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The discordant pleasures of everyday eating: Reflections on the social gradient in obesity under neo-liberalism

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  • Bissell, Paul
  • Peacock, Marian
  • Blackburn, Joanna
  • Smith, Christine

Abstract

Despite widespread epidemiological evidence of a social gradient in obesity, there has been less attention focused on understanding this from a sociological perspective. Furthermore, whilst pleasure is an obvious feature of contemporary cultural representations of food and eating, this has not figured prominently in sociological understandings of the social gradient. Using qualitative data from biographical interviews conducted with adults living in materially deprived parts of South Yorkshire (UK) we introduce the idea of discordant pleasure in relation to everyday eating as a way of shedding light on the social gradient in obesity. We highlight in particular, the ways in which materially deprived individuals who were defined as obese described the tensions between the pleasures of eating and the struggles for bodily control, alongside the affective dimensions – frustration and shame – that this process engendered. We draw on Berlant's work on lateral and interruptive agency to make sense of these accounts, suggesting that classed agency and discordant pleasure are important dimensions in understanding the social gradient in obesity under neoliberalism.

Suggested Citation

  • Bissell, Paul & Peacock, Marian & Blackburn, Joanna & Smith, Christine, 2016. "The discordant pleasures of everyday eating: Reflections on the social gradient in obesity under neo-liberalism," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 14-21.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:159:y:2016:i:c:p:14-21
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.04.026
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ljungvall, Åsa & Gerdtham, Ulf-G., 2010. "More equal but heavier: A longitudinal analysis of income-related obesity inequalities in an adult Swedish cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 221-231, January.
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    3. Peacock, Marian & Bissell, Paul & Owen, Jenny, 2014. "Dependency denied: Health inequalities in the neo-liberal era," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 173-180.
    4. Throsby, Karen, 2007. ""How could you let yourself get like that?": Stories of the origins of obesity in accounts of weight loss surgery," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1561-1571, October.
    5. Emma Rich & Laura De Pian & Jessica Francombe-Webb, 2015. "Physical Cultures of Stigmatisation: Health Policy & Social Class," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 20(2), pages 192-205, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kim, Young-Joo & Daly, Vincent, 2019. "The Education Gradient in Health: The Case of Obesity in the UK and US," Economics Discussion Papers 2019-4, School of Economics, Kingston University London.
    2. Joost Oude Groeniger & Carlijn B. M. Kamphuis & Johan P. Mackenbach & Mariëlle A. Beenackers & Frank J. Lenthe, 2019. "Are socio-economic inequalities in diet and physical activity a matter of social distinction? A cross-sectional study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(7), pages 1037-1047, September.
    3. Macdonald, Sara & Conway, Elaine & Bikker, Annemieke & Browne, Susan & Robb, Kathryn & Campbell, Christine & Steele, Robert JC. & Weller, David & Macleod, Una, 2019. "Making sense of bodily sensations: Do shared cancer narratives influence symptom appraisal?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 31-39.
    4. Vicario, Serena & Peacock, Marian & Buykx, Penny & Meier, Petra Sylvia & Bissell, Paul, 2021. "Women's informal surveillance of alcohol consumption in intimate heterosexual relationships during the early parenting period," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).

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