Demonstrative Suffering: The Gestural (Re)embodiment of Symptoms

Despite the long‐standing interest in emotion and bodily conduct, there remains relatively little research concerned with how gestures are used with talk and within interaction to reveal emotional and personal experience. In this article, the author considers the medical consultation and, in particu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of communication 2002-09, Vol.52 (3), p.597-616
Main Author: Heath, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Doctor-patient communication
Emotions
Gestures
Medical treatment
Non-verbal communication
Patients
Verbal communication
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Summary:Despite the long‐standing interest in emotion and bodily conduct, there remains relatively little research concerned with how gestures are used with talk and within interaction to reveal emotional and personal experience. In this article, the author considers the medical consultation and, in particular, the ways in which patients attempt to reveal their experience of illness to the doctor. The paper examines how gesture and other forms of bodily conduct are used to transform symptoms into suffering; to display, enact, and (re)embody medical problems and difficulties. The analysis is based on videorecordings of primary health care consultations and focuses on the social and interactional organization of demonstrative suffering.
ISSN:0021-9916
1460-2466
DOI:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02564.x