{"title":"Fat bodies, intimate relationships and the self in finnish and American weight-loss TV shows","authors":"S. Ritter","doi":"10.1080/21604851.2022.2031579","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT As sites where the construction of identity and selfhood take place, relationship-focused weight-loss TV shows reproduce the notion of a correlation between a woman’s body size, her ‘success’ in romantic relationships, and the appropriate self. I analyze the weight-loss shows Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian from the US, and Rakas, Sinusta on Tullut Pullukka (Honey, You’ve Become Chubby) from Finland, investigating how relationship and body size norms, gender, and the self intertwine. I examine the shows in light of Foucault’s theory of normalization. Here, normalization not only refers to the normalization of the body but also of the relationship(s) required to achieve a valid self. I suggest that the shows express a parallel between being single and on the verge of society and being fat and being on the verge of society; through solving one of the deviations (in this case, becoming thin) the other deviation (being single) can be changed and thus a “normal” life can be achieved. People learn how to normalize their bodies and their relationships, which in the end paves the way for the idea that a good body/dieting is the precondition for a relationship and an acceptable self. The shows thus reinforce that a thin body is the basis for an appropriate self and fulfilling life.","PeriodicalId":37967,"journal":{"name":"Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society","volume":"64 1","pages":"286 - 298"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21604851.2022.2031579","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
ABSTRACT As sites where the construction of identity and selfhood take place, relationship-focused weight-loss TV shows reproduce the notion of a correlation between a woman’s body size, her ‘success’ in romantic relationships, and the appropriate self. I analyze the weight-loss shows Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian from the US, and Rakas, Sinusta on Tullut Pullukka (Honey, You’ve Become Chubby) from Finland, investigating how relationship and body size norms, gender, and the self intertwine. I examine the shows in light of Foucault’s theory of normalization. Here, normalization not only refers to the normalization of the body but also of the relationship(s) required to achieve a valid self. I suggest that the shows express a parallel between being single and on the verge of society and being fat and being on the verge of society; through solving one of the deviations (in this case, becoming thin) the other deviation (being single) can be changed and thus a “normal” life can be achieved. People learn how to normalize their bodies and their relationships, which in the end paves the way for the idea that a good body/dieting is the precondition for a relationship and an acceptable self. The shows thus reinforce that a thin body is the basis for an appropriate self and fulfilling life.
作为身份和自我建构的场所,以关系为中心的减肥电视节目再现了女性的体型、她在恋爱关系中的“成功”和合适的自我之间的相关性。我分析了来自美国的khlo·卡戴珊和来自芬兰的Rakas, Sinusta和Tullut Pullukka (Honey, You ' r egot Chubby)的减肥节目Revenge Body,调查了关系和体型规范,性别和自我是如何交织在一起的。我根据福柯的正常化理论来研究这些表演。在这里,正常化不仅指身体的正常化,也指实现有效自我所需的关系的正常化。我认为,这些节目表达了单身和处于社会边缘的人与肥胖和处于社会边缘的人之间的一种平行关系;通过解决一种偏差(在这种情况下,变瘦),另一种偏差(单身)可以改变,从而实现“正常”的生活。人们学习如何使自己的身体和人际关系正常化,这最终为“良好的身体/节食是人际关系和可接受的自我的先决条件”这一理念铺平了道路。因此,这些节目强调,苗条的身材是适当的自我实现生活的基础。