Date of Award
8-2004
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Anthropology
First Advisor
Dr. Ann Miles
Second Advisor
Vincent Lyon-Callo
Third Advisor
Sarah Hill
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Campus Only
Abstract
This project documents the body-subject through the daily activities, thoughts and social interactions as experienced by me, Juan I. Florencia, an obese male and member of American society. The purpose is to educate readers to the effects of stigmatization resulting from obesity. Moreover it is my intent to explain to readers (by documenting my own life) how the resulting stigmatization is rationalized, coped with and understood within my daily routines and interactions. As part of the study, I did not attempt to alter my regular behaviors(s) or daily routines, ensuring that the resulting document is as clear a window into my life as possible, allowing outside viewers an unadulterated glimpse into the world of fat people. To accomplish this goal, I used autoethnography as my methodology, a newly emerging, yet legitimate anthropological approach to interpreting culture that shifts the focus of studying others to the study of self as a means of understanding larger cultural processes.
Recommended Citation
Florencia, Juan Ignacio, "Fat is a Masculine Issue Too: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Masculinity withing Fat-Culture" (2004). Masters Theses. 3668.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3668