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Body, Fatness and Health (Discourses on the) by Geneviève Rail
The recent construction of a so-called "obesity epidemic" has been fueled by epidemiologically-ba... more The recent construction of a so-called "obesity epidemic" has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studies recuperated by the media and suggestions of the rapid acceleration of obesity rates in the Western world. Studies linking obesity to ill-health have also exploded and greatly impacted our "physical" culture. In this article, I present a series of postcards to summarize the dominant obesity discourse and document the rhetorical terrain of the impending epidemic. I also offer counter-postcards to dispute the postcards' objective postulations and contextualize the birth of what I call the "Obesity Clinic." I then characterize this polymorphous clinic as an apparatus of capture sustained by biomedicalization, bioeconomics, and biocultural discourses and speak to its regulation and abjection of unruly (fat) bodies. I conclude with a few reflections about the territorializing nature of the Obesity Clinic as well as what it means for individuals and, more generally, for physical culture and its study.
In this paper, we conduct a critical feminist-informed poststructural analysis of the Canadian Br... more In this paper, we conduct a critical feminist-informed poststructural analysis of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's reality weight loss series, Village on a Diet (VOD). We argue that the "problem of obesity" is felt into reality through the cultural work of emotions as represented in VOD. We further situate VOD as one node in a more expansive, interwoven network of discourses, sites, and technologies. In so doing, we argue that the felt force of "obesity" discourse is magnified as it circulates relationally throughout this network, materializing the felt "truth" about fatness (e.g., that it is unhealthy) and fat subjects (e.g., that they are unhappy, unsexy, bad parents). In this way, VOD serves a (bio)pedagogical function as it instructs-indeed, necessitates-that villagers and viewing Canadians alike work on and transform their bodies into leaner, supposedly more healthy forms as a means of striving towards the promise of a better life.
In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a ‘risk’ to the health of mother and foetus.At a... more In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a ‘risk’ to the health of mother and foetus.At a time when preg- nant women are under greater pressure to personally uphold the health of their foetus, understanding the impact of the discourse surrounding obesity and health on young pregnant women is critical. Using a feminist poststructural- ist discourse analysis, we explore how pregnant young women construct their subjectivities either within dominant discourse on health and obesity or possibly resistant discourses. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 28, coming from various socioeconomic and educational backgrounds in the Ottawa region.The analysis reveals that these women constitute themselves as complex, fragmented subjects who at times construct themselves within alternative and resistant discourses but generally reproduce dominant dis- courses of obesity, of individual and moral responsibility for health, and of maternal responsibility for foetal health. Implications for health promotion and policy strategies are discussed.
Social Theory & Health, 2010
The recent construction of an 'obesity epidemic' has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studi... more The recent construction of an 'obesity epidemic' has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studies recuperated by the media and suggesting the rapid acceleration of obesity rates in the Western world. Studies linking obesity to ill-health have also exploded with more recipes on how to wage 'a war' on obesity and dispose of 'domestic terrorists.' In this paper, we assert that the fabrication of 'evidence' in obesity research constitutes a good example of micro-fascism at play in the contemporary scientific arena. Favoring a particular ideology and excluding alternative forms of knowledge, obesity scientists have established a dominant 'obesity discourse' within which obese and 'at-risk' bodies are constructed as lazy and expensive bodies that should be submitted to disciplinary technologies (for example, surveillance), expert investigation and regulation. Using a poststructuralist approach, we examine the politics of evidence in obesity science and explore the connections between obesity discourses and the ways in which health and the body are discursively constructed by Canadian youth.
