Obesity in the News: Language and Representation in the Press (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781108836395)

Obesity is a pressing social issue and a persistently newsworthy topic for the media. This book examines the linguistic representation of obesity in the British press. It combines techniques from corpus linguistics with critical discourse studies to analyse a large corpus of newspaper articles (36 million words) representing ten years of obesity coverage. These articles are studied from a range of methodological perspectives, and analytical themes include variation between newspapers, change over time, diet and exercise, gender and social class. The volume also investigates the language that readers use when responding to obesity representations in the context of online comments. The authors reveal the power of linguistic choices to shame and stigmatise people with obesity, presenting them as irresponsible and morally deviant. Yet the analysis also demonstrates the potential for alternative representations which place greater focus on the role that social and political forces play in this topical health issue.

Author: Gavin Brookes, Paul Baker
ISBN-10: 1108836399
ISBN-13: 9781108836395
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/25/2021
Pages: 292
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.20h x 8.00w x 0.70d