Body Politics and Alienation: Exploring Chinese Women’s Experiences with Cervical Erosion

In the past, cervical erosion has long been perceived as a gynecological disease. However, today's medical diagnostics would rather see it as a normal physiological condition than a pathological one. Despite this shift in medical understanding, the term "cervical erosion" continues to hold significant cultural resonance in China, where it is not only a medical issue but also involves various powers using disease as a means to control women's bodies. Drawing on the theory of body politics, this paper examines Chinese women's experiences with cervical erosion to uncover the complex process in which women lose control of their bodies and subject them to a variety of external powers. We analyze illness metaphors in 57,673 posts and 242 illness narratives, which are collected from Sina Weibo, the premier social media platform in China. The analysis identifies four primary metaphors about cervical erosion: "repulsive rotten apple," "peril of deviant sexual behaviors," "stagnant cradle," and "hidden crisis." By examining how these metaphors are intricately woven into illness narratives, we uncover various practices of body politics, including pathologizing, moralizing, instrumentalizing, technopolizing, and commercializing, which jointly contribute to the multifaceted process of alienation that women's bodies endure.