In this article, we use qualitative methodology to explore how 15 low-income women of diverse soc... more In this article, we use qualitative methodology to explore how 15 low-income women of diverse sociocultural location construct and experience health and weight gain during pregnancy, as well as how they position themselves in relation to messages pertaining to weight gain, femininity and motherhood that they encounter in their lives. Discussing the findings through a feminist poststructuralist lens, we conclude that the participants are complex, fragmented subjects, interpellated by multiple and at times conflicting subject positions. While the discourse of maternal responsibility (i.e. managing personal behaviours for the baby's health) is very much in evidence in their narratives, embodied experiences of pregnancy, lived experiences of financial constraints and religious beliefs provided some with an alternative discourse and resistant subject position. Participants also had mixed emotions about weight gain; they recognized the need to gain weight in order to have a healthy pregnancy, but weight gain was also not welcome as participants reproduced the dominant discourse of obesity and the discourse of 'feminine' bodily norms. Based on our results, we advocate for change to recent clinical guidelines and social discourses around pregnancy and weight gain, as well as for policies that provide pregnant women with a range of health-promoting resources.
teaches health-and gender-related courses at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Sh... more teaches health-and gender-related courses at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. She is also an independent researcher whose interests revolve around culture and health, constructions of obesity and health, as well as cosmetic surgery practices among Lebanese women.
In this article, we critically examine the clinical guidelines for obesity in pregnancy put forth... more In this article, we critically examine the clinical guidelines for obesity in pregnancy put forth by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) that are underpinned by the rules of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), a system of ranking knowledge that promises to provide unbiased evidence about the effectiveness of treatments. While the SOGC guidelines are intended to direct health practitioners on 'best practice' as they address pregnancy weight gain with clients in the clinical context, we question their usefulness, arguing that despite their commitment to objectivity, they remain mired in cultural biases that stigmatize large female bodies and associates them to 'unfit' mothers.
In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a 'risk' to the health of mother and foetus. At ... more In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a 'risk' to the health of mother and foetus. At a time when pregnant women are under greater pressure to personally uphold the health of their foetus, understanding the impact of the discourse surrounding obesity and health on young pregnant women is critical. Using a feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis, we explore how pregnant young women construct their subjectivities either within dominant discourse on health and obesity or possibly resistant discourses. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 28, coming from various socioeconomic and educational backgrounds in the Ottawa region. The analysis reveals that these women constitute themselves as complex, fragmented subjects who at times construct themselves within alternative and resistant discourses but generally reproduce dominant discourses of obesity, of individual and moral responsibility for health, and of maternal responsibility for foetal health. Implications for health promotion and policy strategies are discussed.
T Ta am mm my y G Ge eo or rg ge e, , O OI IS SE E, , U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f T To ... more T Ta am mm my y G Ge eo or rg ge e, , O OI IS SE E, , U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f T To or ro on nt to o G Ge en ne ev vi iè èv ve e R Ra ai il l, , U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f O Ot tt ta aw wa a KEYWORDS: HEALTH, DISCOURSE, WOMEN, SOUTH ASIAN, BODY, BEAUTY, RACIALIZATION, POSTCOLONIALISM Stereotypes emphasizing passivity, docility and uncleanliness all contribute to cultural (mis)understandings of Canadian women of South-Asian background. Such understandings are a part of dominant racist discourses, including "bodily" discourses related to health. This paper focuses on the discursive constructions of health among ten young, second-generation South-Asian Canadian women from the Ottawa and Toronto areas. In this qualitative study, feminist postcolonialism and poststructuralism are used as a lens through which we analyse and interpret the transcripts of conversations with these women. The results highlight these young women's discursive constructions of health and particularly how racialized and gendered notions of 'looking good' constitute a crucial element in their understanding of what it is to be 'healthy.' We discuss and conclude on how these young women locate themselves as un/healthy subjects within larger cultural discourses of traditional (white) femininity, heteronormativity and consumption.
Public Health (Discourses on the Body in/or/and) by Geneviève Rail
Canadian Journal of Public Health
The recent construction of a so-called "obesity epidemic" has been fueled by epidemiologically-ba... more The recent construction of a so-called "obesity epidemic" has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studies recuperated by the media and suggestions of the rapid acceleration of obesity rates in the Western world. Studies linking obesity to ill-health have also exploded and greatly impacted our "physical" culture. In this article, I present a series of postcards to summarize the dominant obesity discourse and document the rhetorical terrain of the impending epidemic. I also offer counter-postcards to dispute the postcards' objective postulations and contextualize the birth of what I call the "Obesity Clinic." I then characterize this polymorphous clinic as an apparatus of capture sustained by biomedicalization, bioeconomics, and biocultural discourses and speak to its regulation and abjection of unruly (fat) bodies. I conclude with a few reflections about the territorializing nature of the Obesity Clinic as well as what it means for individuals and, more generally, for physical culture and its study.
