Gendered Intersubjectivities in Narratives of Recovery From an Eating Disorder

There is a growing body of qualitative research into women’s experiences of recovery from an eating disorder, however, as yet there has been little attention to the gendered social dimensions of these experiences. This in-depth interview study with eight recovered women was informed by the feminist concept of situated intersubjectivity, which allows for attention to both the discursive and material/lived dimensions of women’s experiences, as well as the intersubjective gender relations framing these. Narrative–discursive analysis revealed three main themes in women’s narratives, namely, recovery as a journey, turning points to recovery, and transforming relationships. Analysis demonstrated how many women’s accounts took the form of quest narratives, drawing on humanist discourses and practices of self-care and self-discovery to construct recovery as a journey to self. However, the study particularly identified shifts in intersubjective gender relations across women’s narratives that enabled other ways of belonging, recognition, self-acceptance, and agency. This article examines the implications of these findings for social workers and other health-care practitioners who support women experiencing eating disorders.