Semantics of power in mother and father representations: A linguistic computational pilot-study on proana sites in Italy
Alessandro Chinello, Veronica Richichi, Michela Fanelli, Felice Dell’Orletta, Federico Boschetti, Luigi Enrico Zappa
Many studies tried to underline the relational characteristics of parents with
daughters affected by Anorexia Nervosa (AN) by using structured methods (inter
views, questionnaires). Considering the model of semantic polarities, this pilot study
explores the presence of the power semantics, typical of AN families, in the users
comments written on 10 pro-anorexia blogs through textual intervention (T-LAB),
focusing the attention on the two parental representations. Data analyses show
high frequency of comments regarding the maternal and paternal figures, associate
with specific feelings (guilt, conflict), within a wide network of social actors. The
maternal representation is associated with issues concerning the semantics of power,
control and conversations about food. Alternatively, the father representation is
mainly linked to the symbols of labor-economic power and absence. These results,
although preliminary, may suggest the presence of power-related words also in
pro-anorexia blog users in line with what has already been shown on AN patients.
Keywords
Mother, father, internet, anorexia, semantics.