Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyze the narratives of 14 women over 50 years of age from the Lima upper class about
the relationships between the self and their fat or excessive bodies. This is important because in contemporary
heteropatriarchal societies, fat women are morally sanctioned, de-feminized and considered ill-equipped to achieve
success in different areas of their personal and social lives. The women we interviewed suffer from health conditions
stemming from overweight and underwent gastric sleeve surgery (in which about 80 percent of the stomach is removed)
to restrict their food intake. We found that the interviewees value the “tyranny of the tiny” imposed by the stomach
(ingesting small portions of food), which they see as a way to stop regarding the body as a formidable enemy in the
process of losing weight. Likewise, the women appreciate forgetting about the sorrow of thinking of themselves as
subjects with a failed self, unable to control their appetites
the relationships between the self and their fat or excessive bodies. This is important because in contemporary
heteropatriarchal societies, fat women are morally sanctioned, de-feminized and considered ill-equipped to achieve
success in different areas of their personal and social lives. The women we interviewed suffer from health conditions
stemming from overweight and underwent gastric sleeve surgery (in which about 80 percent of the stomach is removed)
to restrict their food intake. We found that the interviewees value the “tyranny of the tiny” imposed by the stomach
(ingesting small portions of food), which they see as a way to stop regarding the body as a formidable enemy in the
process of losing weight. Likewise, the women appreciate forgetting about the sorrow of thinking of themselves as
subjects with a failed self, unable to control their appetites
Translated title of the contribution | The body as enemy :: fat women, slenderness ideal and gastric sleeve surgery |
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Original language | Spanish |
Pages (from-to) | 10-18 |
Journal | Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios sobre Cuerpos, Emociones y Sociedad (RELACES) |
Volume | año 12 |
Issue number | 34 |
State | Published - 21 Dec 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Diciembre 2020-Marzo 2021Bibliografía: páginas 15-18.