Patient-blaming and representation of risk factors in breast cancer images

Media coverage of some cancers in the past often equated cancer with a death sentence. Breast cancer coverage in 1990s magazines, however, has become less fatalistic, more frequent, and discusses a broader range of issues than before. This study examined whether the visual images accompanying magazine articles about breast cancer have also evolved. We used Goffman's (1976) rituals of subordination to measure patient-blaming and subordinating, disempowering images. We also analyzed race/ethnicity, body type, and age of females in the images to gauge whether these demographic risk factors were represented in a random sample of images from nine magazines over a 30-year period. Magazines analyzed represented three genres-women's magazines, fashion/beauty, and general news. Findings suggest that patient-blaming images have decreased in some categories and women portrayed are slightly more representative of risk factors of age and race/ethnicity. Magazine images tended to reinforce stereotyped portrayals of femininity to the detriment of cancer patients. Fashion/beauty magazines, aimed at younger women, were most likely to portray breast cancer images in stereotyped, patient-blaming ways, with the least representative images of risk factors. The social construction of feminine beauty seems to overpower accuracy in creating these images.