The (Re)presentation of Fat Female Protagonists and Food Addiction in Young Adult Literature
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5275.2015.1.2.1-30Abstract
The goal of this study was to determine how fat female protagonists are (re)presented in young adult literature. A purposeful sample of eight young adult novels was selected based on inclusion of a fat female protagonist, a targeted readership of grades 6-8, and recognized literary quality. Working with a co-analyst, I employed a critical analysis approach to determine how these fat female protagonists are embodied. Three a priori thematic categories guided the initial analysis: 1) the language the protagonist and others use in reference to her body, 2) how those in her immediate community respond to her, and 3) if/how the sociocultural structures that “other” fat women are accepted, interrogated, or challenged. Final analysis entailed creating thematic charts as visual aids to interpret the latent content across novels. This revealed that the dramatic arc creates a trajectory of obsession with and/or addiction to food characterized by self-loathing, binge eating, hoarding food, eating in secret, interventions, a turning point, and a transformation. This construction of addiction perpetuates the stigmatization of fat females and the myth of the ideal body, so I offer critical questions to encourage adolescent readers to critique this (re)presentations of fat female protagonists.
References
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Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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LeBesco, K. (2004). Revolting bodies?: The struggle to redefine fat identity. Amhurst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Lipkin, E. (2009). Girls' studies. Berkeley, CA: Seal.
Lyons, P. (2009). Prescription for harm: Diet industry influence, public health policy, and the "obesity epidemic." In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 75-87). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Mackler, C. (2003). The earth, my butt, and other big round things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
McQuillan, S. S. D. (2004). Breaking the bonds of food addiction. New York, NY: Alpha Books.
Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1984). Drawing valid meaning from qualitative data: Toward a shared craft. Educational Researcher, 12, 20-30. <a href='https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X013005020'>https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X013005020</a>
Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102-1114. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.47.9.1102'>https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.47.9.1102</a>
Quick, C. S. (2008). "Meant to be huge: Obesity and body image in young adult novels. ALAN Review, 35(2), 54-61. <a href='https://doi.org/10.21061/alan.v35i2.a.8'>https://doi.org/10.21061/alan.v35i2.a.8</a>
Rogers, P. J., & Smit, H. J. (2000). Food craving and food 'addiction': A critical review of the evidence from a biopsychosocial perspective. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 66(1), 3-14. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(00)00197-0'>https://doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(00)00197-0</a>
Rogers, R. & Christian, J. (2007). 'What could I say?' A critical discourse analysis of the construction of race in children's literature. Race Ethnicity and Education, 10(1), 21-46. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320601100351'>https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320601100351</a>
Rosenblatt, L. M. (2005). Making meaning with texts: Selected essays. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Sheppard, K. (1989). Food addiction: The body knows. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.
Smith, A. (2015). Letting down Rapunzel: Feminism's effects on fairy tales. Children's Literature in Education, 46, 424-437. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9239-6'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9239-6</a>
Supplee, S. (2008). Artichoke's heart. New York, NY: Dutton.
Vaught, S. (2008). Big fat manifesto. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Wann, M. (2009). Forward, Fat Studies: An invitation to revolution. In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. xi - xxv). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Younger, B. (2009). Learning curves: Body image and female sexuality in young adult literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Attride-Stirling, J. (2001). Thematic networks: An analytic tool for qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 1(3), 385-404. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1177/146879410100100307'>https://doi.org/10.1177/146879410100100307</a>
Beineke, R. (1998). The portrayal of obese adolescents. ALAN Review, 25(3), 44-45. <a href='https://doi.org/10.21061/alan.v25i3.a.9'>https://doi.org/10.21061/alan.v25i3.a.9</a>
Bender-Slack, D. (2010). The role of gender in making meaning of texts: Bodies, discourses, and ways of reading. Feminist Teacher, 20(1), 15-27. <a href='https://doi.org/10.5406/femteacher.20.1.0015'>https://doi.org/10.5406/femteacher.20.1.0015</a> <a href='https://doi.org/10.1353/ftr.0.0070'>https://doi.org/10.1353/ftr.0.0070</a>
Bloome, D., Carter, S. P., Christian, B. M. Madrid, S., Otto, S., Shuart-Faris, N., & Smith, M. (2008). Discourse analysis in classrooms: Approaches to language and literacy research. New York: Teachers College Press and National Conference on Research Language and Literacy.
Burgard, D. (2009). What is "Health at Every Size"? In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 42-53). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Charlton-Trujillo, e. E. (2013). Fat Angie. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Choldenko, G. (2007). If a tree falls at lunch period. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Cooner, D. (2012). Skinny. New York, NY: Point/Scholastic.
