Eating Disorders in a Capitalist World: Super Woman or a Super Failure?

Feminist critique has yet to deconstruct the new 'superwoman ideal' that media perpetuates, which is fertile ground for harmful practices and consumerist behaviors. Eating Disorders in a Capitalist World provides a critical analysis of the social context of eating disorders, combining scientific approach with personal voices, and relating various environmental influences to the shaping of normative femininity and the experience of gender socialization in Western society.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 20 October 2023
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

Feminist critique has yet to fully dismantle the pervasive media myth of the "new 'superwoman ideal': the modern woman who is expected to achieve and possess everything, yet who ultimately falls short of perfection. This myth serves as a fertile ground for detrimental practices that prioritize a woman's body and perpetuate specific consumerist behaviors. The media perpetuates the notion that success, self-control, and attractiveness are directly linked to a slender, healthy body frame, attributing these achievements solely to individual responsibility. In a society where women have the potential to accomplish anything, it is only the woman herself who can be held accountable for not reaching her full potential.

Combining a scientific approach with personal narratives, Eating Disorders in a Capitalist World offers a critical examination of the social context of eating disorders through in-depth interviews with women grappling with anorexia and bulimia. Drawing upon a diverse range of socio-cultural theories, Jelena Balabanić Mavrović intricately connects various environmental factors to the development of low self-esteem, poor self-image, and body dissatisfaction with the construction of normative femininity and the process of gender socialization in Western society. The book also provides a comprehensive review of the socio-historical evolution of discourses and practices surrounding anorexia and bulimia, including phenomena such as "healthism," the war on obesity, and current trends.

By offering a fresh perspective on female identity, Eating Disorders in a Capitalist World provides a comprehensive exploration of the world of eating disorders in contemporary society. It sheds light on how the newfound freedoms afforded to women have simultaneously transformed into new forms of self-surveillance. This book serves as a powerful tool for understanding the complex interplay between societal expectations, gender norms, and the psychological toll of body dissatisfaction in a capitalist world.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781804557877