SlideShare uma empresa Scribd logo
1 de 17
Is the personal (bio)political in the digital age?:
Feminism, depression and the troubling of
neuro selfhood
Prof. Simone Fullagar
https://bath.academia.edu/SimoneFullagar
Twitter @simonefullagar
s.p.fullagar@bath.ac.uk
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Bath
Questions
• How does the feminist ethos ‘the personal is
political’ play out within the biopolitics of
depression and through digital spaces?
• What discursive formations are shaping feminist
debates about mental health/illness?
• What might be the effects on how we come to
‘know’ women’s experiences & lives?
• Points of tension and alliance exist between
feminist and mental health movements?
2
The historical,
political and cultural
construction of
gendered
subjectivity.
Women positioned
as hysterical,
emotional,
hormonal & now
neurochemcially
unbalanced
3
Feminist Counter-Discourses
• Early women’s movement – mind doctors as
agents of patriarchal control (Freidan, Greer,
Millet)
• Medicalisation of women’s emotional distress
(diagnosis) critiqued within medical
institutions/practices (Appignanesi, 2009)
• Exposing the power-knowledge relations of
‘scientific expertise’ that defined women as ‘ill or
mad’ (Usher, 2000)
• Women’s movement articulates social
understanding of personal struggles
4
Gendered ‘mental health and behavioural conditions’ (ABS,
2012) 5
‘Unipolar depression, predicted to be the second leading
cause of global disability burden by 2020, is twice as
common in women…(and) more persistent in women than
men’ (WHO, 2014)
http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/genderwomen/en/
– Mental health literacy is a population problem as
‘people don’t understand’ they need expert help
(Jorm et al 2007)
– E-mental health promotion to educate women
treats gender as a ‘variable’ not a social
construct (Fullagar, 2008)
– Rise of social media & digital communication
enables dialogue about the intersectionality of
women’s subjectivities
6
Depression is more than just a low mood –
it's a serious illness that has an impact on
both physical and mental health.
Cultural critique, Artist, Justine Cooper
7
Celebrity advocacy,
Ruby Wax “It’s a brain disease.
Depression has nothing to do with being
sad. It’s not because you had a bad hair
day or even that your husband left
town,” she says. “I’m trying to break that
myth as fast as I can. I can only say it a
hundred thousand times.”
Ruby Wax ‘poster girl
for mental health,
2013’, positivenews
Rise of neurochemical selfhood
(Rose, 2007; Rose & Abi-Rached, 2013)
• Neuroscience as the new ‘truth’ about depression
via hypothesis of chemical imbalance in the brain
– Persists despite lack of evidence & critique, similar
effects to placebo (Moncrieff, 2009)
– Illness identity ‘legitimises’ emotional distress but can
worsen social stigma (Lafrance, 2012; Buchan et al,
2013)
– ‘Good women’ are urged to govern themselves as expert
consumers to be responsible & restore normality
(Stoppard, 1999; Trivelli 2014)
– ‘Pharmaceutical imaginary’ (Jenkins, 2010) has a
gendered history: hysterical, neurotic woman, unhappy
housewife (valium), unsatisifed working mothers (SSRIs)
8
Digital spaces, fluid assemblages
The Fementalists: At the intersection of feminism
and mental health activism, http://thefementalists.com/about/
Facebook and twitter accounts, forum and blog
• This site was established to bridge the gap between mental health
activism and feminism, and to provide a space for women to share
their experiences of life at the intersection of womanhood and mental
ill-health. We are committed to an intersectional feminist analysis and
are firm advocates for patients’ rights.
7/10/2013 3:11 pm
Women with severe mental health problems
are 10x more likely to be attacked, less likely
to report independent.co.uk/life-style/hea…
@TheFementalists
1/02/2014 1:52 am
How many of us have had our voices
discounted because of our diagnoses?
"Oh, you're upset? You must be off your
meds." #NotHysterical
A Room of Our Own: Feminist tensions
10
@ThisisLauraS
1/02/2014 12:22 am
A lot of the movement makes
me feel like a failure for my
struggles because I don't fit
the "strong" narrative.
#NotHysterical
@UnusedPotential
31/01/2014 11:43 pm
Mental health issues often make
people incapable of advocating
for themselves. We need the
voices of wider feminism.
#NotHysterical
http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2010/08/30/life-is-not-
a-fairytale-black-women-and-depression/
This feels like a confession because while I am only
admitting to having moments of humanity and
vulnerability, I am a black woman, and for me these
realities are oftentimes seen as weaknesses. We
(black women) are supposed to be strong. We (black
women) are not supposed to break down.
Blog - Feminism, Mental Health and Inclusion by
@LUBottom http://aroomofourown.org/feminism-
mental-health-and-inclusion-by-lubottom/
28/4/2014
• What I wanted to write about is my particular experience
with depression and why I take issue with it being co-opted
as a term to describe non-medical annoyance or frustration
and why non-disabled feminists need to make more careful
choices regarding the words they use…
• On the one hand my instinct is to ignore the word
“depressing” as something which has become deeply
assimilated into our everyday conversations, but on the
other I am aware of the hypocrisy of ignoring such terms
