"Sometimes, I think I might say too much": Dark Secrets and the Performance of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This study examines the dramaturgical embodiment of chronically ill bodies managing fecal matters (Weinberg and Williams 2005) in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) support groups. Data were derived from my reflections as a person with IBD, a year of participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with support group members. I first uncover the boundaries of the private body (Cahill 2006). Secondly, I focus on the entrenchment of IBD within the stigma of fecal matters. Lastly, I explore the disparate ways that support group members harnessed language to protect their embodied selves from symbolic fecal contamination, from a soiled self.