Medicine in Private Space
The consumption and location of medicines by patients in domestic space testify to a relation to oneself, to one’s body and to the Other. The study of individual and family practices relating to pharmaceutical consumption and the location of drugs in the homes of Catholic and Protestant families shows that these practices are not the result of a personal choice. They are social constructs and vary according to the cultural belonging of the patients. Moreover, the author tries to discover the symbolic logic which underlies these practices and brings to light the structural oppositions (private-public ; individual-collective) around which they settle.