At WITSENDO: Communal embodiment through storytelling in women's experiences with endometriosis

SynopsisThis article argues for a new body-in-the-making emerging at the intersections of corporeality and discourse in the face of chronic, debilitating pain. Working with the body stories/illness narratives of a small, self-selected group of women suffering from endometriosis who regularly participate in an online discussion list (WITSENDO), I delineate a notion of embodiment through the co-creation of a “communal body.” The substance of this body is the women's stories—illness narratives written and re-written on the online discussion forum, as well as in off-list responses to my posted questions and in two depth interviews.