SUBJECTION TO CULTURALLY CONSTRUCTED PHYSICAL STANDARDS IN LOW-INCOME WOMEN

Abstract

Female obesity is one of the most worrying nutritional problems nowadays, with higher prevalence in women of low socioeconomic status. The social perception of the phenomenon of obesity has significantly changed throughout the ages. There is a contemporary subjection to culturally imposed and socially constructed physical standards, prevailing the aesthetic imperative that establishes thin and slender bodies as the standard to be achieved by all women. This becomes particularly perverse in low-income women because of the specific “food ethics” that guide their actions, according to which people should be educated to like everything, and to which the act of eating is valued more than the food itself. This article is justified by the importance of understanding the changes in the valued image of the female body, using studies of authors who address the problem of obesity in women of low socioeconomic status. The aim is to reflect on the contemporary subjection to culturally constructed physical standards and on how they affect low-income women. The findings reveal the suffering caused by body dissatisfaction that afflicts poor women, since the access to goods and services to transform the body is far from their financial possibilities. To deal with the frustration that inevitably sets in, the pleasure that is overly focused on food is exaggerated. It is the possibility that women find a way to express their frustration and at the same time ensure the enjoyment of immediate pleasure. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2015.16117