The Metamorphoses of Fat: A History of Obesity (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism)

Vigarello, Georges

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Language: English

Published by Columbia University Press, New York, NY, 2016

0231159773 / 9780231159777

Series: Book 65 of 103 - European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism

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Seller: Conover Books, Martinsville, VA, U.S.A.Conover Books

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Minor edge and corner wear; lightly scuffed and scratched; spine is gently creased; some light shelf wear; ex-library with the usual library markings; overall a nice used copy! Black and white pictorial wrapper with black and white lettering. 296 historical and informative pages nicely enhanced by black and white photographs and illustrations! "Georges Vigarello maps the evolution of Western ideas about fat and fat people from the Middle Ages to the present, paying particular attention to the role of science, fashion, fitness crazes, and public health campaigns in shaping these views. While hefty bodies were once a sign of power, today those who struggle to lose weight are considered poor in character and weak in mind. Vigarello traces the eventual equation of fatness with infirmity and the way we have come to define ourselves and others in terms of body type. Vigarello begins with the medieval artists and intellectuals who treated heavy bodies as symbols of force and prosperity. He then follows the shift during the Renaissance and early modern period to courtly, medical, and religious codes that increasingly favored moderation and discouraged excess. Scientific advances in the eighteenth century also brought greater knowledge of food and the body's processes, recasting fatness as the "relaxed" antithesis of health. The body-as-mechanism metaphor intensified in the early nineteenth century, with the chemistry revolution and heightened attention to food-as-fuel, which turned the body into a kind of furnace or engine. During this period, social attitudes toward fat became conflicted, with the bourgeois male belly operating as a sign of prestige but also as a symbol of greed and exploitation, while the overweight female was admired only if she was working class. Vigarello concludes with the fitness and body-conscious movements of the twentieth century and the proliferation of personal confessions about obesity, which tied fat more closely to notions of personality, politics, taste, and class.".…

Seller Inventory # 052467

Title
The Metamorphoses of Fat: A History of Obesity (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism)
Author
Vigarello, Georges
Publisher
Columbia University Press, New York, NY
Publication year
2016
Condition
Good
Binding
Soft cover
Language
English
ISBN 10
0231159773
ISBN 13
9780231159777
Edition
1st Edition
Printing
1st Printing
Item weight
14 ounces
Dimensions
8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall
Series
Book 65 of 103: European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism

Conover Books

Martinsville, VA, U.S.A.

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 10, 2004

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