Dramatic Weight Loss and Its Effect on Friendship

Meghann Shutt

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Rosel, Natalie

Keywords

Body, Friendship, Sociology of the Body, Weight/Women's Weight, Women's Friendships

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

This thesis explores the link between dramatic weight loss in women and friendship change. I interviewed ten women who had all lost a dramatic amount of weight, defined as a loss of twenty percent of body weight over the course of two years or less. The thesis integrates the interview data with library research exploring why one might expect to discover a change in friendship after one friend loses weight. First the thesis establishes bodies as central to identities, personal relationships and social interactions. Next, it situates the relevance of deviant bodies in a larger social context through a discussion of the obesity stigma. The discussion turns to the friendship relationship: how it works and how it contributes to identity formation. The concluding chapter presents the findings from the interview data. Women reported a variety of friendship changes. All the women believed their weight loss had some effect on their sense of self and friendships. The relevant emerging variables in defining patterns of the effects of weight loss on friendships are individual friendships as opposed to group friendships, good friends versus acquaintances and the perceived salience women believed their weight loss to have on their lives and identities.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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