Women's Bodies and Women's Lives in Western Herbal Medicine in the UK

Health practices designated, over time, as complementary and alternative to normative biomedicine represent one of the earliest manifestations of the growing significance, especially for women, of holistic health care in many Western English-speaking societies. In this article, I interrogate ideas and practices around the body and self in Western herbal medicine (WHM) in the UK. I first explore women herbalists' ideas of the body, health, and illness. I then examine the self-care practices that constitute an integral part of WHM, leading to an investigation of the implications of their incorporation into women users' everyday lives. Drawing on theoretical understandings of embodiment and technologies of self, the explorations presented reveal women's bodies and selves as arenas for self-care and self-fulfillment while also highlighting tensions and dilemmas in women's lives. I suggest that WHM constitutes a form of holistic and politicized health care that contributes to confronting and fulfilling women's traditional gender roles and discourses of caring femininity.