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  • © 2008

The 'Fat' Female Body

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • A new and dynamic way of thinking about the fat female body
  • Explores Western societies such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand
  • A timely investigation of current moral panic over the alleged 'obesity epidemic'
  • Addresses a gap in scholarship on body image

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introduction: The ‘Fat’ Female Body: Pathological, Political and Phenomenological Imaginings

  3. Pathologising Fatness: Medical Authority and Popular Culture

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11
  4. ‘Fat’ Backlash: Activism and Identity Politics

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 85-85
  5. ‘Fat’ ‘Being’: Rethinking the ‘Body-Subject’ with Merleau-Ponty

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 135-135
    2. An Afterword: ‘Fat’ Bodily Being?

      • Samantha Murray
      Pages 181-182
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 183-196

About this book

Investigating the current interest in obesity and fatness, this book explores the problems and ambiguities that form the lived experience of 'fat' women in contemporary Western society. Engaging with dominant ideas about 'fatness', and analysing the assumptions that inform anti-fat attitudes in the West, The 'Fat' Female Body explores the moral panic over the 'obesity epidemic', and the intersection of medicine and morality in pathologising 'fat' bodies. It contributes to the emerging field of fat studies
by offering not only alternative understandings of subjectivity, the (re)production of public knowledge(s) of 'fatness', and politics of embodiment, but also the possibility of (re)reading 'fat' bodies to foster more productive social relations.

Reviews

“I especially appreciated how Murray was able to weave her personal experiences as a fat woman with her philosophical argument. Her stories brought a much-needed personal touch to the book. Despite the fact that the book was originally published in 2008, it is still a timely and important work for anyone who is interested in the field of fat studies and theorizing the fat female body. … I would highly recommend that anyone studying in this area read this book.” (Jeannine A. Gailey, Fat Studies, Vol. 5 (2), August, 2016)




"This is a courageous, poignant, honest, passionate, angry book - rare qualities in a work of scholarship." - Bioethical Inquiry

"As Murray notes, her ambition has not been to offer a new model for "fat" embodiment, but to look for new ways to understand it. Murray has succeeded in her task admirably. By moving the examination of the "fat" female body into the realm of the philosophical, she has been able to take the theory of fatness in a new exciting direction." - Hannele Harjunen, Social Semiotics

"...extremely interesting and thought-provoking..." - Melanie Latham, Social and Legal Studies Journal "This is a courageous, poignant, honest, passionate, angry book - rare qualities in a work of scholarship." - Bioethical Inquiry

"As Murray notes, her ambition has not been to offer a new model for "fat" embodiment, but to look for new ways to understand it. Murray has succeeded in her task admirably. By moving the examination of the "fat" female body into the realm of the philosophical, she has been able to take the theory of fatness in a new exciting direction." - Hannele Harjunen, Social Semiotics

"...extremely interesting and thought-provoking..." - Melanie Latham, Social and Legal Studies Journal

Authors and Affiliations

  • Macquarie University, Australia

    Samantha Murray

About the author

Samantha Murray is a Senior Researcher in the Gendered Violence Research Network at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to this, Samantha lectured in Cultural Studies at Macquarie University, Australia, and later worked in the not-for-profit sector. She has published several journal articles and book chapters on embodiment, and the discursive constructions of normalcy and pathology.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access