Trajectory equifinality model and German research on women’s self-negotiation of perceived normativity in a Western society

Abstract

This study is concerned with the negotiation of tall women's body height and perceived normativity in our Western society. The introduction aims to describe the role of the body in a cultural context and questions socially embedded norms regarding deviations. Medical procedures and possibilities are presented how body height can be determined already in childhood and how it can be influenced in case of deviations from the norm. Central to this is the procedure of prospective final height determination. Methodically, the Trajectory Equifinality Model (TEM) was used. A total of two persons were interviewed in a semi-structured interview. The participants consisted of a mother and her daughter, who is considered tall. Individual negotiation was found to be related to maternal body height. Counter narratives play a key role in the negotiation of this by attempting to compensate for a deficient characteristic with another idealized construct. The work showed that medical procedures create norms, while at the same time can support affected individuals in their self-negotiation.