중국 농촌의 자살 현상에 관한 의료인류학적 분석: 구조적 폭력과 체현 개념을 중심으로

Abstract

중국의 자살은 거대한 인구 규모 뿐 아니라 독특한 성별·지역별 자살률 패턴으로 인해 많은 학자들의 관심을 받아왔다. 본 연구는 그동안 정신의학적 혹은 사회학적 접근 방식으로 충분히 설명되지못한 중국 자살률의 독특한 패턴의 원인을 추가적으로 파악하고자 중국 하북성 마을에서 2004년부터2013년까지 다양한 민족지적 연구방법?참여관찰, 비공식적 면담, 심층면담, 생애이야기 수집, 초점집단 연구, 문헌 분석?을 사용하여 인류학적 현장연구를 실시하였다. 그리고 연구를 통해 획득한 자료를 구조적 폭력 및 체현 개념을 활용하여 분석하였다. 결론적으로, 중국 농촌 여성들의 높은 자살률은 빈곤 및 가부장적 억압이 구조적 폭력으로 작용하는 사회문화적 환경 속에서, 삶 속에서 여성의자살 행위를 자주 접해 온 농촌의 여성들이 문화적 체현과정을 통해 자연스럽게 자살을 특정 상황에서 선택 가능한 대응 방식으로 인식하게 되었기 때문이라고 주장한다.

Suicide in China has attracted much scholarly attention due to its large scaleand the unique gender and regional patterns of the rates. Anthropological fieldresearch in rural China, this study has examined the causes of the uniquepatterns, which either psychiatric or sociological approach has not sufficientlyexplained. For this study, different complementary methods in anthropology,including participant observation, informal interviewing, in-depth interviewing, lifestory, focus group research, and text analysis, were conducted between 2004 and2013. Obtained data was analyzed, particularly by utilizing the concepts ofstructural violence and embodiment. To conclude, the high rates of suicideamong rural women appear to be an outcome of two factors: first is theincreasing urban-rural socioeconomic gap and patriarchal oppression in ruralChina, which function as important forms of structural violence; second is theembodiment of suicide among rural women as one of the possible responses todifficult situations, which results from the shared experience of frequent femalesuicide accidents in their life.

Suicide in China has attracted much scholarly attention due to its large scale and the unique gender and regional patterns of the rates. Anthropological field research in rural China, this study has examined the causes of the unique patterns, which either psychiatric or sociological approach has not sufficiently explained. For this study, different complementary methods in anthropology, including participant observation, informal interviewing, in-depth interviewing, life story, focus group research, and text analysis, were conducted between 2004 and 2013. Obtained data was analyzed, particularly by utilizing the concepts of structural violence and embodiment. To conclude, the high rates of suicide among rural women appear to be an outcome of two factors: first is the increasing urban-rural socioeconomic gap and patriarchal oppression in rural China, which function as important forms of structural violence; second is the embodiment of suicide among rural women as one of the possible responses to difficult situations, which results from the shared experience of frequent female suicide accidents in their life.