Metaphorical Conceptualization of the Big M
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Abstract
Throughout history, menopause has alternatively been framed as either a sin, a type of neurosis, a disease, or a deficiency. Only recently, it has been re-framed under a more positive light as a new beginning, a journey of self-discovery, or a sort of internal zest. Each of these metaphorical conceptualizations of menopause reflects a particular ideology stemming from religious, biomedical, and feminist viewpoints, among others. Women’s talk about menopause, however, has been historically scarce, hidden and silenced by the social taboo surrounding this matter. This has changed in the past few decades, with women openly talking about their menopausal experiences in the media. Adopting a Critical Metaphor Analysis framework, this study investigates contemporary women’s conceptualization of menopause as reflected on the metaphors they use to talk about it. Studies on the metaphors of menopause are scarce and often carried out from a biomedical or sociological (feminist) perspective, the two contexts in which most talk about menopause has traditionally taken place. We analyze a collection of 300 metaphorical expressions stemming from a multi-source corpus of women’s testimonials about their experience, feelings, and thoughts about menopause. The qualitative analysis of the data offers a fine-grained portrayal of the metaphorical frames that underlie the discourse of contemporary women about menopause. Through our investigation, we aim to ultimately give the floor on this topic to the real protagonists: those ordinary women who are undergoing a relevant phase of their lives.
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Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Grant numbers PID2020-118349GB-I00
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