whilst feeling offend by the use of other medical terms
such as “schizophrenic” or “retarded” as adjectives for
negative terminology.
11
How is depression rendered thinkable
as a feminist problem?
• Othering of MH difference: Feminist
language can trivalise experience of
‘depression’
– ‘the use of “how depressing” is an insult’
• Feminist subjectivity normalised as strong
in relation to the fight against oppression
– emotional ‘weakness’ as a source of shame
12
Mumsnet: BBC report on NICE advice on AD
risks for pregnant women
• “You’ve got double the risk. And for women who are mild
to moderately depressed, I don’t think that those risks, in
most cases, are really worth taking” he said.
“It’s not just when a woman who’s pregnant is sitting in
front of you. I think it needs to be thought about with a
woman who could get pregnant. And, that’s the large
majority of women aged between 15 and 45″
• Prof Pilling, NICE
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/a1787715-Gobsmacked-at-
SSRI-pregnancy-thing-as-reported-on-BBC-today
13
• “OK, I too fumed at this article, because of the assumption that women’s
mental health was trivial and unimportant compared to that of their
hypothetical unborn baby, thus making us seem like incubators on legs
(once more)”.
“Bafflingly, I have yet to see an article on the BBC warning pre-
inseminating men who are suffering mild to moderate depression not to
use SSRIs for this reason”.
• I saw that this morning. Found it disturbing on several levels. Lets make
women even more responsible for their own mental health. Let them
make impossible choices through pregnancy so we can blame it all on
them rather than actually looking at what is wrong with the society that
this is actually so much of a danger for pregnant women. And don't get
me started on the pre-pregnancy guff. Are women to be permanently in a
state of pre-pregnancy when they reach puberty? It is controlling and
sinister.
14
Women’s minds/bodies as the object of expertise:
The ‘right to choose’ neurochemcial selfhood but…
• I completely agree with lots of the stuff on here about his comments
being ill-judged, and seemingly anti-women. I am on SSRIs, have
been for many years, believe they have sorted me out. Generally, I am
a big defender of pharmacological agents for depression. I have
practically rattled at times. However.... and I just can't shake this 'what
if' feeling... SSRIs have been linked to higher rates of heart defects.
Presumably the studies demonstrating this have been adequately
controlled for other comorbid factors.
• I'm on an SNRI. It works brilliantly for my anxiety and depression, but
the withdrawals... I wouldn't recommend them to anyone on that basis
(google FDA discontinuation syndrome cymbalta).
• Paroxetine, the SSRI they mention in the report, is also known as
Seroxat. It took years of dogged campaigning (and legal action) to
make the manufacturers and the psychiatrists admit that Seroxat was
actually linked to an increased risk of suicide in some patients,
especially young people.
15
Digital civic actions of feminists: ‘troubling’ relations
between ‘mental health’ discourses
• sharing of women’s diverse experiences to reveal the
interrelations between social, personal and neurobiological
• Raise questions the inclusiveness of feminist politics (in
terms of mental health identity /language that marginalises)
• Facilitate critical responses to dominant truths (celebrities,
policy, NICE) that shape public knowledge
• Challenges from here;
– understanding how the circumstances affecting mental health are
social/gendered,
– the normalisation of neurochemical selfhood & lack of alternatives
– engagement of critical voices with mainstream mental health
16
• Fullagar, S., & O’Brien, W. (2013). Problematizing the neurochemical subject of anti-
depressant treatment: The limits of biomedical responses to women’s emotional distress.
Health:, 17(1), 57-74.
• Fullagar, S and O’Brien, W (2012) Journeys, battles & feeling alive: Metaphors of women’s
recovery from depression, Qualitative Health Research
• Fullagar, S (2009) Negotiating the neurochemical self: Anti-depressant consumption in
women’s recovery from depression, Health: An interdisciplinary journal for the social study of
health, illness and medicine. 13(3), pp.389-406.
• O’Brien & Fullagar (2008) Women’s recovery from depression, Social Alternatives, (special
issue on mental health), 24(4), pp.6-13
• Fullagar, S. (2008) Sites of somatic subjectivity: E-scaped mental health promotion and the
biopolitics of depression, Social Theory and Health, 6, pp.323-341.
• Fullagar, S. (2008) Leisure practices as counter-depressants: Emotion-work and emotion-play
within women’s recovery from depression, Leisure Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Journal.
30(1), pp.35-52.
• Gattuso, S, Fullagar, S and Young, I. (2005). Speaking of women’s ‘nameless misery’: The
everyday construction of depression within Australian women’s magazines. Social Science
and Medicine. 61(8), pp. 1640-1648
• Fullagar, S & Brown, P. (2003) Everyday temporalities: Leisure, ethics and young women’s
emotional well-being. Annals of Leisure Research. 6(3), pp.193-208.
• Fullagar, S and Gattuso, S. (2002). Rethinking gender, risk and depression within Australian
mental health policy. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health.
http://www.auseinet.com/journal/
17