In this paper, we conduct a critical feminist-informed poststructural analysis of the Canadian Br... more In this paper, we conduct a critical feminist-informed poststructural analysis of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's reality weight loss series, Village on a Diet (VOD). We argue that the "problem of obesity" is felt into reality through the cultural work of emotions as represented in VOD. We further situate VOD as one node in a more expansive, interwoven network of discourses, sites, and technologies. In so doing, we argue that the felt force of "obesity" discourse is magnified as it circulates relationally throughout this network, materializing the felt "truth" about fatness (e.g., that it is unhealthy) and fat subjects (e.g., that they are unhappy, unsexy, bad parents). In this way, VOD serves a (bio)pedagogical function as it instructs-indeed, necessitates-that villagers and viewing Canadians alike work on and transform their bodies into leaner, supposedly more healthy forms as a means of striving towards the promise of a better life.
In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a ‘risk’ to the health of mother and foetus.At a... more In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a ‘risk’ to the health of mother and foetus.At a time when preg- nant women are under greater pressure to personally uphold the health of their foetus, understanding the impact of the discourse surrounding obesity and health on young pregnant women is critical. Using a feminist poststructural- ist discourse analysis, we explore how pregnant young women construct their subjectivities either within dominant discourse on health and obesity or possibly resistant discourses. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 28, coming from various socioeconomic and educational backgrounds in the Ottawa region.The analysis reveals that these women constitute themselves as complex, fragmented subjects who at times construct themselves within alternative and resistant discourses but generally reproduce dominant dis- courses of obesity, of individual and moral responsibility for health, and of maternal responsibility for foetal health. Implications for health promotion and policy strategies are discussed.
Social Theory & Health, 2010
The recent construction of an 'obesity epidemic' has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studi... more The recent construction of an 'obesity epidemic' has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studies recuperated by the media and suggesting the rapid acceleration of obesity rates in the Western world. Studies linking obesity to ill-health have also exploded with more recipes on how to wage 'a war' on obesity and dispose of 'domestic terrorists.' In this paper, we assert that the fabrication of 'evidence' in obesity research constitutes a good example of micro-fascism at play in the contemporary scientific arena. Favoring a particular ideology and excluding alternative forms of knowledge, obesity scientists have established a dominant 'obesity discourse' within which obese and 'at-risk' bodies are constructed as lazy and expensive bodies that should be submitted to disciplinary technologies (for example, surveillance), expert investigation and regulation. Using a poststructuralist approach, we examine the politics of evidence in obesity science and explore the connections between obesity discourses and the ways in which health and the body are discursively constructed by Canadian youth.
In this article, we use qualitative methodology to explore how 15 low-income women of diverse soc... more In this article, we use qualitative methodology to explore how 15 low-income women of diverse sociocultural location construct and experience health and weight gain during pregnancy, as well as how they position themselves in relation to messages pertaining to weight gain, femininity and motherhood that they encounter in their lives. Discussing the findings through a feminist poststructuralist lens, we conclude that the participants are complex, fragmented subjects, interpellated by multiple and at times conflicting subject positions. While the discourse of maternal responsibility (i.e. managing personal behaviours for the baby's health) is very much in evidence in their narratives, embodied experiences of pregnancy, lived experiences of financial constraints and religious beliefs provided some with an alternative discourse and resistant subject position. Participants also had mixed emotions about weight gain; they recognized the need to gain weight in order to have a healthy pregnancy, but weight gain was also not welcome as participants reproduced the dominant discourse of obesity and the discourse of 'feminine' bodily norms. Based on our results, we advocate for change to recent clinical guidelines and social discourses around pregnancy and weight gain, as well as for policies that provide pregnant women with a range of health-promoting resources.
teaches health-and gender-related courses at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Sh... more teaches health-and gender-related courses at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. She is also an independent researcher whose interests revolve around culture and health, constructions of obesity and health, as well as cosmetic surgery practices among Lebanese women.
