Representations of fatness in Parents magazine: A critical discourse analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe authors investigate bodily pressures targeted at mothers through parenting magazines in a neoliberal cultural context. Theoretically rooted Foucault’s framework of biopower, the authors applied Foucauldian critical discourse analysis to examine messaging related to food and weight in Parents magazine. Findings highlight three key problematic discourses: (a) food practices are moral, physical, and emotional decisions made by mothers; (b) women—including mothers—have a moral obligation to seek a thin, fit body and to model weight/body maintenance activities for their children; and (c) fat children are inherently unhealthy and at risk of becoming fat adults. These discourses are critically assessed within the context of present literature related to mother blame, with layered analyses of race and gender.