma. Building upon Arthur Frank’s (1995) ‘illness narratives’, the research aims to fill the gap about the individual, lived experiences of wounded service personnel in the United Kingdom Armed Forces. Through narrative inquiry with 12 participants (all male), this thesis covers a lengthy temporal dimension: from the point of injury to rehabilitation and beyond—to the hopes and fears that participants voiced for their futures. The thesis explores how poly-traumatic wounds and subsequent discharge impacts the life stories of injured service personnel through a multi- disciplinary lens inclusive of sociology, critical military studies, critical disability studies, psychology, and bio-medical studies. Investigating rehabilitation and medical discharge, participants clarify how continuity and change affects their transition into civilian society. It also highlights a ‘post-military’ versus ‘ex-military’ identity for participants, as the narratives reflect still being connected to their Armed Forces career. Participants’ careers range from 6 to 26 years, serving in the Royal Air Force, Royal Marines, and the British Army. The analysis of the collected narratives within this research illuminates how service members who acquire a disability whilst in service adapt, how they find various forms of agency post-discharge, and their negotiation of physical autonomy in their daily lives. I suggest three new narrative typologies from my research data—‘anchored’, ‘adapted’, and ‘ascending’—to categorise participants’ levels of physical independence. Two new concepts are also introduced: ‘conditional corporeality’ and ‘body rationing’. Lastly, I conclude the thesis with key findings and areas for future research. iii Acknowledgements I would firstly like to acknowledge how very grateful I am to the following women, who are bastions of inspiration and never-ending, unconditional support: Kathleen Waters and Reverend Katherine Walker. I am grateful to Matthew A. Boas for his constant encouragement. A massive thank you to all the participants and other military folks without whom this research would not exist. Special thanks to Captain Fleet and Lieutenant Colonel Green. Thanks also to my supervisory team, Dr Kevin McSorley and Dr Laura Hyman. Finally, I would like to thank Shark and Sims, who antagonise me endlessly and are the best friends one could have. Dedication This work is dedicated to my true loves: Blake, Genevieve, and Evan, who are my bright stars in the night sky. iv Dissemination In accordance with the university submission procedure, the following lists where this research and its aims were presented: Formal presentations: § British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists, Coventry, UK, March 2017 § University of Portsmouth Humanities and Social Sciences Conference, Portsmouth, UK, October 2017 § Veterans and Families Institute, Chelmsford, UK, October 2017 § European International Studies Association Conference; Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Prague, Czech Republic, September 2018 Informal presentations: § Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court, Surrey, UK, March 2016 § Portsmouth Enablement Centre, Portsmouth, UK, October 2016 § University College London, London, UK, June 2017 § HMS Drake, HMNB Devonport, Plymouth, UK, July 2017 § Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Lympstone, Exmouth, UK, October 2017 § Defence Research Network Collaboration Workshop, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK, February 2018 § Military Human Course, York, UK, June 2018 Poster presentations: § University of Portsmouth Ageing Network, Portsmouth, UK, June 2016 § University of Portsmouth Postgraduate Researcher Days, October 2016 § Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre Conference, London, UK, October 2018 v Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 5 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7 Context of Research ...................................................................................................................... 7 Organisation of the thesis ............................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Creation and Destruction: Civilian to Military Service Member and Being Injured .... 12 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 12 Transition from civilian to military service member: Creation/construction of the military body and identity ........................................................................................................................ 12 Basic training .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Experiences of warfare ........................................................................................................................... 15 Transitions .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Biographical Disruption .......................................................................................................................... 20 Transition from active military duty to wounded service member: Destruction and disablement of the body ............................................................................................................. 21 Traumatic wounding in combat .............................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 3: Re-creation: Rehabilitation, Recovery, and Returning to the Civilian World .............. 25 Battlefield injury to home ........................................................................................................... 25 Transitions from wounded service member to civilian ............................................................. 25 Masculinity and Stigma ............................................................................................................... 28 Maintaining independence and control: heteronormative masculinity ................................................. 28 Masculinity and post-injury sexual functioning ...................................................................................... 28 Stigma ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Stigmatised dependency ........................................................................................................................ 30 Societal constructs: Normal able-bodiedness, disability, othering, and passing ...................... 31 ‘Normal’ able-bodiedness ...................................................................................................................... 32 Disability ................................................................................................................................................. 33 Othering: How society ‘others’ persons with disabilities ....................................................................... 34 Passing as normal ................................................................................................................................... 35 Pain, legitimacy, and stoicism ..................................................................................................... 37 Importance of support ................................................................................................................ 39 Carers ..................................................................................................................................................... 40 Technology: Prosthetics and independence ............................................................................... 41 Prosthetics and sport .............................................................................................................................. 41 Elite Sport ............................................................................................................................................... 42 Independence via ‘Smart homes’ ........................................................................................................... 43 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................