The Tender Cut: Inside the Hidden World of Self-Injury

265 Pages·2011·1 MB·English

by  Patricia Adler

The Tender Cut
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The Tender Cut
Inside the Hidden World of Self-Injury
Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2011 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adler, Patricia A., 1952–
The tender cut : the rise and transformation of self-injury /
Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8147-0506-3 (cl : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8147-0507-0
(pb : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8147-0518-6 (e-book)
1. Self-injurious behavior. 2. Adaptability (Psychology) 3. Social isolation.
4. Stress (Psychology) I. Adler, Peter, 1951- II. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Self-Injurious Behavior—psychology. 2. Adaptation, Psychological.
3. Social Environment. 4. Social Isolation—psychology. 5. Stress, Psychological—
psychology. WM 165]
RC569.5.S48A35 2011
362.196’8582—dc22 2010053656
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials
to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Mom
Who never hesitates to help,
and who encouraged us to believe that
this book will make a difference.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Literature and Population 22
3 Studying Self-Injury 38
4 Becoming a Self-Injurer 53
5 The Phenomenology of the Cut 66
6 Loners in the Social World 94
7 Colleagues in the Cyber World 108
8 Self-Injury Communities 128
9 Self-Injury Relationships 144
10 The Social Transformation of Self-Injury 167
11 Careers in Self-Injury 181
12 Understanding Self-Injury 199
Notes 219
References 231
Index 250
About the Authors 252
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Acknowledgments
Some of our previous books have explored topics such as upper-
level drug dealers and smugglers, college athletes, our own children and their
friends, and employees at Hawaiian resorts. In part, all of these venues were
either close to home and/or close to our hearts, and they can be seen as hav-
ing a fun and playful side. In addition, in all of these previous studies, we have
taken in-depth participant-observation roles in conducting the research. Not
so here. There was nothing fun or funny about exploring the lives of the self-
injurers portrayed in this book. It was, however, compellingly interesting.
We ourselves have never self-injured. Other than being admitted into
many of the chat rooms that self-injurers visit, we were not a part of this
community. However, no other study of ours has been so intense, so intimate,
so intricately entwined in the travails and turmoil of people’s lives, and so
embedded in both the psychological and sociological aspects of the human
condition. What you are about to read may strike you as gruesome, morbid,
and depressing but also fascinating, revealing, and important. There are sto-
ries of struggle and pain mixed with stories of self-understanding, triumph,
and redemption. For admitting us into the most private aspects of their lives,
we could not be more thankful to the over one hundred people who poured
out their deepest stories and feelings, conjectures and analysis, either face to
face, by telephone, or through email, and the literally thousands of people
who opened their hearts and lives through email and chat-room conversa-
tions. Obviously, without their generosity, openness, and candor, this book
could never have been written.
There have been several scholars who have been particularly supportive
of this research throughout the past 10 years. People such as David Altheide,
Jason Boardman, Dan Cress, William Force, Leslie Irvine, the late John
Irwin, Matthew Lust, Carol Rambo, Pepper Schwartz, Phil Vannini, Dennis
Waskul, Amy Wilkins, and Hongling Xie gave us feedback, ideas for sources,
and intellectual arguments to ponder as we sifted through our data. The fac-
ulty in both of our departments at the University of Colorado and the Uni-
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