ABSTRACT
The central concern in this book is how knowledge about suicide is constructed through gender. I want to situate this concern in this chapter by offering a metaphor. Imagine that what you, my reader, are about to read is like a chopping board. To this chopping board, I bring different ingredients. But I have to sort the ingredients so that I can use them properly in my cooking. This might come across as a boring task. I would like to think otherwise. In the process of sorting my ingredients, it is obvious that something is not right. It turns out they are not of the best quality. I realize that something could have been done about this much earlier but for now I will have to make do with what I have. I notice a pattern in the ingredients’ quality and wonder what kinds of antecedents made them as such.
