A Grounded Theory Study about the Body from Relational Sociologic Perspective

Abstract

In this article, it is aimed to overcome the sociological studies carried out in harmony with the bio-medical model, which is now abandoned in medicine. It is aimed to answer three questions as sub-problems for the main problem of the inadequacy of studies on the body, which is mostly based on naturalistic positivistic sociological quantitative research: a) Can “relational sociology” be the theoretical basis for a more adequate body sociology? b) To what extent is a grounded theory methodology suitable for data collection and analysis in relational sociological work? c) What kind of differences and contributions can be made in body and health sociology studies by applying relational sociology and grounded theory methodology together? In the research, coding was done in accordance with the grounded theory method. Delphi technique was also used in the study. The main feature of the research is the simultaneous data collection and analysis. It has been understood that two similar concepts as “cüsse”(size) and “kalıp” (form) in the dominant traditional Anatolian folk culture in Turkey are used instead of body. Contrary to classical sociology based on duality and essentialism, it has been revealed that the word “şişman” (fat), as a more ambiguous concept, is used instead of obese because of its liminal feature, which includes both health and disease. It has been understood that the word “şişmanlık “(fatness) in Turkish is preferred for obesity. As a result, it has been shown that two words from Anatolian folk culture are used in a reframed way instead of obese and obesity, which are the disease signs of modern medicine. In addition, the distinction between “balık etli” (fish/ full figured) for women and “tosun” (bullock) for men is another interesting and important finding of the study. Reports on Global Health Research Kasapoglu A. Rep Glob Health Res 4: 139. https://www.doi.org/10.29011/2690-9480.100139 www.gavinpublishers.com