New Books in Communications

Laura Otis, "Banned Emotions: How Metaphors Can Shape What People Feel" (Oxford UP, 2019)

May 27, 2025
Laura Otis, a neuroscientist-turned-literary scholar, dives into her transformative work, "Banned Emotions: How Metaphors Can Shape What People Feel." She explores how metaphors like "hold on" and "let go" influence our emotional experiences. Interestingly, she critiques societal norms that stigmatize certain feelings like self-pity and anger while examining literary characters from classics to popular films. Otis argues that emotional expression is not just personal but also a political issue, affecting who can feel what, when, and how.
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ANECDOTE

Breakup Sparks Emotional Inquiry

  • Laura Otis wrote her book out of a personal experience dealing with a tough breakup and the conflicting messages about how to feel.
  • This inspired her to explore the social and political rules shaping emotions.
INSIGHT

Emotions as Cultural Constructs

  • Emotions can be seen as biological and cultural constructs varying across theories like basic emotions, appraisal, and constructed emotion.
  • Lisa Feldman Barrett's view shows emotions as learned categories shaped by language and culture.
INSIGHT

Bodily Metaphors Stigmatize Emotions

  • Negative emotions like self-pity are metaphorically associated with unfavorable bodily images like holding on too tightly or wallowing in filth.
  • These bodily metaphors reinforce cultural stigma against expressing certain emotions.
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