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mental Health Across Culture by International Psychology
Mental Health Across Culture by International PsychologyMental Health Across Culture by International Psychology
Mental Health Across Culture by International PsychologyPutri Ayu Sal Sabila
 
July 2019 mental health talk
July 2019 mental health talkJuly 2019 mental health talk
July 2019 mental health talkRichard Gardner
 
Culture and Mental Health
Culture and Mental HealthCulture and Mental Health
Culture and Mental HealthEarly Artis
 
Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in Adolescence
Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in AdolescenceSelf-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in Adolescence
Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in AdolescenceTimo Purjo
 
culture bound syndromes in india
culture bound syndromes in indiaculture bound syndromes in india
culture bound syndromes in indiadr shaliya james
 
Personal Statement
Personal Statement Personal Statement
Personal Statement Emily Young
 
Suicide And Social Pathology
Suicide And Social PathologySuicide And Social Pathology
Suicide And Social Pathologyguest74f230
 
Srinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuro
Srinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuroSrinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuro
Srinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuroFundación Ramón Areces
 
Self destructive behaviors and survivors of suicide
Self destructive behaviors and survivors  of suicideSelf destructive behaviors and survivors  of suicide
Self destructive behaviors and survivors of suicidesbuffo
 
Celebrities Who Have Lived with Mental Illness
Celebrities Who Have Lived with Mental IllnessCelebrities Who Have Lived with Mental Illness
Celebrities Who Have Lived with Mental IllnessCary Byrd
 
Culture bound syndrome
Culture bound syndromeCulture bound syndrome
Culture bound syndromeCijo Alex
 
Culture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndrome
Culture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndromeCulture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndrome
Culture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndromeSujit Kumar Kar
 

Mais procurados (19)

VA Tech Massacre1
VA Tech Massacre1VA Tech Massacre1
VA Tech Massacre1
 
Mental Health Across Culture by International Psychology
Mental Health Across Culture by International PsychologyMental Health Across Culture by International Psychology
Mental Health Across Culture by International Psychology
 
July 2019 mental health talk
July 2019 mental health talkJuly 2019 mental health talk
July 2019 mental health talk
 
2008 Read Posters
2008 Read Posters2008 Read Posters
2008 Read Posters
 
Culture and Mental Health
Culture and Mental HealthCulture and Mental Health
Culture and Mental Health
 
Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in Adolescence
Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in AdolescenceSelf-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in Adolescence
Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide Prevention in Adolescence
 
Stigma Skills Workshop
Stigma Skills WorkshopStigma Skills Workshop
Stigma Skills Workshop
 
culture bound syndromes in india
culture bound syndromes in indiaculture bound syndromes in india
culture bound syndromes in india
 
Suicide
Suicide Suicide
Suicide
 
Culture and psychiatry
Culture and psychiatryCulture and psychiatry
Culture and psychiatry
 
Birstudy
BirstudyBirstudy
Birstudy
 
Personal Statement
Personal Statement Personal Statement
Personal Statement
 
Dhat syndrome
Dhat syndromeDhat syndrome
Dhat syndrome
 
Suicide And Social Pathology
Suicide And Social PathologySuicide And Social Pathology
Suicide And Social Pathology
 
Srinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuro
Srinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuroSrinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuro
Srinivasa Murthy-Psiquiatría: situación actual y perspectivas de futuro
 
Self destructive behaviors and survivors of suicide
Self destructive behaviors and survivors  of suicideSelf destructive behaviors and survivors  of suicide
Self destructive behaviors and survivors of suicide
 
Celebrities Who Have Lived with Mental Illness
Celebrities Who Have Lived with Mental IllnessCelebrities Who Have Lived with Mental Illness
Celebrities Who Have Lived with Mental Illness
 
