Punitive gynaecology in modern Russia: crafting the docile female

Abstract

Punitive gynaecology is a set of healthcare-related attitudes and practices that aim to take control of a woman's body, sexuality and reproductive system in order to produce a reformed body. This thesis scrutinizes thephenomenonofpunitivegynaecology in modernRussia.Narrativeinquirywas conducted to provide an understanding of the ways punitive gynaecology works on the female body, restructures it and inscribes meanings. Autobiographical narratives are analysed and located within a wider socio- political context to concretize the dimensions of punitive practices in gynaecology. The main foci of analysis are the medical gaze, the spatial organization of the gynaecological clinic, pastoral power and agency in the gynaecological examination, the sexuality of the examination, the contingencies of shame, pain and embarrassment. The research uses a Foucauldian framework to uncover power relations permeating the doctor-patient interaction in the gynaecological examination. This thesis thus offers a reflectiononthepreferredmodes ofembodiment anddocilitythat punitivegynaecology attempts toinstil in its' subject. Keywords: punitive gynaecology, discipline, power, gaze, agency, body, hegemonic femininity, clinic, doctor-patient interaction, docility

Punitive gynaecology is a set of healthcare-related attitudes and practices that aim to take control of a woman's body, sexuality and reproductive system in order to produce a reformed body. This thesis scrutinizes thephenomenonofpunitivegynaecology in modernRussia.Narrativeinquirywas conducted to provide an understanding of the ways punitive gynaecology works on the female body, restructures it and inscribes meanings. Autobiographical narratives are analysed and located within a wider socio- political context to concretize the dimensions of punitive practices in gynaecology. The main foci of analysis are the medical gaze, the spatial organization of the gynaecological clinic, pastoral power and agency in the gynaecological examination, the sexuality of the examination, the contingencies of shame, pain and embarrassment. The research uses a Foucauldian framework to uncover power relations permeating the doctor-patient interaction in the gynaecological examination. This thesis thus offers a reflectiononthepreferredmodes ofembodiment anddocilitythat punitivegynaecology attempts toinstil in its' subject. Keywords: punitive gynaecology, discipline, power, gaze, agency, body, hegemonic femininity, clinic, doctor-patient interaction, docility