Judging a book by its cover : the narrativity, materiality, and performativity of successful slimming : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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Date
2014
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
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The Author
Abstract
Slimness
is
associated
with
physical
attractiveness,
and
fitness
and
health.
Given
that
one
in
three
New
Zealand
adults
is
overweight
and
one
in
four
is
obese,
a
desire
to
lose
weight
is
common,
especially
for
women.
But
weightloss,
and
particularly
maintaining
a
reduced
weight
in
the
long
term,
is
very
difficult.
Of
people
who
lose
a
significant
amount
of
weight,
95
percent
are
likely
to
regain
the
weight
lost
within
five
years
with
most
relapses
occurring
soon
after
losing
weight.
My
research
explores
the
stories
of
nine
women
who
have
defied
these
odds
and
maintained
a
loss
of
over
25
percent
of
their
body
mass
for
over
five
years.
In
this
thesis
I
have
used
a
multiple-‐methods
approach
to
draw
out
my
participants’
stories
of
successful
slimming.
My
diverse
methods
involved
engaging
in
a
series
of
four
one-‐on-‐one,
unstructured,
conversation-‐type
interviews
with
each
participant.
During
these
interviews,
participants
were
asked
to
produce
material
objects
such
as
photographs,
pieces
of
clothing,
diaries,
and
medical
records
to
facilitate
storytelling
and
discussion.
Each
participant
also
created
a
graph
of
her
weight
plotted
over
time,
which
was
informed
and
elaborated
by
the
objects
she
brought,
and
punctuated
and
further
extended
with
annotations
about
life
events.
The
timeline
helped
focus
attention
on
how
weight
changed
over
time
and
the
connections
between
weight
change
and
meaningful
life
experiences
and
events.
Creating
the
timeline
also
extended
and
enriched
storytelling,
and
encouraged
each
participant
to
become
a
researcher
of
her
own
life.
As
an
aid
for
drawing
out
stories
and
visualising
lived
experience,
the
process
of
creating
the
timeline
(timelining)
has
become
a
useful
new
method
for
arts-‐based
graphic
elicitation.
Continuing
with
arts-‐based
methods,
I
have
used
an
ethnodrama,
Wishing
at
a
Wedding,
to
present
my
research
findings
of
the
everydayness
of
successful
slimming.
My
decision
to
explore
Performative
Social
Science
was
premised
on
an
awareness
of
the
limitations
of
orthodox
forms
of
research
representation,
and
my
respect
for
my
participants’
motivation
to
take
part
in
this
research
in
order
to
help
other
women
transform
their
lives.
Performative
Social
Science
forms
such
as
ethnodrama
are
used
to
pique
emotions,
interrogate
and
disrupt
long
held
prejudices
and
beliefs,
and
reach
and
edify
wider
audiences.
In
performative
works
the
burden
of
interpretation
is
on
the
audience
and
there
is
potential
for
a
broad
and
varied
range
of
understandings.
Because
the
voices
of
authors
and
theorisation
can
be
thought
to
be
sidelined
in
performative
works
I
have
also
presented
my
research
findings
in
a
conventional
academic
form;
a
scholarly
book
chapter
called,
“Defying
the
odds—Successful
slimming”.
To
further
explore
the
broad
and
varied
range
of
understandings
elicited
by
performative
works,
opinions
on
the
play
are
presented
in
the
form
of
a
magazine
article,
written
by
a
member
of
the
audience
who
attended
the
play,
and
an
excerpt
from
a
blog,
written
by
a
playwright.
These
different
ways
of
explicating
research
findings
invoke
polyvocality.
Polyvocality
has
been
used
to
provide
a
variety
of
alternative
positions
or
standpoints
from
which
to
view
my
research
findings
and
enrich
understandings
of
the
world
of
weightloss
and
the
day-‐to-‐day
complexity
of
successful
slimming.
A
metaphor
of
an
expert
tightrope
walker
performing
(extra)ordinary
feats
of
balancing
is
proposed
to
understand
the
ease
with
which
successful
slimmers
maintain
a
reduced
weight,
and
also
the
fear
they
face
of
slipping
and
falling
from
their
narrow
path
of
weightloss
success.
I
argue
that
successful
slimming
requires
obsessive
moment-‐by-‐moment,
day-‐by-‐day,
year-‐by-‐year
focused
discipline
and
commitment.
It
is
not
a
simple
matter
of
eating
a
little
less
and
moving
a
little
more.
Description
Keywords
Slimming, Weight loss