A FEMINIST CULTURAL STUDY of IDENTITY, HAIR LOSS, and CHEMOTHERAPY by Céline Guillerm a Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty
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A FEMINIST CULTURAL STUDY OF IDENTITY, HAIR LOSS, AND CHEMOTHERAPY by Céline Guillerm A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida December 2015 Copyright 2015 by Céline Guillerm ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The seed of this dissertation was planted during my first year enrolled as a doctoral student, when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The following year, I met Dr. Scodari when I took her course in “Feminist Cultural Studies.” Her class was truly a revelation and she became my mentor. Therefore, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to Dr. Scodari for her expert guidance and support throughout my research. I am forever grateful for her patience and encouragement, and for always being available. I also would like to thank Dr. Munson and Dr. Blattner for serving on my committee. Thank you for believing in me and encouraging me all these years. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, my sisters, my nieces and my nephew, my grandmother, my uncle, and my dear friends for their love and support. I love you. iv ABSTRACT Author: Céline Guillerm Title: A Feminist Cultural Study of Identity, Hair Loss, and Chemotherapy Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Christine Scodari Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2015 The main aim of this dissertation is to discuss the way women negotiate the cultural meaning of hair loss, alopecia, as a result of undergoing chemotherapy, and to understand, accordingly, how cancer’s cultural effects regarding women can be deeply different from those of men. Very few studies have been done about the cultural impact and resonance of alopecia. It is often regarded as “secondary” to other effects of chemotherapy. Because, in many cultures, head hair for women expresses or manifests attractiveness and power, to be bald is to be deprived of the ability to fit into society, whether in the public or private sphere. The study examines the representation of such women in the media, audience/subject responses to these representations, and interrogates women’s identities and representations in terms of Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. Women who v have experienced chemotherapy-induced alopecia were interviewed in this regard. Other contributive feminist, cultural and/or media studies works, such as those by Suzanna Walters, Susan Bordo, Naomi Wolf, Donna Haraway, Stuart Hall, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Judith Butler, help facilitate the analysis. From these perspectives, a historical analysis takes into consideration the symbolic dimension of hair, especially women’s head hair, within Western cultural history, particularly in France and a multicultural America. In addition, a textual analysis looks at women, cancer, and hair loss as represented in popular culture characters and personalities. The study insists on the necessity for women to resist to the culture industries and deconstruct the male gaze, as well as the female gaze, which can both contribute to, and perpetuate women’s objectification. vi A FEMINIST CULTURAL STUDY OF IDENTITY, HAIR LOSS, AND CHEMOTHERAPY CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background and Justification ................................................................................... 1 1.2. Issues to be Addressed ........................................................................................... 10 1.3. Selected Literature Review .................................................................................... 13 1.3.1. Feminist Cultural Theory ................................................................................ 13 1.3.2. African-American Women/Gender and Hair .................................................. 19 1.3.2.1. African-American Women and Hair ........................................................ 19 1.3.2.2. Gender and Hair ....................................................................................... 21 1.3.3. Women and Cancer ......................................................................................... 22 1.3.4. Cultural and Media Representation of Body Image, Cancer, and/or Hair Loss ................................................................................................................. 24 1.4. Research Procedures and Methodology ................................................................. 27 1.5. Chapter Preview ..................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER TWO: A HISTORY OF HAIR ...................................................................... 36 2.1. Hair: A Social and Historical Perspective ............................................................. 36 2.2. Hair: A Gendered Symbol in Punishment ............................................................. 39 2.3. Hair: Symbol of Attractiveness and Sex Appeal ................................................... 44 2.4. Magical Hair: An Object of Fetishism/Mysticism ................................................. 47 vii 2.5. Hair Color: A Preference for Northern European Beauty Standards ..................... 51 2.6. Hair: A Symbol of Women’s Freedom and Liberation, or How to Blur Gender Boundaries .............................................................................................................. 54 2.7. Racial Implication of Hair: Freedom or Confinement? ......................................... 58 2.8. Head-Covering: Perpetual Gender Discrimination or Right to Freedom of Expression? ............................................................................................................ 61 2.9. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER THREE: WOMEN, HAIR, AND CANCER IN THE MEDIA ..................... 70 3.1. Introducing Television Into the Home/The Rise of the (Social) Media ................ 70 3.2. The Four Myths of Femininity: May I Be Beautiful and Powerful? ..................... 75 3.3. Media Representation of Cancer and Hair Loss .................................................... 80 3.3.1. Sex and the City: Health Edutainment? .......................................................... 80 3.3.2. Desperate Housewives: A Simple “Chick Show”? ......................................... 91 3.3.3. Lynette’s Lymphoma: Cancer Plot, Audience Reactions and Consequences .................................................................................................. 93 3.4. Jade Goody: A Case of Voyeurism or Information? ........................................... 102 3.5. Etheridge, or How to Be Bald and Fierce ............................................................ 104 3.6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER FOUR: I WANT MY HAIR BACK! INTERVIEWS ................................. 110 4.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 110 4.1.1. Theoretical Context /Background ................................................................. 110 4.2. Interview Guide ................................................................................................... 115 4.2.1. Recruitment and Measures ............................................................................ 115 viii 4.2.2. Interview Questions and Procedure .............................................................. 116 4.2.3. Participants .................................................................................................... 117 4.3. Results .................................................................................................................. 117 4.3.1. Pressure of Hair: Scalp Hypothermia ........................................................... 117 4.3.1.2. Participants’ Reaction to Hair Loss ....................................................... 122 4.3.1.3. Entourage’s Reaction to Hair Loss ........................................................ 122 4.3.1.4. Hair and Seduction ................................................................................. 123 4.3.2. Going Public: Societal Pressure to Look Right ............................................ 127 4.3.3. Influence of the Media .................................................................................. 128 4.3.4. Gender, Hair and Identity ............................................................................. 136 4.4. Discussion and Conclusion .................................................................................. 137 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH .............................. 143 5.1. Summary .............................................................................................................. 143 5.2. Contributions to Multiple Domains ..................................................................... 145 5.2.1. Feminine Identity .......................................................................................... 145 5.2.2. Cultural Meaning of Hair/Hair Loss Due to Chemotherapy ......................... 150 5.2.3. Cancer, Hair Loss and Femininity in the Media ........................................... 153 5.3. Limitations ..........................................................................................................