We are generated women. The discourse construction of feminine breast in the medical context

Abstract

The aim of the article is to reflect on the impact of gender norms in women’s bodies in the medical context. We explore the discoursive construction of breast implant in three groups of women: those who suffered breast cancer, trans, and women that submit to surgery for aesthetic reasons. Through discourse analysis, we study how do health professionals elaborate distinctions between the three cases, how do they give different levels of legitimacy to women’s demand, and how do they argue if the cost of the intervention has to be covered with public funds. In the end, we see how health professionals interviewed draw two boundaries to distinguish the bodies of the women demanding the intervention: the first one is related to the perception of the need and the second one, to the legitimacy attributed to the demand.