Thesis:
The everyday mundane of cruddy quasi events builds up like an iceberg, only the exposed tip is
recognized as the danger but the real risk lies cloaked beneath the sea of noise. Although
Lifestyle choices can be made within certain social groups, hegemonic structures often umbrella
the entire spectrum of options. I chose to exaggerate my interpretation of trudging through life
with ongoing symptoms of irritable bowel to show how it is recognized and how I have endured
thus far. This comic briefly touches Elizabeth Povinelle’s concepts of, recognition,
space/movements, and the part that has no part from her book Economies of Abandonment:
Social Belonging and Endurance in Late Liberalism.
Space/Movements:
Who and what is around me affects what I say and what I receive back. The physical space can
also have an effect on my mental and biological state. The examples I use are my mother’s
house, my father’s house, school/bars and the various doctors I approached.
My mother’s house was warm and friendly but she was hardly there because she worked. I had
an older sister, friends, and lots of animals to keep me busy but the thought of leaving seemed to
upset my stomach. Whenever she would get off early enough from work she would buy me fast
food. Every morning for breakfast she would either make me cereal or toast with butter.
My father’s house was right next to an oil refinery and a busy interstate. He had a giant power
line pole on his property. I wasn’t allowed in the front because we lived on top of a giant hill and
busy street. The house was big and empty. We often had delivery because my half-sister worked
at a pizza place.
When with friends, I’m either at school, a bar or party friendly house. If there is drinking going
on, there is always the accomplice of other bad intake choices going on which can often lead to
a frighten sense of going to jail or just more physical gut problems.
Doctors can almost give me the same feeling of police, teachers or other parental figures. The
two doctors I chose to focus on seemed to be from the opposite sides of the physician spectrum
but ultimately said the same thing. The only difference was the advice they had on how to cope
with the pain. Neither doctor asked me about my diet, stress factors or family history.
Recognition:
Because my stomach pain seems to arise from an accu