‘This growing genetic disaster’: obesogenic mothers, the obesity ‘epidemic’ and the persistence of eugenics

Cain, Ruth

doi:10.16995/sim.20

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 80 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…Firstly, the article reflects on some of the anxieties regarding the health and obesity epidemic in the UK and particularly what Cain (2013) calls the anxieties regarding obesogenic mothers. Cain (2013) argues that the public discourse is littered with images of ignorant working class or unemployed mothers who overfeed their children already during pregnancy. This epidemic is thus portrayed as a classed issue, and the status of such obesogenic mothers as stigmatised.…”

Section: Quantitative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of positive deviance in destigmatisation: celebrities and the media in the rise of veganism

Lundahl

2018

Consumption Markets & Culture

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How is positive deviance utilised by the news media in the destigmatisation of a consumption practice? I study this question in the context of veganism through critically informed frame analysis of a major British newspaper, the Daily Mail. This context is ideal for such an analysis as the image of veganism has been transformed in the recent years from a stigmatised lifestyle to a normalised, healthy diet. Furthermore, this transformation has particularly taken place through celebrities, who are conceptualised as positive deviants. I then develop a discursive framing perspective of the role of media in the destigmatisation process of a consumption practice. The resulting framework shows how media can use positive deviance in destigmatisation by managing both the boundaries of the stigmatised practice and the dynamics of positive deviancy. Moreover, this framework contextualises the different frames in terms of the organisational, institutional, and national context as well as macro-level ideologies.

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Section: Quantitative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of positive deviance in destigmatisation: celebrities and the media in the rise of veganism

Lundahl

2018

Consumption Markets & Culture

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“…Conversations around “maternal obesity,” as well as a general cultural tendency to “fat-shame” women ( 54 ), have been identified as resulting in a new form of mother blame that imagines women genetically passing on their “obesity” to their progeny ( 55 ). The overweight mother is then culturally perceived as toxic, producing children of “lowered quality, in terms of health, behaviour or achievement” ( 56 ). The donors' screening practices may therefore be influenced by cultural narratives of weight that determine the kinds of women who they allow to be mothers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptance and rejection of “morally challenging” behaviour in online sperm donation communities: narrative interviews with recipients and donors

Forshall,

Jones,

Turner-Moore

2024

Front. Reprod. Health

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IntroductionOnline sperm donation allows those hoping to conceive a baby (“recipients”) to meet prospective sperm donors online, via “connection” websites or social media. These sites offer some advantages to clinical donation (including lower costs and greater choice over donation arrangements) but previous research has suggested that these sites may also pose risks and challenges to those who use them. Therefore, the aim of this exploratory research was to better understand online sperm donation communities and the experiences of both recipients and donors, particularly with respect to situations that could be “morally challenging” or involve harm.MethodsThree prolific donors and five recipients were interviewed using an in-depth narrative approach. Carol Gilligan's Listening Guide was employed to analyse the data.ResultsThe findings demonstrated that the donors sought to find ways to maintain autonomy in their donating practices and were concerned about the character and parenting abilities of recipients, as well as the potential for recipients to make unwarranted complaints. The recipients were concerned about their safety and finding a donor they could trust, discussing issues relating to donor “dishonesty”, online abuse, and a lack of support from connection sites and related authorities. Both donors and recipients identified “morally challenging” behaviour relating to donor anonymity (donor use of fake online profiles or aliases) and the sexual motivations or (mis)conduct of some donors. The participants each discussed the ways in which they managed perceived risks.DiscussionThe degree to which the participants voiced their acceptance or rejection of challenging behaviour in online sperm donation communities varied across and within participants, highlighting the complexity of the way in which people interact in this environment. Further research is required to understand how this form of sperm donation can be as safe and supportive as possible, while also respecting the importance to donors and recipients of autonomy and choice when making donation arrangements.

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“…The discursive discouraging of fat bodies from planning pregnancy has been referred to by critical health researchers as a form of "soft" eugenics (McPhail et al, 2016: 101; see also Bombak, McPhail and Ward, 2016;Cain, 2013;Ward and McPhail, 2019). Conversely, the midwife's insistence that Emma's body birthed well provided a counter-narrative for her to use as she healed from the birth and began considering options for future pregnancy.…”

Section: On Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

A High-Risk Body for Whom? On Fat, Risk, Recognition and Reclamation in Restorying Reproductive Care through Digital Storytelling

Friedman

Rice

Lind

2020

Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture a

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This paper explores issues of weight stigma in fertility, reproduction, pregnancy and parenting through a fat reproductive justice lens. We engage with multimedia/digital stories co-written and co-produced with participants involved in Reproducing Stigma: Obesity and Women's Experiences of Reproductive Care. This mixed methods research project which took place between 2015-2018 used interview and video-making methods with women-identified and trans people, as well as interviews with healthcare providers and policymakers to investigate perceptions and operations of weight and other stigma in fertility and pregnancy care. We consider the ways in which reproductive risk is typically storied in healthcare and culture, and analyse multimedia/digital stories made by participant-video-makers which story reproductive wellbeing differently. We examine three major themes-on risk, on recognition of weight and other stigma, and on reclamation of bodies-that emerged as critical to these storytellers as they navigated fatphobia in reproductive care. We argue that just as healthcare practitioners strive to practice evidence-based care we must also put into practice storied care-to believe, respect and honour fat people's stories of their bodies and lives as fundamental to achieving equity and justice in reproductive healthcare.

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‘This growing genetic disaster’: obesogenic mothers, the obesity ‘epidemic’ and the persistence of eugenics

Cited by 9 publications

References 80 publications

Dynamics of positive deviance in destigmatisation: celebrities and the media in the rise of veganism

Dynamics of positive deviance in destigmatisation: celebrities and the media in the rise of veganism

Acceptance and rejection of “morally challenging” behaviour in online sperm donation communities: narrative interviews with recipients and donors

A High-Risk Body for Whom? On Fat, Risk, Recognition and Reclamation in Restorying Reproductive Care through Digital Storytelling

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