since she has lost weight.
Gill and Anita’s ‘stories’
provide clear illustrations
of
the
slimming
magazine
industry’s portrayal of weight
and weight loss. Both promote
the idea that weight loss is not
simply a way of keeping healthy,
but also that women should
strive “for the thin-ideal body
type by associating thinness
with positive life success”
(Evans, 2003, p.214). Weight loss
acts as a gateway into a
sunnier future: a new career,
renewed health, confidence, and
the ability to be a good parent.
Both
articles
imply
that
women can have none of these
without having ‘won’ in their
‘battle’ against weight gain.
In these articles, Slimming
World and Weight Watchers go
beyond their initial remit
of supporting and inspiring
readers who are on the diet
programmes. Through the text
and graphology, they create
a
world
where
thinness
is everything; it is to be
strived for unrelentingly, a
priority at the expense of
love, relationships and selfacceptance.
With more and more women
turning to these slimming
clubs and thus their magazines,
this narrative of a ‘fat past’
filled with depression and
poor health aligned against
the ‘thin future’ of supposed
optimism, health and success
clearly has a ready market.
References
Bearn, E. (2002) Susie reviews the fat issue [Online] London:
The Telegraph. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
health/3299594/Susie-reviews- the-fat-issue.html (Accessed: 19/01/16).
Evans, P. (2003) “If Only I Were Thin Like Her, Maybe I Could be
Happy Like Her”: The Self-Implications of Associating a Thin Female
Ideal with Life Success., Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27 (3) pp. 209-214.
Maor, M. (2013) Stories that Matter: Subverting the Before-and-After
Weight Loss Narrative, Social Semiotics, 24 (1) pp. 88-105.
O’ Meara, A. (2015) The Percentage of People Who Regain Weight After
Rapid Weight Loss and the Risks of Doing So [Online] Santa Monica:
Livestrong.com. Available from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/438395the-percentage-of- people-who-regain-weight-after-rapid-weight-lossrisks/ (Accessed: 14/01/16).
Reese, S. (2008) “Multiple Influences on Women’s Body Image”, Virginia
Journal, 29 (3) pp. 4-6, [Online]. Available from: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.
ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d9c6e79 6-9a74-4153-98fa0b0a10c08ce8%40sessionmgr4002&vid=6&hid=4113. (Accessed: 18/01/16).
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