Illness Metaphors, Japan's “Gaijin” Race Philosophy, and the Formation of the Self

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Studies in Symbolic Interaction

ISSN: 0163-2396
Series editor(s): Professor Norman Denzin

Subject Area: Sociology and Public Policy

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Document Information:
Title:	Illness Metaphors, Japan's “Gaijin” Race Philosophy, and the Formation of the Self
Author(s):	Sheri Bell
Volume:	37 Editor(s): Norman K. Denzin, Ted Faust ISBN: 978-1-78052-156-5 eISBN: 978-1-78052-157-2
Citation:	Sheri Bell (2011), Illness Metaphors, Japan's “Gaijin” Race Philosophy, and the Formation of the Self, in Norman K. Denzin, Ted Faust (ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interaction (Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Volume 37), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.163-193
DOI:	10.1108/S0163-2396(2011)0000037010 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article type:	Chapter Item
Abstract:	The question I am seeking answers to is whether or not we have the ability to re-make ourselves into another person. The research subject is me. More to the point, can I, a white woman of Northern European descent, truly become a member of the Japanese society that I grew to love? My methodological approach to this question is a mixed evocative and analytical autoethnography. Within these pages is a complex tale of illness, racism, and sexual discrimination and how they intersect to create a self. From this creation come the questions of un-creation and re-creation; can I deconstruct my self and identity so as to reconstruct who I want to be? Will my reconstruction be supported by my chosen society? Can I truly belong somewhere, anywhere?