The Anorexic Self
eBook - PDF

The Anorexic Self

A Personal, Political Analysis of a Diagnostic Discourse

  1. 142 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Anorexic Self

A Personal, Political Analysis of a Diagnostic Discourse

About this book

Critically examines diagnostic and popular discourses on eating disorders.

Traditionally, women's eating disorders are thought to be strongly influenced by media images idealizing a normative thin female body. Taking a different approach, The Anorexic Self critically examines diagnostic and popular discourses on anorexia that construct narrow and ideal notions of the female self. Paula Saukko analyzes the personal and political implications of discourses on the anorexic self in multiple contexts, including her own experience of being diagnosed anorexic; psychiatrist Hilde Bruch's postwar research on anorexia; and media coverage of Karen Carpenter, Princess Diana, and other women with eating disorders. Saukko traces the history of the discourses from postwar idealization of masculine autonomy to postindustrial valorization of feminine flexibility, and also explores their politically progressive and psychologically healing-as well as sexist and humiliating-dimensions. Drawing on narrative therapy, dialogic theory, and multisited ethnography, The Anorexic Self cultivates a less judgmental and more self-reflexive way of relating to ourselves, others, and societies in which we live.

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Yes, you can access The Anorexic Self by Paula Saukko in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Feminism & Feminist Theory. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. The Anorexic Self
  2. Contents
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. 1. Introduction: Interrogating The Anorexic Self
  5. 2.Rereading the StoriesThat Became Me: An Autoethnography
  6. 3. Fat Boys and Goody Girls: Hilde Bruch’s Work on Eating Disorders and the American Ideal of Freedom
  7. 4. From Autonomy to Flexibility: News Discourses on Karen Carpenter and Princess Diana
  8. 5. Voices and Discourses: Layering Interviews on Eating Disorders
  9. 6. From Time-Based Diagnosis to Space-Based Critical Reflection
  10. Notes
  11. References
  12. Index