In this article, we critically examine the clinical guidelines for obesity in pregnancy put forth... more In this article, we critically examine the clinical guidelines for obesity in pregnancy put forth by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) that are underpinned by the rules of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), a system of ranking knowledge that promises to provide unbiased evidence about the effectiveness of treatments. While the SOGC guidelines are intended to direct health practitioners on 'best practice' as they address pregnancy weight gain with clients in the clinical context, we question their usefulness, arguing that despite their commitment to objectivity, they remain mired in cultural biases that stigmatize large female bodies and associates them to 'unfit' mothers.
In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a 'risk' to the health of mother and foetus. At ... more In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a 'risk' to the health of mother and foetus. At a time when pregnant women are under greater pressure to personally uphold the health of their foetus, understanding the impact of the discourse surrounding obesity and health on young pregnant women is critical. Using a feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis, we explore how pregnant young women construct their subjectivities either within dominant discourse on health and obesity or possibly resistant discourses. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 28, coming from various socioeconomic and educational backgrounds in the Ottawa region. The analysis reveals that these women constitute themselves as complex, fragmented subjects who at times construct themselves within alternative and resistant discourses but generally reproduce dominant discourses of obesity, of individual and moral responsibility for health, and of maternal responsibility for foetal health. Implications for health promotion and policy strategies are discussed.
T Ta am mm my y G Ge eo or rg ge e, , O OI IS SE E, , U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f T To ... more T Ta am mm my y G Ge eo or rg ge e, , O OI IS SE E, , U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f T To or ro on nt to o G Ge en ne ev vi iè èv ve e R Ra ai il l, , U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f O Ot tt ta aw wa a KEYWORDS: HEALTH, DISCOURSE, WOMEN, SOUTH ASIAN, BODY, BEAUTY, RACIALIZATION, POSTCOLONIALISM Stereotypes emphasizing passivity, docility and uncleanliness all contribute to cultural (mis)understandings of Canadian women of South-Asian background. Such understandings are a part of dominant racist discourses, including "bodily" discourses related to health. This paper focuses on the discursive constructions of health among ten young, second-generation South-Asian Canadian women from the Ottawa and Toronto areas. In this qualitative study, feminist postcolonialism and poststructuralism are used as a lens through which we analyse and interpret the transcripts of conversations with these women. The results highlight these young women's discursive constructions of health and particularly how racialized and gendered notions of 'looking good' constitute a crucial element in their understanding of what it is to be 'healthy.' We discuss and conclude on how these young women locate themselves as un/healthy subjects within larger cultural discourses of traditional (white) femininity, heteronormativity and consumption.
Canadian Journal of Public Health
Travail, genre et sociétés, 2004
La souffrance inutile: la posture debout statique dans les emplois de service par Karen MESSING, ... more La souffrance inutile: la posture debout statique dans les emplois de service par Karen MESSING, Maude RANDOIN, France TISSOT, Geneviève RAIL et Sylvie FORTIN | La Découverte | Travail, genre et sociétés 2004/2 -N° 12 ISSN 1294-6303 | ISBN 2-7475-7210-2 | pages 77 à 104 Pour citer cet article : -Messing K., Randoin M., Tissot F., Rail G. et Fortin S., La souffrance inutile: la posture debout statique dans les emplois de service, Travail, genre et sociétés 2004/2, N° 12, p. 77-104.
International Journal of Health Services, 2005
Prolonged standing is associated with health problems. Despite regulations providing for access t... more Prolonged standing is associated with health problems. Despite regulations providing for access to seats, most Québec (Canada) workers usually stand. Only one in six can sit at will. Standing service workers such as cashiers and sales personnel are often confined to a small area where sitting is theoretically feasible. In many other countries, such workers have access to seats. This study asks why North American workers do not press for seats. In a qualitative, exploratory approach, 30 young workers who usually work standing were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of prolonged standing at work. All but one experienced discomfort associated with this posture, and two-thirds reported that they had changed their lifestyle in some way as a result of their symptoms. However, their accounts of relationships with employers, health care personnel, and the health and safety system suggest that many environmental factors as well as attitudes toward work, employers, health, and the body contribute to maintaining the status quo. Workers describe problems with the image of a seated worker and thought that asking for a seat would threaten their relationship with the employer. Personal comfort was considered an insufficient reason to challenge worksite design, attitudes, and organization.
