Transcript from life story interview about a life time of dieting

It is extensively argued in feminist and critical psychological literature that discourses around female bodily discipline and weight management are deeply oppressive (e.g. Bordo, 2003; Heyes, 2006) yet seemingly difficult to resist, as indicated by the “perennial appeal” of weight loss diets (Heyes, 2006, p. 126) and the number of women who spend almost a lifetime ‘on and off’ various weight loss diets (Mintel, 2016). However, despite a plethora of feminist literature critiquing dieting as a ‘patriarchal disciplinary practice played out on the body’ (Heyes, 2006, p. 127), there are few studies to date which have explored the life stories of women with a focus on their historical and current experiences of ‘weight-watching’, weight loss and weight gain. As such, this project involves conducting life story interviews with approximately 15 women who identify as ‘serial dieters’. The research will adopts life story approach and the resulting data analysed using narrative analysis. The research aims are:
To explore how women make sense of their experiences of ‘weight-watching’, weight loss and weight gain, in the context of their life stories and the discursive resources available to them.• To explore how the participants construct and negotiate various identities, as narrated in their life stories.