Reconfiguring Relatedness in Anorexia

Area of Science:

• Anthropology
• Medical Anthropology
• Sociology of Health and Illness

Background:

• Anorexia nervosa literature often focuses on negative social aspects like withdrawal and family dynamics.
• Anthropological concepts of relatedness are notably absent in existing anorexia research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how individuals diagnosed with anorexia understand and experience relatedness in their daily lives.
• To explore the transformation of social connections (truncating, creating, sustaining, abandoning) within this population.
• To investigate the creation of new meanings and experiences of relatedness despite the negation of conventional avenues.

Main Methods:

• Multi-sited ethnographic project.
• Draws on critiques and broadening of the concept of kinship.
• Examines everyday practices and experiences of individuals with anorexia.

Main Results:

• Individuals with anorexia consistently negated taken-for-granted practices of relatedness (e.g., commensality, procreation).
• This negation did not result in social isolation but led to the creation of new, productive meanings of being related.
• A unique relationship with anorexia emerged, influencing their engagement with their everyday worlds.

Conclusions:

• The study illuminates the 'relational matrix' of anorexia.
• New spaces of agency, ambiguity, and power are identified within the experiences of individuals with anorexia.
• Reconceptualizes relatedness beyond traditional kinship and sociality frameworks in the context of eating disorders.