Diversity in Health and Social Care, 2005
... Conduct of the study The research question was 'What are the attitudes of older wome... more ... Conduct of the study The research question was 'What are the attitudes of older women from Aboriginal, Vietnamese Canadian, Haitian Canadian and Portuguese Canadian back-groundstowards prescription medicines, natural rem-edies, and physicians?'. ...
Psychose en matière de santé et colonisation du corps féminin Geneviève Rail D ans les paragraphe... more Psychose en matière de santé et colonisation du corps féminin Geneviève Rail D ans les paragraphes suivants, j'apporte une série de réflexions sur la santé et sur la « colonisation » du corps féminin par les grandes entreprises. Je débute en situant la montée du modèle d'entreprise dans le processus néolibéral de restructuration de l'État canadien. Je discute ensuite du déploiement du modèle d'entreprise dans le milieu de la santé et je note la présence d'un phénomène adjacent, soit le développement d'une véritable « psychose » en matière de santé. Cette psychose de proportions nationales peut être associée, selon moi, aux discours dominants, particulièrement aux discours « santéistes » ainsi qu'à ceux qui représentent les femmes en santé comme « bonnes citoyennes », tout en blâmant celles qui ne le sont pas. Je termine en notant l'importance de « déconstruire » les savoirs officiels en matière de santé, de valoriser le savoir d'une diversité de femmes et de faire circuler des discours qui sont subversifs en ce qu'ils permettent d'envisager une redéfinition de la normalité et de la santé. L'État, qui a été développé pour le bien public, interprète ce bien comme étant le besoin d'ordre et de croissance économique. La famille, qui apportait des valeurs et une identité, transforme cela en soutien émotionnel et en standard de vie. L'institution éducative, qui développait l'autonomie et la pensée critique, prépare [maintenant les jeunes] au succès occupationnel (1992 : 17 ; traduction libre).
In this article, we offer an introduction to the special issue of Cultural Studies↔Critical Metho... more In this article, we offer an introduction to the special issue of Cultural Studies↔Critical Methodologies. First, we present
some of our own reflections and, second, we provide an overview of the articles assembled here to advance the critical
interrogation of biopedagogies and/of public health. Our own reflections focus attention on biocitizens and the ill-fated
“rescue missions” to save bio-Others. In brief, we argue that (a) within neoliberal societies, an assemblage of private and
public institutions and organizations circulate the “health imperative”; (b) this imperative leads to the creation of the fit
and productive biocitizen through various market solutions; (c) this imperative leads to biomorality and the construction
of the unfit, unwell, and unproductive bio-Other; (d) public health invests in rescue missions to “save” this bio-Other; and
(e) public health initiatives are instrumentalized within corporate schemes to expand markets in the name of health. We
then conclude our piece with thoughts on the place of cultural studies and critical methodologies in the larger project of
health and social justice, while presenting an overview of the articles selected for this special issue in connection to three
themes: biopedagogies and spaces, identifications, and affects/effects.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2008
This essay asks how we might best elaborate an ethics of authentic practice. Will we be able to a... more This essay asks how we might best elaborate an ethics of authentic practice. Will we be able to agree on a set of shared terms through which ethical practice will be understood? How will we define ethics and the subject’s relation to authoritative structures of power and knowledge? We begin by further clarifying our critique of evidence-based medicine (EBM), reflecting on the intimate relation between theory and practice. We challenge the charge that our position amounts to no more than ‘subjectivism’ and ‘antiauthoritarian’ theory. We argue that an ethical practice ought to question the authority of EBM without falling into the trap of dogmatic antiauthoritarianism. In this, we take up the work of Hannah Arendt, who offers terms to help understand our difficult political relation to authority in an authentic ethical practice. We continue with a discussion of Michel Fou- cault’s use of ‘free speech’ or parrhesia, which he adopts from Ancient Greek philosophy. Foucault demonstrates that authentic ethical practice demands that we ‘speak truth to power.’ We conclude with a consideration of recent biotechnologies, and suggest that these biomedical practices force us to re-evaluate our theoretical understanding of the ethical subject. We believe that we are at a crucial juncture: we must develop an ethics of authentic practice that will be commensurable with new and emergent biomedical subjectivities.