Culture bound syndrome
Culture bound syndromeCulture bound syndrome
Culture bound syndrome
 
Culture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndrome
Culture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndromeCulture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndrome
Culture bound syndrome, paris syndrome, stendhal syndrome
 

Destaque

What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...
What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...
What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...British Sociological Association
 
Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...
Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...
Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...British Sociological Association
 
Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...
Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...
Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...British Sociological Association
 
Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...
Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...
Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...British Sociological Association
 
The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...
The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...
The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...British Sociological Association
 
Technologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie Brittain
Technologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie BrittainTechnologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie Brittain
Technologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie BrittainBritish Sociological Association
 

Destaque (9)

What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...
What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...
What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agen...
 
Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...
Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...
Commentary on identities and ideologies in the women’s and service user/survi...
 
Robots and Elder Test Users by Louis Neven
Robots and Elder Test Users by Louis NevenRobots and Elder Test Users by Louis Neven
Robots and Elder Test Users by Louis Neven
 
Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...
Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...
Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-...
 
Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...
Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...
Meanings of the family in the context of death and organ donation on intensiv...
 
The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...
The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...
The Significance of Educational and Welfare Policies for the Experiences of H...
 
Technologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie Brittain
Technologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie BrittainTechnologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie Brittain
Technologies of Place for those Living with Dementia by Katie Brittain
 
Cuthill f stabilising_uncertain_ground_ne_med_soc
Cuthill f stabilising_uncertain_ground_ne_med_socCuthill f stabilising_uncertain_ground_ne_med_soc
Cuthill f stabilising_uncertain_ground_ne_med_soc
 
Clothing and Dementia presented by Julia Twigg
Clothing and Dementia presented by Julia TwiggClothing and Dementia presented by Julia Twigg
Clothing and Dementia presented by Julia Twigg
 

Semelhante a Is the personal (bio)political in the digital age?: Feminism, depression and the troubling of neuro selfhood by Professor Simone Fullagar

Soci final 314
Soci final 314Soci final 314
Soci final 314chelmorris
 
The health gapthe health gap the challenge of a
The health gapthe health gap the challenge of aThe health gapthe health gap the challenge of a
The health gapthe health gap the challenge of arock73
 
The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of Women
The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of WomenThe Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of Women
The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of WomenAngela Williams
 
My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...
My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...
My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...Stacy Johnson
 
Disability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docx
Disability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docxDisability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docx
Disability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docxsalmonpybus
 
Mental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News
Mental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking NewsMental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News
Mental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking Newsclammycard7154
 
Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...
Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...
Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...Sandra Gubner
 
Human Sexuality Analysis
Human Sexuality AnalysisHuman Sexuality Analysis
Human Sexuality AnalysisCanada27
 
Normality And Human Behavior
Normality And Human BehaviorNormality And Human Behavior
Normality And Human BehaviorMelissa Wilson
 
Health And Illness Report
Health And Illness ReportHealth And Illness Report
Health And Illness ReportDivya Watson
 
Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...
Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...
Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...Amber Voisine
 

Semelhante a Is the personal (bio)political in the digital age?: Feminism, depression and the troubling of neuro selfhood by Professor Simone Fullagar (20)

Soci final 314
Soci final 314Soci final 314
Soci final 314
 
The health gapthe health gap the challenge of a
The health gapthe health gap the challenge of aThe health gapthe health gap the challenge of a
The health gapthe health gap the challenge of a
 
3.5.2 Toni Delany
3.5.2 Toni Delany3.5.2 Toni Delany
3.5.2 Toni Delany
 
The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of Women
The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of WomenThe Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of Women
The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of Women
 
Argumentative Essay On Positivity
Argumentative Essay On PositivityArgumentative Essay On Positivity
Argumentative Essay On Positivity
 
My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...
My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...
My Perceptions About And Prior Experience With Depression,...
 
Disability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docx
Disability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docxDisability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docx
Disability, Hysteria, and Environmental IllnessMy rank as a .docx
 
Self-Harm Research Paper
Self-Harm Research PaperSelf-Harm Research Paper
Self-Harm Research Paper
 
Suicide Self Harm
Suicide Self HarmSuicide Self Harm
Suicide Self Harm
 
Mental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News
Mental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking NewsMental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News
Mental Health: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News
 
Essay On Psych Myths
Essay On Psych MythsEssay On Psych Myths
Essay On Psych Myths
 
Cognitive Model Of Mental Illness
Cognitive Model Of Mental IllnessCognitive Model Of Mental Illness
Cognitive Model Of Mental Illness
 
Mental Illness Essay
Mental Illness EssayMental Illness Essay
Mental Illness Essay
 
Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...
Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...
Physical Barriers And The Immune System Defend The Body...
 
