Celebrating "obese" bodies: Gay "bears" talk about weight, body image and health

International Journal of Men's Health

Volumn 8, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 235-253

  Gough, Brendan ^a   Flanders, Gareth ^b  

^a NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b LEEDS AND YORK PARTNERSHIP NHS FOUNDATION TRUST   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Gay "bear" culture; Masculinity; Men's health; Obesity; Qualitative studies

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; ATTITUDE; BODY IMAGE; BODY MASS; HUMAN; INTERVIEW; MALE HOMOSEXUAL; MEN'S HEALTH; OBESITY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; SOCIOLOGY; WEIGHT GAIN; WEIGHT REDUCTION;

EID: 77649214439     PISSN: 15326306     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3149/jmh.0803.235     Document Type: Article

References (60)

1. Blissmer, B., Riebe, D., Dye, G., Ruggeiro, L., Greene, G., Cladwell, M. (2006). Health-related quality of life following a clinical weight loss intervention among overweight and obese adults: Intervention and 24 month follow-up effects. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4(43), 1-8.
2. Bordo, S. (1993). Un"bear"able weight: Feminism, western culture and the body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
3. Brownell, K.D., Puhl, R.M., Schwartz, M.B., & Rudd, L. (2005). Weight bias: Nature, consequences, and remedies. New York: Guilford Publications.
4. Cahill, S., & Mussap, A.J. (2007). Emotional reactions following exposure to idealized bodies predict unhealthy body change attitudes and behaviors in women and men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 62(6), 631-9.
5. Campos, P. (2004). The obesity myth: Why America's obsession with weight is hazardous to your health. New York: Gotham Books.
6. Connell, R.W. (1995). Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity.
7. de Visser, R., & Smith, J. (2007). Alcohol consumption and masculine identity among young men. Psychology & Health, 22, 595-614.
8. Department of Health UK. (2004). Choosing health: Making healthy choices easier. London: Department of Health.
9. Department of Health UK. (2008). Healthy weight, healthy lives: A cross government strategy for England. London: Cross Government Obesity Unit.
10. Dickerson, P. (1997a). "It's not just me who's saying this": The deployment of cited others in political discourse. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 33-48.
11. Drummond, M.J.N. (2005). Men's bodies: Listening to the voices of young gay men. Men and Masculinities, 7(3), 270-290.
12. Foresight. (2007). The Foresight Report, Tackling obesities: Future choices-Modelling future trends in obesity and the impact on health. London: Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills.
13. Gard, M., & Wright, J. (2005). The obesity epidemic. London: Routledge.
14. Gergen, K.J. (1994). Realities and relationships: Soundings in social construction. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
15. Gill, R., Henwood, K., & McLean, C. (2005). Body projects and the regulation of normative masculinity. Body & Society, 11(1), 37-62.
16. Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. New York: Aldine.
17. Gough, B. (2006). Try to be healthy, but don't forgo your masculinity: Deconstructing men's health discourse in the media. Social Science & Medicine, 63, 2476-2488.
18. Gough, B. (2007a). 'Real men don't diet': An analysis of contemporary newspaper representations of men, food and health. Social Science & Medicine, 64(2), 326-337.
19. Gough, B. (2007b). Men, masculinity and weight issues. In A. White & M. Pettifer (Eds.), Hazardous waist: Tackling overweight and obesity in men (pp. 55-65). Abingdon, Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing.
20. Gough, B., & Conner, M.T. (2006). Barriers to healthy eating among men: A qualitative analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 62(1), 387-395.
21. Gough, B., & Edwards, G. (1998). The beer talking: Four lads, a carry out and the reproduction of masculinities. The Sociological Review, 46(3), 409-435.
22. Grogan S. (2007). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and children. New York: Routledge.
23. Grogan, S., & Richards, H. (2002). Body image: Focus groups with men and boys. Men and Masculinities, 4(3), 219-232.
24. Haslam, D.W., & James, W.P. (2005). Obesity. Lancet, 366(9492), 1197-1209.
25. Hennen, P. (2005). "Bear" bodies, "bear" masculinity: Recuperation, resistance, or retreat? Gender and Society, 19(25), 25-43.
26. Horton-Salway, M. (2001). The construction of ME: The discursive action model. In M. Wetherell, S. Taylor & S.J. Yates (Eds.), Discourse as data: A guide to analysis (pp. 147-189). London: Sage/Open University.