Journal of Research in Nursing, Jan 1, 2008
Journal of evaluation in …, Jan 1, 2007
International Journal of …, Jan 1, 2006
International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, Jan 1, 2006
Social Theory & Health, Jan 1, 2010
In Qualitative Inquiry and Human Rights, eds. N.K. Denzin & M.D. Giardina (Left Coast Press, 2010... more In Qualitative Inquiry and Human Rights, eds. N.K. Denzin & M.D. Giardina (Left Coast Press, 2010), 218–241.
International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 2006
Background: Drawing on the work of the late French philosophers Deleuze and Guattari, the objecti... more Background: Drawing on the work of the late French philosophers Deleuze and Guattari, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the evidence-based movement
in the health sciences is outrageously exclusionary and dangerously normative with regards to scientific knowledge. As such, we assert that the evidence-based movement in health sciences constitutes a good example of microfascism at play in the contemporary scientific arena.
Objective: The philosophical work of Deleuze and Guattari proves to be useful in showing how health sciences are colonised (territorialised) by an all-encompassing cientific research paradigm – that of post-positivism – but also and foremost in showing the process by which a dominant ideology comes to exclude alternative forms of knowledge, therefore acting as a fascist structure.
Conclusion: The Cochrane Group, among others, has created a hierarchy that has been endorsed by many academic institutions, and that serves to (re)produce the exclusion of certain forms of research. Because ‘regimes of truth’ such as the evidence-based movement currently enjoy a privileged status, scholars have not only a cientific duty, but also an ethical obligation to deconstruct these regimes of power.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2007
No exit? Have we arrived at an impasse in the health sciences? Has the regime of ‘evidence’, coup... more No exit? Have we arrived at an impasse in the health sciences? Has the regime of ‘evidence’, coupled with corporate models of accountability and ‘best-practices’, led to an inexorable decline in innovation, scholarship, and actual health care? Would it be fair to speak of a ‘methodological fundamentalism’ from which there is no escape? In this article, we make an argument about intellectual integrity and good faith. We take this risk knowing full well that we do so in a hostile political climate in the health sciences, positioning ourselves against those who quietly but assiduously control the very terms by which the public faithfully understands ‘integrity’ and ‘truth’. In doing so, we offer an honest critique of these definitions and of the systemic power that is reproduced and guarded by the gatekeepers of ‘Good Science’.
Journal of Research in Nursing, 2008
Drawing on the philosophy of Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, this paper interrogates the cons... more Drawing on the philosophy of Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, this paper interrogates the constitution of ‘evidence’ that defines the evidence-based movement in the health sciences. What are the current social and political conditions under which scientific knowledge appears to be ‘true’? Foucault describes these conditions as state ‘science’, a regime that privileges economic modes of governance and efficiency. Today, the Cochrane taxonomy and research database is increasingly endorsed by government and public health policy makers. Although this ‘evidencebased’ paradigm ostensibly promotes the noble ideal of ‘true knowledge’ free from political bias, in reality, this apparent neutrality is dangerous because it masks the methods by which power silently operates to inscribe rigid norms and to ensure political dominance. Through the practice of critique, this paper begins to expose and to politicise the workings of this power, ultimately suggesting that scholars are in a privileged position to oppose such regimes and foremost have the duty to politicise what hides behind the distortion and misrepresentation of ‘evidence’.
