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Hormonal Hierarchy

Hysterectomy and Stratified Stigma

University of New Hampshire

Gynecological surgery prompts women to consider the meanings of their uteruses and ovaries, generally taken for granted as "natural" components of female bodies. Analysis of 44 in-depth interviews with women who underwent hysterectomy indicates that a preponderance of respondents conceptualized a socially constructed hormonal hierarchy based on the degree to which ovaries were excised in the course of surgery. While retained ovaries may not always produce actual physiological benefits, respondents placed great symbolic value on ovaries (or parts of ovaries) as the source of female normality. This reflects cultural understandings that hormones produced by the ovaries are the essential determinants of sexual difference. The interweaving of social constructionist and biological perspectives in respondents' narratives helps to elucidate the complicated interaction between the material body and the social body.

Key Words: gender identity • hysterectomy • oophorectomy • stigma • biographical disruption

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