ABSTRACT
This chapter draws upon ethnographic literature in anthropology and related social sciences, as well as research in public health articulating an eco-social perspective, to examine the social contexts of an ongoing discussion about environmental and political factors in health. It provides an opportunity to examine anthropological insights about breast cancer, as a social phenomenon, in conjunction with the foundational assumption of eco-social perspectives on health: that humans incorporate biologically, or come to "embody", the social and material worlds in which we live. Educational campaigns offered by federal agencies and major foundations in the United States, especially during the month of October, broadcast the message that breast cancer is a major health concern warranting public awareness. The challenge posed by breast cancer as Zillah Eisenstein, Sandra Steingraber, and Krieger have argued, is to gain a better comprehension of the porousness of human bodies in relation to the social worlds and physical landscapes we occupy over time.