International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 2006
This article focuses on the results of a study exploring young Shia Muslim Canadian women's discu... more This article focuses on the results of a study exploring young Shia Muslim Canadian women's discursive constructions of physical activity in relation to Islam and the Hijab. The aims of the study were primarily informed by feminist poststructuralist and postcolonial theories. Poststructuralist discourse analysis was used to analyze the transcripts of conversations with 10 young Hijab-wearing Shia Muslim Canadian women. The results show that the participants discursively constructed physical activity in terms of being physically active (involved in fitness activities rather than sport), feeling good about themselves (i.e., being physically and mentally healthy), and losing weight or remaining "not fat." The participants mentioned that they would choose Islam over physical activity if they had to make a choice between the two. Participants strongly resisted the Islamophobic discourse present in Canada, and appropriated an intersectional discourse that legitimates their refusal to choose between their right to religious freedom and their right to physical activity.
Studies dealing with issues of sexuality among sportswomen seldom offer a very positive report on... more Studies dealing with issues of sexuality among sportswomen seldom offer a very positive report on lesbians' experiences in sport. This article offers a portrait that differs in many respects from other studies' findings concerning the experiences of non-heterosexual women in sport. We explore the narratives of 14 young francophone women from Montreal (Quebec, Canada) competing in team sports and identifying as 'gay', 'lesbian', 'bisexual' or refusing labels altogether. Through conversations with these participants, we examine how these subjects constitute themselves as nonheterosexual women. A feminist poststructuralist approach is taken to analyse how they discursively construct gender and sexuality as well as to examine their performative acts in sport and other milieus. Our findings suggest that participants feel comfortable being out as non-straight women within the Montreal sports milieu as compared to other milieus. Moreover, results indicate a distancing from the 'butch' image combined with a reluctance to use the term 'lesbian' and a preference for the term 'gaie,' which seems to be specific to Quebec.
Several studies on the experiences of nonheterosexual women in sport have highlighted the develop... more Several studies on the experiences of nonheterosexual women in sport have highlighted the development of lesbian subcultures in sport, while others have emphasized the scarcity of athletic contexts embracing sexual diversity. This article explores the narratives of 14 young Francophone sportswomen positioning themselves as “gaie,” lesbian, bisexual, or refusing labels altogether. Using a feminist poststructuralist perspective, we examine their discursive constructions of sport and argue that the discourses articulated in sport allow for the creation of
a space of resistance to heteronormativity. We suggest that the sport space is constructed as a “gaie” space within which a normalizing version of lesbian sexuality is proposed. We investigate how in/ex/clusion discourses are inscribed in space
and how subjects are impacted by and, in turn, impact these discourses.
Sport is often perceived as affected by heteronormativity; however, it also seems to facilitate t... more Sport is often perceived as affected by heteronormativity; however, it also seems to facilitate the expression of nonconventional sexualities. In this article, the authors explore the narratives of 14 young Francophone sportswomen from Montreal (Quebec, Canada) who identify themselves as "gaie," "lesbian," "bisexual," or refuse labels altogether. A feminist poststructuralist approach is used to examine their discursive constructions of gender, sexuality, and sport. More specifically, the article aims to investigate the coming out process and the expression of nonconventional sexualities in sport. In line with queer theory, the findings challenge the heterosexual/homosexual binary, the idea of a fixed sexuality, and the linearity of the coming out process. The results also suggest that the coming out process and the expression of nonnormative sexualities may be influenced by sport.
Plus de séduction, plus de désir, plus même de jouissance, tout est là, dans la répétition innomb... more Plus de séduction, plus de désir, plus même de jouissance, tout est là, dans la répétition innombrable, dans une accumulation où la quantité se méfie par-dessus tout de la qualité ».
Pornography consumption appears to be more accepted and normalized among gay males than among het... more Pornography consumption appears to be more accepted and normalized among gay males than among heterosexual men. Nevertheless, what motivates the consumption of pornography remains understudied. Using a poststructuralist approach, we conducted an exploratory audience research that allowed us to document the motivations of consumers of gay male pornography through the narratives of twenty users from Toronto (Canada). Using a thematic and a critical discourse analysis, we found that the motivations can be grouped around four main concepts: sexual satisfaction, fantasy exploration, escapism, and finally, protection from others. Our critical discourse analysis suggests that participants construct their subjectivity from alternative discourses on sexuality, dominant discourses on individualism, consumption and health, and contradictory discourses on risk. Using society of spectacle, society of consumption, scientia sexualis and ars erotica as main theoretical concepts, we conclude that pornography is part of the apparatus [dispositif] of sexuality in the Foucauldian sense, an apparatus that maintains sex at a discursive level.