Human Sexuality Analysis
Human Sexuality AnalysisHuman Sexuality Analysis
Human Sexuality Analysis
 
Normality And Human Behavior
Normality And Human BehaviorNormality And Human Behavior
Normality And Human Behavior
 
Persuasive Essay Research Topics
Persuasive Essay Research TopicsPersuasive Essay Research Topics
Persuasive Essay Research Topics
 
Health And Illness Report
Health And Illness ReportHealth And Illness Report
Health And Illness Report
 
Essay About Asm 34 Nvq 3
Essay About Asm 34 Nvq 3Essay About Asm 34 Nvq 3
Essay About Asm 34 Nvq 3
 
Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...
Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...
Health Behaviors Is Not Always Motivated By Disease...
 

Mais de British Sociological Association

Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...
Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...
Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...British Sociological Association
 
‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...
‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...
‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...British Sociological Association
 
Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...
Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...
Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...British Sociological Association
 
Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...
Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...
Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...British Sociological Association
 
Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...
Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...
Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...British Sociological Association
 
Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...
Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...
Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...British Sociological Association
 
Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...
Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...
Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...British Sociological Association
 
Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...
Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...
Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...British Sociological Association
 
Studying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve Garner
Studying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve GarnerStudying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve Garner
Studying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve GarnerBritish Sociological Association
 
What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...
What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...
What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...British Sociological Association
 
Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...
Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...
Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...British Sociological Association
 

Mais de British Sociological Association (20)

Sociology Update 2015/16 by Patrick Robinson
Sociology Update 2015/16 by Patrick RobinsonSociology Update 2015/16 by Patrick Robinson
Sociology Update 2015/16 by Patrick Robinson
 
OCR Sociology Handout
OCR Sociology HandoutOCR Sociology Handout
OCR Sociology Handout
 
The Micropolitics of Obesity by Nick Fox
The Micropolitics of Obesity by Nick FoxThe Micropolitics of Obesity by Nick Fox
The Micropolitics of Obesity by Nick Fox
 
Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...
Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...
Thinking Intersectionally: Taking the Sociology Lecture Outside the Classroom...
 
‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...
‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...
‘Because we are the first generation to be here’: Exploring the experiences ...
 
Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...
Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...
Becoming-Woman by Practising Autofiction: Narratives of Memory-Work Applied t...
 
Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...
Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...
Students’ reasons for choosing Sociology A level and the advice they are give...
 
Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...
Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...
Capital and Accumulation: rethinking social class for the 21st century by Mik...
 
Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...
Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...
Researching families across contexts: ethical and methodological reflections ...
 
GCE AS/A level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna Lewis
GCE AS/A level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna LewisGCE AS/A level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna Lewis
GCE AS/A level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna Lewis
 
Sociology update by Patrick Robinson
Sociology update by Patrick RobinsonSociology update by Patrick Robinson
Sociology update by Patrick Robinson
 
AQA Presentation by Lydia Rushton
AQA Presentation by Lydia RushtonAQA Presentation by Lydia Rushton
AQA Presentation by Lydia Rushton
 
New OCR GCE Sociology by Ewan Brady
New OCR GCE Sociology by Ewan BradyNew OCR GCE Sociology by Ewan Brady
New OCR GCE Sociology by Ewan Brady
 
AQA Sociology presentation by Lydia Rushton
AQA Sociology presentation by Lydia RushtonAQA Sociology presentation by Lydia Rushton
AQA Sociology presentation by Lydia Rushton
 
GCE AS/A Level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna Lewis
GCE AS/A Level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna LewisGCE AS/A Level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna Lewis
GCE AS/A Level Sociology from 2015 by Joanna Lewis
 
Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...
Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...
Decolonising the Canon: Contextualising Black Studies in Britain by Lisa Aman...
 
Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...
Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...
Sociology Update on new topics for 2015: Subject content and Teaching Ideas b...
 
Studying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve Garner
Studying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve GarnerStudying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve Garner
Studying 'race' from another angle: the sociology of whiteness by Steve Garner
 
What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...
What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...
What makes the experience of bereavement through military death different? by...
 
Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...
Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...
Negotiating personal networks: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans older people’...
 