Curwood, J. S. (2013). Redefining normal: A critical analysis of (di9s)ability in young adult literature. Children's Literature in Education, 44, 15-28. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-012-9177-0'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-012-9177-0</a>
Davis, C., & Carter, J. C. (2009). Compulsive overeating as an addiction disorder: A review of theory and evidence. Appetite, 53, 1-8. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.05.018'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.05.018</a>
Dowell, F. O. (2012). The second life of Abigail Walker. New York, NY: Atheneum.
Farrell, A. E. (2011). Fat shame: Stigma and the fat body in American culture. New York, NY: University Press.
Fisher, G. L., & Harrison, T. C. (2009). Substance abuse: Information for school counselors, social workers, therapists, and counselors (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. <a href='https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412964500.n300'>https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412964500.n300</a>
Florio-Ruane, S.l, & Morrell, E. (2004). Discourse analysis: Conversation. In N. K. Duke & M. H. Mallette (Eds.). Literacy research methodologies (pp. 46-61). New York: Guilford Press.
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Gay, L.R. & Airasian, P. (2000). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
George, M. (2008). Looks. New York, NY: Viking.
Glenn, W. (2008). Gossiping girls, insider boys, A-list achievement: Examining and exposing young adult novels consumed by conspicuous consumption. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 52(1), 34-42. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.1.4'>https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.1.4</a>
Glessner, M. M., Hoover, J. H., & Hazlett, L. A. (2006). The portrayal of overweight in adolescent fiction. Reclaiming Children and Youth 15(2), 116-123.
Goldman, S., & Wiley, J. (2004). Discourse analysis: Written text. In N. K. Duke & M. H. Mallette (Eds.). Literacy research methodologies (pp. 62-91). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Hartman, M. (September 15, 2010). Obesity costs go beyond medical bills. Marketplace, American Public Media.
Hellmich, N. (January 20, 2010). Michelle Obama to launch initiative fighting child obesity. USA Today.
Herndon, A. (2002). Disparate but disabled: Fat embodiment and disability studies. NWSA Journal, 14(3), 120-137. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1353/nwsa.2003.0007'>https://doi.org/10.1353/nwsa.2003.0007</a>
Hubler, A. E. (2000). Beyond the image: Adolescent girls, reading, and social reality. NWSA Journal, 12(1), 84-99. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2979/NWS.2000.12.1.84'>https://doi.org/10.2979/NWS.2000.12.1.84</a>
Koppelman, S. (2009). Fat stories in the classroom: What and how are they teaching about us? In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 213-220). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kulick, D., & Meneley, A. (2005). Introduction. In D. Kulick & A. Memeley (Eds). Fat: The anthropology of an obsession (pp. 1-8). New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
LeBesco, K. (2004). Revolting bodies?: The struggle to redefine fat identity. Amhurst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Lipkin, E. (2009). Girls' studies. Berkeley, CA: Seal.
Lyons, P. (2009). Prescription for harm: Diet industry influence, public health policy, and the "obesity epidemic." In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 75-87). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Mackler, C. (2003). The earth, my butt, and other big round things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
McQuillan, S. S. D. (2004). Breaking the bonds of food addiction. New York, NY: Alpha Books.
Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1984). Drawing valid meaning from qualitative data: Toward a shared craft. Educational Researcher, 12, 20-30. <a href='https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X013005020'>https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X013005020</a>
Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102-1114. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.47.9.1102'>https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.47.9.1102</a>
Quick, C. S. (2008). "Meant to be huge: Obesity and body image in young adult novels. ALAN Review, 35(2), 54-61. <a href='https://doi.org/10.21061/alan.v35i2.a.8'>https://doi.org/10.21061/alan.v35i2.a.8</a>
Rogers, P. J., & Smit, H. J. (2000). Food craving and food 'addiction': A critical review of the evidence from a biopsychosocial perspective. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 66(1), 3-14. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(00)00197-0'>https://doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(00)00197-0</a>
Rogers, R. & Christian, J. (2007). 'What could I say?' A critical discourse analysis of the construction of race in children's literature. Race Ethnicity and Education, 10(1), 21-46. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320601100351'>https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320601100351</a>
Rosenblatt, L. M. (2005). Making meaning with texts: Selected essays. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Sheppard, K. (1989). Food addiction: The body knows. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.
Smith, A. (2015). Letting down Rapunzel: Feminism's effects on fairy tales. Children's Literature in Education, 46, 424-437. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9239-6'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9239-6</a>
Supplee, S. (2008). Artichoke's heart. New York, NY: Dutton.
Vaught, S. (2008). Big fat manifesto. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Wann, M. (2009). Forward, Fat Studies: An invitation to revolution. In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. xi - xxv). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Younger, B. (2009). Learning curves: Body image and female sexuality in young adult literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
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2016-01-11
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Empirical Studies
