life: Analysing ‘before’ and
ves in slimming magazines
by Heather Christian
becoming more confident, more
attractive, a better employee,
a better mother; essentially, a
better woman.
The two articles I analyse are:
1. An article from Slimming
World titled, “How I found my
happy balance”, which details
the story of Anita YandellJones, who “at a size 20, buried
herself in work and put the
rest of her life on hold – until
she lost more than 7st. But
now she’s enjoying socialising,
surfing, roller-skating and
good health... as well as a
successful career” (p.26).
2. An article from Weight
Watchers titled, “Talkin’ ‘bout a
resolution” which includes the
“before” and “after” of a woman
called Gill Sievwright, who
lost “2st 3 1⁄2 pounds!!!” (p.30).
The article is a before and
after narrative, but it also
includes Gill’s tips on how to
stick to New Year’s resolutions,
lose weight and “succeed” (p.31).
I didn't like the
person I was
Anita opens the Slimming
World article with the line, “My
life today is so different from
the way it was in my thirties”;
taking into a ccount the type
of magazine this is, readers
may assume her thirties were
“different” because of her
weight and the effect this had
on her life. In comparison Gill’s
article for Weight Watchers
begins
with
a
somewhat
humorous statement: “On New
Year’s Day 2014, my breakfast was
cheesecake with a side portion
of self-pity; a year later, it
was porridge and a bucketload
of self-esteem”. Here, the use of
hyperbole stands to illustrate
how in just a year, something
as ordinary as her everyday
routine
of
breakfast
has
changed quite dramatically;
the breakfast choices represent
choices Gill has had to make
in her life and the dramatic
effect
such
changes
have
had on her. Although Anita’s
statement is of a more dramatic
tone, it is evident from the
outset that both women feel
that losing weight transformed
every aspect of their lives.
Both women go on to detail
how they “became fat” (Maor,
2013, p.96) and their overall life
“before”. The women address some
of the most important aspects
of their lives and reflect on
how losing weight has changed
31