Último

In - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptx
In - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptxIn - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptx
In - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptxAditiChauhan701637
 
Slides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptx
Slides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptxSlides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptx
Slides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptxCapitolTechU
 
KARNAADA.pptx made by - saransh dwivedi ( SD ) - SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...
KARNAADA.pptx  made by -  saransh dwivedi ( SD ) -  SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...KARNAADA.pptx  made by -  saransh dwivedi ( SD ) -  SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...
KARNAADA.pptx made by - saransh dwivedi ( SD ) - SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...M56BOOKSTORE PRODUCT/SERVICE
 
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...raviapr7
 
Ultra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptx
Ultra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptxUltra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptx
Ultra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptxDr. Asif Anas
 
Quality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE
Quality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICEQuality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE
Quality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICESayali Powar
 
What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?
What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?
What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?TechSoup
 
Department of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdf
Department of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdfDepartment of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdf
Department of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdfMohonDas
 
Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.
Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.
Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.raviapr7
 
Optical Fibre and It's Applications.pptx
Optical Fibre and It's Applications.pptxOptical Fibre and It's Applications.pptx
Optical Fibre and It's Applications.pptxPurva Nikam
 
3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx
3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx
3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptxmary850239
 
Vani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational Trust
Vani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational TrustVani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational Trust
Vani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational TrustSavipriya Raghavendra
 
Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....
Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....
Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....Riddhi Kevadiya
 
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptxmary850239
 
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptxThe basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptxheathfieldcps1
 
P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdf
P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdfP4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdf
P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdfYu Kanazawa / Osaka University
 
DUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRA
DUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRADUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRA
DUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRATanmoy Mishra
 

Último (20)

In - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptx
In - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptxIn - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptx
In - Vivo and In - Vitro Correlation.pptx
 
Slides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptx
Slides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptxSlides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptx
Slides CapTechTalks Webinar March 2024 Joshua Sinai.pptx
 
KARNAADA.pptx made by - saransh dwivedi ( SD ) - SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...
KARNAADA.pptx  made by -  saransh dwivedi ( SD ) -  SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...KARNAADA.pptx  made by -  saransh dwivedi ( SD ) -  SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...
KARNAADA.pptx made by - saransh dwivedi ( SD ) - SHALAKYA TANTRA - ENT - 4...
 
Finals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quiz
Finals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quizFinals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quiz
Finals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quiz
 
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
 
Ultra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptx
Ultra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptxUltra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptx
Ultra structure and life cycle of Plasmodium.pptx
 
Quality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE
Quality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICEQuality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE
Quality Assurance_GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE
 
What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?
What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?
What is the Future of QuickBooks DeskTop?
 
Department of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdf
Department of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdfDepartment of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdf
Department of Health Compounder Question ‍Solution 2022.pdf
 
Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.
Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.
Drug Information Services- DIC and Sources.
 
Personal Resilience in Project Management 2 - TV Edit 1a.pdf
Personal Resilience in Project Management 2 - TV Edit 1a.pdfPersonal Resilience in Project Management 2 - TV Edit 1a.pdf
Personal Resilience in Project Management 2 - TV Edit 1a.pdf
 
Optical Fibre and It's Applications.pptx
Optical Fibre and It's Applications.pptxOptical Fibre and It's Applications.pptx
Optical Fibre and It's Applications.pptx
 
3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx
3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx
3.26.24 Race, the Draft, and the Vietnam War.pptx
 
Vani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational Trust
Vani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational TrustVani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational Trust
Vani Magazine - Quarterly Magazine of Seshadripuram Educational Trust
 
Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....
Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....
Riddhi Kevadiya. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE....
 
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptx
 
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptxThe basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
 
P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdf
P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdfP4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdf
P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdf
 
DUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRA
DUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRADUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRA
DUST OF SNOW_BY ROBERT FROST_EDITED BY_ TANMOY MISHRA
 
Prelims of Kant get Marx 2.0: a general politics quiz
Prelims of Kant get Marx 2.0: a general politics quizPrelims of Kant get Marx 2.0: a general politics quiz
Prelims of Kant get Marx 2.0: a general politics quiz
 

Is the personal (bio)political in the digital age?: Feminism, depression and the troubling of neuro selfhood by Professor Simone Fullagar