Canadian newspapers were analyzed for sexual differences in amount and content. Improvements in m... more Canadian newspapers were analyzed for sexual differences in amount and content. Improvements in media coverage were noted over earlier studies. The percentage of photographs of women athletes was very close to that of men, and bettered their participation rate. There was also little difference in the camera angles used or in the activity level of the athletes pictured. However, sexual differences were still created in very subtle ways. Photographs of men were more likely to appear in prominent locations in the newspaper. Women in some stereotypically "male-appropriate" sports received coverage that brought them back into line with feminine ideals and mitigated their "gender transgressions." Results suggest that women in the sports media are receiving greater amount of coverage, but the media still maintains practices that subtly create and naturalize sexual differences and set particular sports off as appropriate only for men.
Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 2006
Canadian newspapers were analyzed for sexual differences in amount and content. Improvements in m... more Canadian newspapers were analyzed for sexual differences in amount and content. Improvements in media coverage were noted over earlier studies. The percentage of photographs of women athletes was very close to that of men, and bettered their participation rate. There was also little difference in the camera angles used or in the activity level of the athletes pictured. However, sexual differences were still created in very subtle ways. Photographs of men were more likely to appear in prominent locations in the newspaper. Women in some stereotypically "male-appropriate" sports received coverage that brought them back into line with feminine ideals and mitigated their "gender transgressions." Results suggest that women in the sports media are receiving greater amount of coverage, but the media still maintains practices that subtly create and naturalize sexual differences and set particular sports off as appropriate only for men.
Tréma, 1997
ABSTRACT The "towards equality" project bas as its aim, the development, in ass... more ABSTRACT The "towards equality" project bas as its aim, the development, in association with the people involved, of the intervention tools and strategies for creating a non-sexist environment offering young French-speaking Canadian girls the same opportunities as boys. Tbe results of a national study on this subject are presented.
Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 1995
ABSTRACT A number of changes have occurred recently in the administration of fitness and amateur ... more ABSTRACT A number of changes have occurred recently in the administration of fitness and amateur sport in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the federal government has adopted a neo-corporatist political approach to manage the number of interest groups in both fitness and amateur sport. Our analysis demonstrates that indeed several steps have been taken to ensure the coordination of interest groups in proposed changes to be made to the delivery of fitness and amateur sport. These steps well reflect neo-corporatist trends as they meet the three essential criteria for this political form. Through our assessment of a number of recent government and para-government documents as well as particular changes occurring within government, we explain how neo-corporatism has replaced pluralism in the domain of sport and fitness in Canada.
Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 1996
... The antiapartheid movement similarly has been successful. The fact that the movement reached ... more ... The antiapartheid movement similarly has been successful. The fact that the movement reached its goal and contributed to the abolition of apartheid in sport as well as in the overall South African society is a good example of how sport can have a major social impact. ...
Santé LGBT: Les minorités de genre et de sexualité face aux soins , 2020
Masculinités et féminités face au cancer. Expériences cancéreuses et interactions soignantes. Toulouse, France: Éditions Érès., 2020
Aux termes du Code de la propriété intellectuelle, toute reproduction ou représentation, intégral... more Aux termes du Code de la propriété intellectuelle, toute reproduction ou représentation, intégrale ou partielle de la présente publication, faite par quelque procédé que ce soit (reprographie, microfilmage, scannérisation, numérisation…) sans le consentement de l'auteur ou de ses ayants droit ou ayants cause est illicite et constitue une contrefaçon sanctionnée par les articles L. 335-2 et suivants du Code de la propriété intellectuelle. L'autorisation d'effectuer des reproductions par reprographie doit être obtenue auprès du Centre français d'exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, tél. 01 44 07 47 70, fax 01 46 34 67 19. MEIDANI Masculinites et feminites face au cancer NB.indd 6
Translation into Spanish, of English Cancer's Margins chapter