27. Jefferson, G. (1990). List construction as a task and resource. In G. Psathas (Ed.), Interaction competence (pp. 63-92). Washington, DC: University Press of America.
28. Kampf, R. (2000). The "bear" handbook. New York: Harrington Park Press.
29. Kapur, N., Hunt, I., Lunt, M., McBeth, J., Creed, F., & MacFarlane, G. (2004). Psychosocial and illness related predictors of consultation rates in primary care - A cohort study. Psychological Medicine, 34, 719-728.
30. Kelly, E., & Kane, K. (2001). In Goldilock's footsteps: Exploring the discursive construction of gay masculinity in "bear" magazines. New York: Harrington Park Press.
31. Kopelman, P. (2007). Health risks associated with overweight and obesity. Obesity Reviews, 8(Suppl. 1), 13-17.
32. Kraft, C., Robinson, B.E., Nordstrom, D.L., Bockting, W.O., & Rosser, B.R.S. (2006). Obesity, body image, and unsafe sex in men who have sex with men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35(5), 587-595.
33. Labre, M.P. (2005). Burn fat, build muscle: A content analysis of Men's Health and Men's Fitness. International Journal of Men's Health, 4(2), 187-200
34. Lee, C., & Owens, R.G. (2002). The psychology of men's health. Buckingham: Open University Press.
35. Levesque, M.J., & Vichesky, D.R. (2005). Raising the bar on the body beautiful: An analysis of the body image concerns of homosexuality men. Body Image, 3(1), 45-55.
36. Men's Health Forum. (2005). Hazardous waist?: Tackling the epidemic of excess weight in men. London: Men's Health Forum.
37. Messner, M. (1992). Power at play: Sport and the problem of masculinity. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
38. Monaghan, L. (2005a). Discussion piece: A critical take on the obesity debate. Social Theory & Health, 3, 302-314.
39. Monaghan, L. (2005b). Big handsome men, "bear"s and others: Virtual constructions of 'fat male embodiment'. Body & Society, 11(2), 81-111.
40. Monaghan, L. (2006). Weighty words: Expanding and embodying the accounts framework. Social Theory & Health, 4, 128-167.
41. Monaghan, L. (2007). McDonaldizing men's bodies? Slimming, associated irrationalities and resistances. Body & Society, 13(2), 67-93.
42. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) UK. (2006). Obesity: Guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children. London: NICE.
43. Orbach, S. (1978). Fat is a feminist issue: The anti-diet guide for women. New York : Galahad Books.
44. Parker, I. (1997). Psychoanalytic culture. London: Routledge.
45. Pomerantz, A. (1986). Extreme case formulations. Human Studies, 9, 219-230.
46. Potter, J. (1996). Representing reality: Discourse, rhetoric and social construction. London: Sage.
47. Robertson, S. (2007). Understanding men and health: Masculinities, identity and wellbeing. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
48. Robison, J. (2005). Editorial: Health at every size: Antidote for the 'obesity epidemic'. Health at Every Size Journal, 19, 2-10.
49. Roos, G., Prattala, R., & Koski, K. (2001). Men, masculinity and food: Interviews with carpenters and engineers. Appetite, 37, 47-56.
50. Simpson, M. (2002). Meet the metrosexual. Salon. Retrieved January 4, 2008, from http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2002/07/22/metrosexual/ index2.html
51. Smith, J.A. (1995). Semi-structured interviewing and qualitative analysis. In J.A. Smith, R. Harre & L.Van Langenhove (Eds.), Rethinking methods in psychology (pp. 9-26). London: Sage.
52. Stibbe, A. (2004). Health and the social construction of masculinity in Men's Health magazine. Men and Masculinities, 7(1), 31-51.
53. Stokoe, E.H. (2004). Gender and discourse, gender and categorization: Current developments in language and gender research. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1(2), 107-129.
54. Suresha, R. J. (2002). Bears on bears. Los Angeles: Alyson Books.
55. Textor, A. R. (1999). Organization, specialization, and desires in the big men's movement: Preliminary research in the study of subculture-formation. Journal of Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Identity, 4(3), 217-239.
56. Watson, J. (2000). Male bodies: Health, culture and identity. Buckingham: Open University Press.
57. Wetherell, M. (1998). Positioning and interpretative repertoires: Conversation analysis and poststructuralism in dialogue, Discourse & Society, 9, 387-412.
58. White, A., & Pettifer, M. (Eds.). (2007). Hazardous waist: Tackling overweight and obesity in men. Abingdon, Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing.
59. Willig, C. (2004). Discourse analysis and health psychology. In M. Murray (Ed.), Critical health psychology (pp. 155-171). Basingstoke: Palgrave.
60. World Health Organization (WHO). (2004). Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health. Geneva: WHO.