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Original research
The pandemic body: the lived body during the COVID-19 pandemic
  1. Jamila Rodrigues1,2,
  2. Kathryn Body3,
  3. Havi Carel3
  1. 1 Marine Climate Change Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Japan
  2. 2 Anthropology, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan
  3. 3 Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Jamila Rodrigues, Marine Climate Change Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, 904-0412, Japan; jamila.pacheco{at}oist.jp

Abstract

In this study, we conduct a detailed analysis of qualitative survey data focusing on adult populations in the UK, Japan and Mexico to address the following question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed people’s lived experience of their bodies, other people’s bodies and the world? We identify five themes: (i) fear and danger, (ii) bodily doubt and hypervigilance, (iii) risk and trust, (iv) adapting and enduring and (v) changes in perspective. We use two theoretical frameworks: first, Mary Douglas’ anthropological work on purity, risk, danger and symbolism is applied to understand how social and cultural meanings attached to the body have changed during the pandemic. Second, we use the concept of bodily doubt developed by Havi Carel to interpret how people experience their bodies and other people’s bodies differently during the pandemic. While we recognise the significant variation in people’s embodied experience of the pandemic, our findings suggest there are commonalities that span different countries and cultures. Specifically, we look at responses to COVID-19 protective countermeasures such as national lockdowns and physical distancing which we suggest have reduced people’s ability to put faith in their own bodies, trust other people and trust the political leadership. We conclude by proposing that the changes to our lived experience during the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted changes in perspective and a renewed focus on what people consider important in life from a social, moral, cultural and political point of view.

  • COVID-19
  • philosophy of medicine/health care
  • medical anthropology
  • surveys and questionnaires
  • qualitative research

Data availability statement

Data are available in a public, open access repository. The datasets presented in this study can be found in a Figshare online repository (doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.20443182) at the following link: https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/The_Pandemic_Experience_DATE_RANGE_/20443182.

https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2022-012495

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available in a public, open access repository. The datasets presented in this study can be found in a Figshare online repository (doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.20443182) at the following link: https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/The_Pandemic_Experience_DATE_RANGE_/20443182.

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @kathryn_body

    • Correction notice This article has been corrected since it was published Online First. Funding statement was amended.

    • Contributors JR and KB contributed equally to this paper and are the guarantors. JR, KB and HC worked collaboratively to analyse, generate themes and provide an interpretation of the data.

    • Funding JR’s postdoctoral research is funded by JSPS Standard Fellowship. KB’s research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council via the South, West, and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership. The initial stage of this work was supported by JSPS Topic Setting Program to Advance Cutting Edge Humanities and Social Sciences Research.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.