Dieting

Paper Summary:

This paper examines diet jokes and the Israeli women's attitude towards the diet culture. An analysis of jokes connected to dieting. An examination of the attitudes of women towards the pressures of dieting by relating to the themes revealed in diet jokes. The thesis is supported by interviews with Israeli women and participation in an Israeli weight watchers group.

Contents
Chapter 1:
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Origins of the ?Diet Culture?
1.3 Diet Culture Ideology
1.4 Feminist Critique of the ?Diet Culture?
1.5 Studying Culture through Humor
1.6 Overview of Following Chapters
Chapter 2: Field Methods:
2.1 The Field
2.2 The Research Population
2.3 Participant Observation as a ?Native Anthropologist?
2.4 Text Analysis
Chapter 3: Diet Humor
3.1 The Difference between Diet Jokes and Fat Jokes
3.2 Themes in Diet Humor:
A. Diet Rules and Practice
B. Diet Products
C. Diet Culture Ideology
D. Clothes and Fashion
E. Diet Culture, Food and Social Interaction
Chapter 4: Discussion and Conclusions
4.1 Diet Humor as Resistance
4.2 Diet Humor as Solidarity between Women
4.3 Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix

From the Paper:

"This M.A. thesis is an ethnographic study of humor produced and used by young Israeli women who are part of the Israeli "diet culture". The goal of this thesis is to answer the questions: what is "diet humor?" How does it relate to "diet culture?" What impact does it have on the everyday lives of young women in Israel and to answer the additional question: does the appearance of "diet humor" signify a form of resistance to the prevailing "diet culture?" As I will discuss further on in this chapter, "diet culture" is very closely linked to consumer culture (Bordo, 1995, Featherstone, 1991) and the capitalist market (Turner, 1982). Advertisers and the mass media, which are financed by advertising, construct its images. Purchasing and using a range of aggressively marketed diet "products" carry out its practices. In Israel, that seems to idealize American culture, many diet culture images and products have been imported from the USA and are currently being marketed by Israeli companies."

More papers on Dieting:

• Analytical Essay # 7489 : "'Fat Talk: What Girls and their Parents Say About Dieting'"
• Case Study # 61313 : "Dieting"
• Analytical Essay # 5737 : "Women and Dieting"

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