ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that the body (or more specifically the firm, slender body and its antithesis – the fat/obese body) has become a central focus of our field. Indeed, HMS is creating and maintaining its place as being central to the images, if not the reality, of healthy lifestyles as constructed around certain body management practices which are essentially those of the Western tradition (Tinning and Glasby, 2002). HMS degree programs and the academic/ professional field of HMS in general continue to be implicated in the reproduction of the “cult of the body” and, accordingly, there needs to be some soul searching within our field as to the limitations of its pedagogical work. We need to understand that as O’Farrell et al. (2000) argue, the body
is present in a wide range of pedagogical encounters: from preschool to university and at all sites where “education” is enacted: in examination rooms, museums, theatres, cinemas, organisations – even the boudoir. The body is trained, shaped and toned to perfect tautness in minute detail at every turn and under every circumstance. This training occurs through a range of pedagogical practices (p. 1).
