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What is “Religion”? A Fluid, Functional Definition What is “Religion”? A Fluid, Functional Definition
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The “Religion” of Thinness The “Religion” of Thinness
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Sacred and Secular Rituals: Complicating the Distinction Sacred and Secular Rituals: Complicating the Distinction
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Pro-Ana Religion and the Continuum of Faith in Thinness Pro-Ana Religion and the Continuum of Faith in Thinness
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Historical Attitudes Toward Food and Appetite Historical Attitudes Toward Food and Appetite
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The Emergence and Consolidation of the Slender Ideal The Emergence and Consolidation of the Slender Ideal
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The Iconography of Flawless Female Bodies The Iconography of Flawless Female Bodies
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The Morality of the Religion of Thinness: Creating a Good Body The Morality of the Religion of Thinness: Creating a Good Body
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The Economic Underpinnings of the Expanding Quest to Reduce The Economic Underpinnings of the Expanding Quest to Reduce
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The “War on Obesity” The “War on Obesity”
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Creating the Ultimate Body: “Is this a New Religion?” Creating the Ultimate Body: “Is this a New Religion?”
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Discussion Questions Discussion Questions
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Notes Notes
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Nineteen Rap Music and Its Message: On Interpreting the Contact between Religion and Popular Culture
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Thirteen Losing Their Way to Salvation: Women, Weight Loss, and the Religion of Thinness
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Published:March 2017
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Abstract
This chapter considers the ways in which religion can be a form of social control. In particular, it looks at the societal pressures which encourage women to embrace a so-called religion of thinness. This concept is not meant to suggest that the pursuit of slenderness is, in fact, a religion. Rather, it aims to illuminate how this pursuit has become a profound source of meaning for many people today—especially women. The idea of the religion of thinness brings into focus aspects of our culture's devotion to slenderness that functionally resemble certain features of traditional religion, especially Christianity, which has had the most power to influence Western norms and attitudes regarding appetite and body size.
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