Self-Injury, Medicine and Society: Authentic Bodies

Self-Injury, Medicine and Society is about accounts of self-injury, of bodies and of the role of sociology in helping to deepen our understanding of what self-injury is; how it functions; and why people might do it. The book provides an appreciative, sociological engagement with accounts of the embodied practice of self-injury. It shows that in order to understand self-injury, it is necessary to engage with widely circulating narratives about the nature of bodies, including that they are separate from, yet containers of 'emotion'. Using a sociological approach, the book examines what self-injury is, how it functions, and why someone might engage in it. It pays close attention to the corporeal aspects of self-injury, attending to the complex ways in which 'lived experience' is narrated. Further, by interrogating the way in which healthcare and psychiatric systems shape our understanding of self-injury, Self-Injury, Medicine and Society aims to re-invigorate traditional discourse on the subject.