IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v311y2022ics0277953622006165.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The reluctant and the envious: Therapeutic subalternity and the practice of homeopathy in North America

Author

Listed:
  • Ijaz, Nadine

Abstract

This work presents a neo-Gramscian theorization of therapeutic hegemony and subalternity, deployed with reference to the practice of homeopathy in North America by two increasingly-professionalized but unorthodox health occupational groups: Homeopaths and Naturopaths. Despite both occupations' contemporary sociopolitical subordination to dominant biomedicine, the continent's Homeopaths have been less successful in their professionalization efforts, owing partly to homeopathy—their primary therapeutic modality—being widely considered incommensurable with biomedical science. For Naturopaths, who increasingly align themselves with biomedical evidentiary norms, homeopathy represents but one among several central therapeutic modalities. Using survey (n = 588) and interview (n = 31) data from an empirical case involving Homeopaths and Naturopaths in Ontario, Canada—a jurisdictional outlier in which both groups are regulated by the state—the author employs the theory of therapeutic subalternity to illuminate the internal struggles faced by homeopathy-practising occupations in a biomedically-dominant context. Despite their regulated standing, Homeopaths' negative media characterization and ongoing lack of access to third-party insurance reimbursement contribute to ongoing frustration among practitioners, expressed as displaced envy toward the province's more elite, homeopathy-practising Naturopaths. However, while most Naturopaths express appreciation for homeopathy's clinical merits, many appear increasingly reluctant to use or discuss the practice to prevent compromise to their profession's therapeutic legitimation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ijaz, Nadine, 2022. "The reluctant and the envious: Therapeutic subalternity and the practice of homeopathy in North America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:311:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622006165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115310
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622006165
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115310?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brosnan, Caragh, 2017. "Alternative futures: Fields, boundaries, and divergent professionalisation strategies within the Chiropractic profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 83-91.
    2. Verhoef, Marja J. & Boon, Heather s & Mutasingwa, Donatus R., 2006. "The scope of naturopathic medicine in Canada: An emerging profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 409-417, July.
    3. Ijaz, Nadine & Boon, Heather & Muzzin, Linda & Welsh, Sandy, 2016. "State risk discourse and the regulatory preservation of traditional medicine knowledge: The case of acupuncture in Ontario, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 97-105.
    4. Kelner, Merrijoy & Wellman, Beverly & Welsh, Sandy & Boon, Heather, 2006. "How far can complementary and alternative medicine go? The case of chiropractic and homeopathy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2617-2627, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hogan, Andrew J., 2024. "Accessibility in health professions education: The Flexner Report and barriers to diversity in American physical therapy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    2. Cant, Sarah & Watts, Peter & Ruston, Annmarie, 2011. "Negotiating competency, professionalism and risk: The integration of complementary and alternative medicine by nurses and midwives in NHS hospitals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(4), pages 529-536, February.
    3. Ijaz, Nadine & Welsh, Sandy & Boon, Heather, 2022. "Toward a ‘green allopathy’? Naturopathic paradigm and practice in Ontario, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    4. Butler, Clare, 2019. "Working the 'wise’ in speech and language therapy: Evidence-based practice, biopolitics and ‘pastoral labour’," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 1-8.
    5. Nadine Ijaz & Heather Boon, 2018. "Medical Pluralism and the State: Regulatory Language Requirements for Traditional Acupuncturists in English-Dominant Diaspora Jurisdictions," SAGE Open, , vol. 8(2), pages 21582440187, April.
    6. Schupmann, Will, 2023. "“We are not the ethics police”: The professionalization of clinical ethicists and the regulation of medical decision-making," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    7. Almeida, Joana & Gabe, Jonathan, 2016. "CAM within a field force of countervailing powers: The case of Portugal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 73-81.
    8. Brosnan, Caragh, 2017. "Alternative futures: Fields, boundaries, and divergent professionalisation strategies within the Chiropractic profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 83-91.
    9. Patel, Gupteswar & Brosnan, Caragh & Taylor, Ann & Garimella, Surekha, 2021. "The dynamics of TCAM integration in the Indian public health system: Medical dominance, countervailing power and co-optation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    10. Michael Trebilcock & Kanksha Ghimire, 2019. "Regulating Alternative Medicines: Disorder in the Borderlands," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 541, April.
    11. Chung, Vincent C.H. & Hillier, Sheila & Lau, Chun Hong & Wong, Samuel Y.S. & Yeoh, Eng Kiong & Griffiths, Sian M., 2011. "Referral to and attitude towards traditional Chinese medicine amongst western medical doctors in postcolonial Hong Kong," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 247-255, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:311:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622006165. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.