  • 1. Is the personal (bio)political in the digital age?: Feminism, depression and the troubling of neuro selfhood Prof. Simone Fullagar https://bath.academia.edu/SimoneFullagar Twitter @simonefullagar s.p.fullagar@bath.ac.uk Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Bath
  • 2. Questions • How does the feminist ethos ‘the personal is political’ play out within the biopolitics of depression and through digital spaces? • What discursive formations are shaping feminist debates about mental health/illness? • What might be the effects on how we come to ‘know’ women’s experiences & lives? • Points of tension and alliance exist between feminist and mental health movements? 2
  • 3. The historical, political and cultural construction of gendered subjectivity. Women positioned as hysterical, emotional, hormonal & now neurochemcially unbalanced 3
  • 4. Feminist Counter-Discourses • Early women’s movement – mind doctors as agents of patriarchal control (Freidan, Greer, Millet) • Medicalisation of women’s emotional distress (diagnosis) critiqued within medical institutions/practices (Appignanesi, 2009) • Exposing the power-knowledge relations of ‘scientific expertise’ that defined women as ‘ill or mad’ (Usher, 2000) • Women’s movement articulates social understanding of personal struggles 4
  • 5. Gendered ‘mental health and behavioural conditions’ (ABS, 2012) 5 ‘Unipolar depression, predicted to be the second leading cause of global disability burden by 2020, is twice as common in women…(and) more persistent in women than men’ (WHO, 2014) http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/genderwomen/en/
  • 6. – Mental health literacy is a population problem as ‘people don’t understand’ they need expert help (Jorm et al 2007) – E-mental health promotion to educate women treats gender as a ‘variable’ not a social construct (Fullagar, 2008) – Rise of social media & digital communication enables dialogue about the intersectionality of women’s subjectivities 6 Depression is more than just a low mood – it's a serious illness that has an impact on both physical and mental health.
  • 7. Cultural critique, Artist, Justine Cooper 7 Celebrity advocacy, Ruby Wax “It’s a brain disease. Depression has nothing to do with being sad. It’s not because you had a bad hair day or even that your husband left town,” she says. “I’m trying to break that myth as fast as I can. I can only say it a hundred thousand times.” Ruby Wax ‘poster girl for mental health, 2013’, positivenews
  • 8. Rise of neurochemical selfhood (Rose, 2007; Rose & Abi-Rached, 2013) • Neuroscience as the new ‘truth’ about depression via hypothesis of chemical imbalance in the brain – Persists despite lack of evidence & critique, similar effects to placebo (Moncrieff, 2009) – Illness identity ‘legitimises’ emotional distress but can worsen social stigma (Lafrance, 2012; Buchan et al, 2013) – ‘Good women’ are urged to govern themselves as expert consumers to be responsible & restore normality (Stoppard, 1999; Trivelli 2014) – ‘Pharmaceutical imaginary’ (Jenkins, 2010) has a gendered history: hysterical, neurotic woman, unhappy housewife (valium), unsatisifed working mothers (SSRIs) 8
  • 9. Digital spaces, fluid assemblages The Fementalists: At the intersection of feminism and mental health activism, http://thefementalists.com/about/ Facebook and twitter accounts, forum and blog • This site was established to bridge the gap between mental health activism and feminism, and to provide a space for women to share their experiences of life at the intersection of womanhood and mental ill-health. We are committed to an intersectional feminist analysis and are firm advocates for patients’ rights. 7/10/2013 3:11 pm Women with severe mental health problems are 10x more likely to be attacked, less likely to report independent.co.uk/life-style/hea… @TheFementalists 1/02/2014 1:52 am How many of us have had our voices discounted because of our diagnoses? "Oh, you're upset? You must be off your meds." #NotHysterical
  • 10. A Room of Our Own: Feminist tensions 10 @ThisisLauraS 1/02/2014 12:22 am A lot of the movement makes me feel like a failure for my struggles because I don't fit the "strong" narrative. #NotHysterical @UnusedPotential 31/01/2014 11:43 pm Mental health issues often make people incapable of advocating for themselves. We need the voices of wider feminism. #NotHysterical http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2010/08/30/life-is-not- a-fairytale-black-women-and-depression/ This feels like a confession because while I am only admitting to having moments of humanity and vulnerability, I am a black woman, and for me these realities are oftentimes seen as weaknesses. We (black women) are supposed to be strong. We (black women) are not supposed to break down.
  • 11. Blog - Feminism, Mental Health and Inclusion by @LUBottom http://aroomofourown.org/feminism- mental-health-and-inclusion-by-lubottom/ 28/4/2014 • What I wanted to write about is my particular experience with depression and why I take issue with it being co-opted as a term to describe non-medical annoyance or frustration and why non-disabled feminists need to make more careful choices regarding the words they use… • On the one hand my instinct is to ignore the word “depressing” as something which has become deeply assimilated into our everyday conversations, but on the other I am aware of the hypocrisy of ignoring such terms whilst feeling offend by the use of other medical terms such as “schizophrenic” or “retarded” as adjectives for negative terminology. 11
