In recent years, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown both in
popularity and economic importance. I argue that this success is primarily the
result of domestication to the dominant culture of biomedicine and is readily
observable in images and metaphors of the body used both in CAM and biomedical
discourse. It is suggested that this shared imagery points to a new phase in the
relationship between the body and society. The domestication of CAM is further
illustrated through processes of dissemination and professionalization. The article
concludes by discussing the domestication of CAM as a reflection of an
epistemological shift in biomedicine alongside its continued hegemony.
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