PCOS Discourses, Symbolic Impacts, and Feminist Rhetorical Disruptions of Institutional Hegemonies

This book examines media and clinical discourses and their impact on women with PCOS. Findings from the study reveal that while women with PCOS have limited agency in constructing and representing their identities and ontologies in traditional media, by networking in participatory new media, these women can reclaim their agency.

Marissa C. McKinley is assistant teaching professor of English at Quinnipiac University.

Preface Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Chapter 1: Hegemonic Institutions and Discourses and the Subjugation of the Female Body Chapter 2: RHM Contributions, Edifications, and Feminist Positions About the Body Chapter 3: Studying PCOS in Digital and Mass Media Through the Feminist Communitarian Model Chapter 4: Constructing, Representing, and Responding to PCOS in Mass Media: Enforcing and Offering Alternatives for the Hairlessness Norm and Performing Disidentification and Identification Chapter 5: Fulfilling Rhetorical Needs in Cyberspace: Health Advocacy and Patient Empowerment in myPCOSteam Chapter 6: Conclusion and Looking Toward the Future of PCOS Rhetorical Work Appendix Works Cited About the Author