Missing from debates over what caused the rise in childhood obesity and how to fix it are the children themselves. By investigating how contemporary cultural discourses of childhood obesity are experienced by children, Laura Backstrom illustrates how deeply fat stigma is internalized during the early socialization experiences of children.
Investigating contemporary cultural discourses around childhood obesity, the book reveals how children internalize fat stigma during their formative socialization. Laura Backstrom explores the construction of embodied inequality through various interactional processes such as resocialization, stigma management, social comparisons, and attribution. This examination highlights the complex ways children navigate and negotiate their experiences with societal perceptions of weight.