This dissertation examines body image ideology within the larger context of adolescent social networks and the physical environment of a high school, specifically focusing on factors that may be contributing to the current overweight/obesity epidemic among youth. I explore the ways in which adolescents construct gendered identities through talk about body image as well as adolescent practices and discourses regarding exercise and food consumption, including how their perceptions of what it means to be athletic and healthy intersect with their perceptions about body image ideals and norms. I further discuss ways in which adolescents construct moral identities through 'othering' discourses about overweight and obese people, including teasing practices. A primary goal of this ethnographic research project is to integrate the study of body image, food consumption, exercise, and teasing practices among youth in order to contribute a contextualized understanding of how youth perceive and enact these behaviors in their daily lives.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/194937 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Taylor, Nicole Leigh |
| Contributors | Mendoza-Denton, Norma, Nichter, Mimi, Mendoza-Denton, Norma, Nichter, Mimi, Hill, Jane, Nichter, Mark |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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