ABSTRACT
What is "too fat"? what is "too thin"? Interpretations of body weight vary widely across and within cultures. Meeting weight expectations is a major concern for many people because failing to do so may incur dire social consequences, such as difficulty in finding a romantic partner or even in locating adequate employment. without these social and cultural pressures, body weight would only be a health issue. while socially constructed standards of body weight may seem immutable, they are continuously recreated through social interactions that perpetuate or transform expectations about fatness and thinness. Written by sociologists, psychologists, and nutritionists, all of the chapters in this book focus on how people construct fatness and thinness, examining different strategies used to interpret body weight, such as negotiating weight identities, reinterpreting weight, and becoming involved in weight-related organizations. Together these chapters emphasize the many ways that people actively define, construct, and enact their fatness and thinness in a variety of settings and situations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|8 pages
Introduction
part II|62 pages
Weight Identities
chapter 3|19 pages
Identity Management among Overweight Women Narrative Resistance to Stigma
chapter 4|8 pages
Fighting Back Reactions and Resistance to the Stigma of Obesity
part III|65 pages
Redefining Weight
chapter 5|17 pages
From “Dieting” to “Healthy Eating” An Exploration of Shifting Constructions of Eating for Weight Control
chapter 6|23 pages
Medical Discourse on Body Image Reconceptualizing the Differences between Women with and without Eating Disorders
chapter 7|23 pages
Weight and WeddingsThe Social Construction of Beautiful Brides
part IV|70 pages
Organizational Processes in Weight Management
chapter 8|28 pages
Let Go and Let GodReligion and the Politics of Surrender in Overeaters Anonymous
chapter 9|17 pages
Fat World/Thin World “Fat Busters,” “Equivocators,” “Fat Boosters,” and the Social Construction of Obesity
chapter 10|24 pages
Creating “Uniformity”The Construction of Bodies in Women’s Collegiate Cross Country
part V|47 pages
Reinterpreting Weight