BEING AND BECOMING MENSTRUATING WOMEN: A HEIDEGGERIAN HERMENEUTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STORIES OF WOMEN.
Contributors: Georgia State University.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 286
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Women's Studies.
Description: Historically women's voices and experiences have not been shared publicly. Research has centered on men's experiences and women were assumed to have similar experiences. Menstruation is a unique experience that women share and yet little is found in the literature about the common experience.

The focus of this study was women's experience of being and becoming menstruating women. Women's stories were examined for common themes and patterns using a Heideggerian hermeneutical approach and a feminist perspective. The theoretical context included Heideggerian Hermeneutics, feminism, and community theory.

A convenience sampling approach was used. Ten participants were chosen who differed in age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, partnership status, and economic status.

Unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with each participant regarding her experience of being and becoming a menstruating woman. Data analysis, using Heideggerian hermeneutics, was conducted by the researcher and verified by a research team. Authenticity criteria were utilized to assure methodological rigor.

Three constitutive patterns and nine relational themes expressed the shared practices and common meanings of menstruation. The pattern, Being in Tune, had four relational themes: being in tune with one's body, being in synch, being in tune with the need to know, and being in tune with the Earth and Universe. The pattern, Being Taboo, had three relational themes: a private thing, nobody talks about it, and you couldn't. The pattern, Being Special, had two relational themes: generativity and recycling.

Conclusions were formulated around two concepts: paradox and community. Being a menstruating woman created paradox for the participants. They found joy in their ability to be generative but live in a society that prohibits women from openly talking about their normal bodily processes and considers menstruation taboo. Women's community could be enhanced if women viewed menstruation as a source of power and wisdom.

This study supported calls within the nursing profession for studies of health promotion at the aggregate and community levels. Recommendations for nursing practice are that nurses take a leadership role in revisioning the process of menstruation by providing comprehensive health education that portrays menstruation accurately and positively. Recommendations for feminist action are also addressed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-03, Section: B, page: 1712.

Thesis (PH.D.)--GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1995.

School code: 0079.