  • 12. How is depression rendered thinkable as a feminist problem? • Othering of MH difference: Feminist language can trivalise experience of ‘depression’ – ‘the use of “how depressing” is an insult’ • Feminist subjectivity normalised as strong in relation to the fight against oppression – emotional ‘weakness’ as a source of shame 12
  • 13. Mumsnet: BBC report on NICE advice on AD risks for pregnant women • “You’ve got double the risk. And for women who are mild to moderately depressed, I don’t think that those risks, in most cases, are really worth taking” he said. “It’s not just when a woman who’s pregnant is sitting in front of you. I think it needs to be thought about with a woman who could get pregnant. And, that’s the large majority of women aged between 15 and 45″ • Prof Pilling, NICE http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/a1787715-Gobsmacked-at- SSRI-pregnancy-thing-as-reported-on-BBC-today 13
  • 14. • “OK, I too fumed at this article, because of the assumption that women’s mental health was trivial and unimportant compared to that of their hypothetical unborn baby, thus making us seem like incubators on legs (once more)”. “Bafflingly, I have yet to see an article on the BBC warning pre- inseminating men who are suffering mild to moderate depression not to use SSRIs for this reason”. • I saw that this morning. Found it disturbing on several levels. Lets make women even more responsible for their own mental health. Let them make impossible choices through pregnancy so we can blame it all on them rather than actually looking at what is wrong with the society that this is actually so much of a danger for pregnant women. And don't get me started on the pre-pregnancy guff. Are women to be permanently in a state of pre-pregnancy when they reach puberty? It is controlling and sinister. 14 Women’s minds/bodies as the object of expertise:
  • 15. The ‘right to choose’ neurochemcial selfhood but… • I completely agree with lots of the stuff on here about his comments being ill-judged, and seemingly anti-women. I am on SSRIs, have been for many years, believe they have sorted me out. Generally, I am a big defender of pharmacological agents for depression. I have practically rattled at times. However.... and I just can't shake this 'what if' feeling... SSRIs have been linked to higher rates of heart defects. Presumably the studies demonstrating this have been adequately controlled for other comorbid factors. • I'm on an SNRI. It works brilliantly for my anxiety and depression, but the withdrawals... I wouldn't recommend them to anyone on that basis (google FDA discontinuation syndrome cymbalta). • Paroxetine, the SSRI they mention in the report, is also known as Seroxat. It took years of dogged campaigning (and legal action) to make the manufacturers and the psychiatrists admit that Seroxat was actually linked to an increased risk of suicide in some patients, especially young people. 15
  • 16. Digital civic actions of feminists: ‘troubling’ relations between ‘mental health’ discourses • sharing of women’s diverse experiences to reveal the interrelations between social, personal and neurobiological • Raise questions the inclusiveness of feminist politics (in terms of mental health identity /language that marginalises) • Facilitate critical responses to dominant truths (celebrities, policy, NICE) that shape public knowledge • Challenges from here; – understanding how the circumstances affecting mental health are social/gendered, – the normalisation of neurochemical selfhood & lack of alternatives – engagement of critical voices with mainstream mental health 16
  • 17. • Fullagar, S., & O’Brien, W. (2013). Problematizing the neurochemical subject of anti- depressant treatment: The limits of biomedical responses to women’s emotional distress. Health:, 17(1), 57-74. • Fullagar, S and O’Brien, W (2012) Journeys, battles & feeling alive: Metaphors of women’s recovery from depression, Qualitative Health Research • Fullagar, S (2009) Negotiating the neurochemical self: Anti-depressant consumption in women’s recovery from depression, Health: An interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, illness and medicine. 13(3), pp.389-406. • O’Brien & Fullagar (2008) Women’s recovery from depression, Social Alternatives, (special issue on mental health), 24(4), pp.6-13 • Fullagar, S. (2008) Sites of somatic subjectivity: E-scaped mental health promotion and the biopolitics of depression, Social Theory and Health, 6, pp.323-341. • Fullagar, S. (2008) Leisure practices as counter-depressants: Emotion-work and emotion-play within women’s recovery from depression, Leisure Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 30(1), pp.35-52. • Gattuso, S, Fullagar, S and Young, I. (2005). Speaking of women’s ‘nameless misery’: The everyday construction of depression within Australian women’s magazines. Social Science and Medicine. 61(8), pp. 1640-1648 • Fullagar, S & Brown, P. (2003) Everyday temporalities: Leisure, ethics and young women’s emotional well-being. Annals of Leisure Research. 6(3), pp.193-208. • Fullagar, S and Gattuso, S. (2002). Rethinking gender, risk and depression within Australian mental health policy. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health. http://www.auseinet.com/journal/ 17