Subversive scholarship or anti-intellectual identity politics? An analysis of media frames of fat studies

ABSTRACT

Fat studies courses have emerged on college campuses during a time when the paradigm of the “obesity epidemic” dominates scientific and public discourses. Although scholars have assessed the media’s framing of fat and the “obesity epidemic,” research has yet to examine media frames of fat studies courses. Using data from LexisNexis and Google News, the authors analyze news media frames of fat studies. Our results indicate fat studies is nearly invisible in the media. However, fat studies is receiving some positive media coverage via articles written by fat studies scholars and activists, despite resistance from both conservatives and proponents of the “obesity epidemic” paradigm. The authors contend that fat studies scholars should continue to not only engage in fat studies pedagogy and communicate their research findings, but also implore journalists to conduct neutrality in reporting and the public to critically evaluate media sources.

KEYWORDS:

• Fat positivity
• fat studies
• framing analysis
• HAES
• media frames

Notes

1. The numbers may exceed the total number of articles in that category due to the multiple themes of some of the articles.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ariane Prohaska

Ariane Prohaska is an associate professor of sociology in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Alabama.

Cassidy D. Ellis

Cassidy Ellis is a recent graduate of the Masters of Communication Program at the University of Alabama.