Repositorio
Institucional

Robinovich, Jossiana

Ossa, Ximena#Baeza, Bernardita#Krumeich, Anja#van der Borne, Bart

Embodiment of social roles and thinness as a form of capital: A qualitative approach towards understanding female obesity disparities in Chile

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE

en

Obesity in Chile disproportionately affects women of low socioeconomic status (SES). Research has shown that ideals of body size and differences in perceived social pressure for being slim across socioeconomic strata contribute to the social stratification of body size among women in modern societies. Thinness is most valued by high SES women, following western standards of Ideal body size. Aiming to understand the link between ideals of body size and SES, this qualitative study explored how 36 Chilean women construct their bodily ideals according to their social position. A purposive sample of women with different profiles with regard to educational attainment, nutritional status and body size (dis)satisfaction was defined, aiming to cover a diverse spectrum of bodily perceptions. Data were collected through semi structured interviews and approached through a thematic and narrative analysis. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, capital and embodiment of the social context, this study explains how ideals of body size and appearance are strongly linked to class-dependent gender roles and social roles. The existing gender and class inequalities in the Chilean social structure have been literally embodied by these women through a 'gendered class habitus'. Compliance with the thin ideal confers women different degrees of power according to their social position in different fields, such as in marriage and on the labour market, which turns thinness into an embodied form of capital. The societal dynamic behind obesity rates cannot be disregarded when approaching possible solutions. Promoting obesity-related lifestyle modification at an individual level might appear an over-simplistic and individualistic approach to a complex social issue. Context-oriented interventions that take cultural constructions of gender and social class into account might yield better results in the long term, while advocating for a more equitable society and social justice as a public health concern.

Artículo original

This research was supported by the Chilean National Fund for Health Research and Development (FONIS). Project number SA14ID0111.

Esta investigación fue financiada por el Fondo Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo en Salud (FONIS) de Chile. Número de proyecto SA14ID0111.

10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.02.006

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Chile# Obesity# Gender identity# Social class# Social environment

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.02.006

Public, Environmental & Occupational Health# Social Sciences, Biomedical

Chile# Obesidad# Identidad de género# Clase social# Entorno social

Sociología

Temas sociales (estudios de la mujer y de género; cuestiones sociales; estudios de familia, trabajo social)

Salud Pública y Ambiental

WOS:000431159800011

Embodiment of social roles and thinness as a form of capital: A qualitative approach towards understanding female obesity disparities in Chile

Artículo original

version publicada

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE

Salud Pública, Ambiental y Ocupacional# Ciencias Sociales, Biomédicas

0277-9536

en

ANID FONIS SA14ID0111

ANIS FONIS SA14ID0111

This research was supported by the Chilean National Fund for Health Research and Development (FONIS). Project number SA14ID0111.

pdf

hibrida#verde

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