Dressing The Postsurgical Body: An Examination Of Experience, Perceptions, And Body Image With Reconstructive Breast Surgery And Bra Fit

Treatment and recovery for breast cancer are complex and multifaceted. The experience of a mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery is a direct assault on a particular body part that is considered central to femininity and normative conceptions of feminine beauty. The journey through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment decisions, and recovery into survivorship can present significant changes and challenges to an individual’s physical and psychological self. Although a reconstructive breast procedure is presented as a way to restore the body to its preoperative state and attain a sense of normalcy, reconstructed breasts can look, feel, and behave differently than natural breasts. This thesis explores how women in Aotearoa New Zealand who have undergone a mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery experience their postsurgical bodies, focusing on perceptions of their reconstructed breasts, body image, and femininity and the role and significance bra choices play in women’s postsurgical lives. A phenomenological and feminist methodology was used to frame the thesis, placing the lived experience of the women who participated in the study at the centre of analysis and acknowledging this information to be a significant contribution to the research. To support this framing, I drew on the concepts of embodiment, body projects, and the ill body. To complement this approach, I used a concurrent triangulation mixed methods research design to analyse multiple layers of data stemming from both a survey and interviews. A survey of 110 participants and 25 in-depth interviews were conducted simultaneously, analysed independently, and then triangulated during interpretation. The quantitative survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics, and the open-ended data along with the qualitative interview data were analysed using a thematic analysis. Three major themes emerged from the interview data: 1) ‘Choosing’ Reconstruction: participants’ decision to undergo reconstructive breast surgery, 2) Changing Bodies: Participants’ relationship with their postsurgical body, and 3) The Power of the bra: Bras and reconstructed breasts. The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of participants’ postoperative experiences with their reconstructed breast and bodies. Specifically, the results present the participants’ strong desire for postoperative normality, the experience of medical pressure to restore the traditionally feminine body, postoperative feelings of disembodiment and embodiment, and an account of the emotions associated with the unfulfilled and unexpected ramifications of breast reconstruction. These findings outline the prevalent issues and concerns with postoperative bras and suggest that a well-fitted bra can contribute to minimizing, if not alleviating, some of the physical and psychological discomforts caused by breast reconstruction. This thesis is the first study in Aotearoa New Zealand to investigate the meaning of bras for women who have undergone a mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery. It contributes to the literature by providing novel understandings of the role the bra plays in relation to women’s postsurgical bodies and fundamental information on the postoperative experience of women who have undergone reconstructive breast surgery.