Patient-blaming and representation of risk factors in breast cancer images.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Routledge Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7608076 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0363-0242 (Print) Linking ISSN: 03630242 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Women Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Philadelphia : Routledge
      Original Publication: Old Westbury, N. Y., Biological Sciences Program, State Univ. of New York, College at Old Westbury.
    • Subject Terms:
      Body Image* ; Scapegoating* ; Women's Health*; Breast Neoplasms/*psychology ; Mass Media/*statistics & numerical data ; Periodicals as Topic/*statistics & numerical data; Bibliometrics ; Breast Neoplasms/etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Media/trends ; Periodicals as Topic/trends ; Photography ; Risk Factors ; Stereotyping
    • Abstract:
      Media coverage of some cancers in the past often equated cancer with a death sentence. Breast cancer coverage in 1990s magazines, however, has become less fatalistic, more frequent, and discusses a broader range of issues than before. This study examined whether the visual images accompanying magazine articles about breast cancer have also evolved. We used Goffman's (1976) rituals of subordination to measure patient-blaming and subordinating, disempowering images. We also analyzed race/ethnicity, body type, and age of females in the images to gauge whether these demographic risk factors were represented in a random sample of images from nine magazines over a 30-year period. Magazines analyzed represented three genres-women's magazines, fashion/beauty, and general news. Findings suggest that patient-blaming images have decreased in some categories and women portrayed are slightly more representative of risk factors of age and race/ethnicity. Magazine images tended to reinforce stereotyped portrayals of femininity to the detriment of cancer patients. Fashion/beauty magazines, aimed at younger women, were most likely to portray breast cancer images in stereotyped, patient-blaming ways, with the least representative images of risk factors. The social construction of feminine beauty seems to overpower accuracy in creating these images.
    • Number of References:
      38
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20010406 Date Completed: 20010426 Latest Revision: 20191104
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      10.1300/j013v31n02_03
    • Accession Number:
      11289686