Fat Talk and Related Conversation: What Women Have in Mind When They Engage in Food and Body Discourse

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Fat Talk and Related Conversation: What Women Have in Mind When They Engage in Food and Body Discourse FAT TALK AND RELATED CONVERSATION: WHAT WOMEN HAVE IN MIND WHEN THEY ENGAGE IN FOOD AND BODY DISCOURSE By KARIN M. KRATINA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2003 Copyright 2003 by Karin M. Kratina This dissertation is dedicated to the three I lost during my studies, all passed after extended illnesses: my mother, Sandra H. Kratina, Ph.D.; my love, Carl B. Davis, Esq.; and my beloved companion, Wylie, a miniature long-haired dachshund. I miss them terribly. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My passion for this work is nurtured by my mother, the late Sandra H. Kratina, Ph.D., whose acceptance of my ideas--even when she did not quite understand them-- made this work possible. It was from her presence as my ever-faithful editor while she was alive that I learned to write well, allowing this project to progress much more easily than it might have otherwise. I want to acknowledge my father, Fredric Kratina, M.D., who supported me through graduate school; Sandy Greenwood, my ever-faithful cheerleader, who was always willing to listen; Trisha Peterson, Ph.D., who, at a dance camp called Dance Vortex, single-handedly shifted my approach to this dissertation. I also want to acknowledge all the dancers who have offered support, especially those of Dance Vortex, who put up with me in the corner with my computer as they went off dancing; and Bart Ruark, who is convinced that Ph.D. stands for phenomenally hot dancer--that would be nice! Also very important to me were Sister Waldia Warden, an undergraduate professor who believed in me; the late Carl Davis, whose support and passion for my work were invaluable; Logan (a miniature long-haired dachshund), who kept my lap warm, even if she was put out when I wandered off to class or work; and Alan Taylor, who fed me when I thought I could not leave the computer and who never questioned the process-- thanks for that meat loaf! I would like to thank my doctoral committee: my Chair, Leslie Lieberman, Ph.D., who kept me on my toes and from whom I learned a great deal; Roberta Seldman, Ph.D., iv who kept me reined in; Connie Shehan, Ph.D., whose enthusiasm kept me going; and Sharleen Simpson, Ph.D., whose feedback was invaluable. Lastly, a special thanks goes to Roberta Seldman. It is because of you that I moved to Gainesville, pursued a Ph.D., and became an insane mountain biker. The move changed my life and I am forever grateful. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. xi ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ...............................................................................................1 Statement of Problem ...................................................................................................1 Research Agenda ..........................................................................................................4 Theoretical Framework.................................................................................................7 Why Metaphor?.....................................................................................................7 What Is Metaphor? ................................................................................................8 Conceptual Metaphor ............................................................................................8 Cultural Models ..........................................................................................................10 Summary.....................................................................................................................13 2 METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................14 Research Objectives and Expectations .......................................................................14 Professional Experiences............................................................................................15 Research Design .........................................................................................................18 Data Collection and Analysis .....................................................................................19 Instrumentation/Methods.....................................................................................21 Interview Procedures...........................................................................................23 The Analytic Approach...............................................................................................24 Metaphors as an Interpretive Framework............................................................26 Identifying Metaphors .........................................................................................27 Dead metaphors............................................................................................28 A review of related tropes ............................................................................31 Summary of tropes used in this study ..........................................................34 Reconstructing Conceptual Metaphors................................................................35 Data Analysis..............................................................................................................37 Analytic Procedures.............................................................................................38 Trustworthiness ...................................................................................................39 Summary.....................................................................................................................42 vi 3 LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................43 Introduction.................................................................................................................44 Traditional Approaches to Food and Body.................................................................46 Weight and Health ......................................................................................................48 Alternative Views of Weight and Health ............................................................49 Obesity research far from conclusive...........................................................49 Obesity-related comorbidities improved independent of weight loss..........51 Biases in obesity research and public opinion .............................................52 Ineffectiveness of dieting strategies and questionable impact on health......54 Negative impact caused by focus on weight ................................................55 Contradictory Nature of Obesity Research..........................................................55 Obesity as a Culture Bound Syndrome ...............................................................56 Closer Look at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Height/Weight Tables.............56 Gender Bias in Weight Standards........................................................................59 Alternative Paradigm..................................................................................................61 Health at Every Size Movement..........................................................................62 Health At Every Size in Practice.........................................................................62 Summary of Traditional and Alternative Approaches to Food and Body..................65 Thinness as a Currency for Women’s Access to Power.............................................65 Psychological Theory ..........................................................................................66 Women and social conditions ......................................................................66 Women learn that looking good is a form of currency ................................68 Women attempt to gain control of their lives...............................................69 Eating and body/weight concerns as forms of communication....................70 Sociological Theory.............................................................................................72 Anthropological Theory ......................................................................................73 Cultural ideologies present in food rules and food ways .............................74 People select for worry those risks that reinforce social solidarity..............76 Rejecting Cultural Mandates to Lose Weight .....................................................76 Cognitive Anthropology and Use of Metaphor ..........................................................80 Cognitive Anthropology......................................................................................80 Schema Theory....................................................................................................81 Cultural Models...................................................................................................83 Directive force of cultural models................................................................84 Ideological force of cultural models.............................................................85
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