A Feminist Analysis of Anti-Obesity Campaigns

Manipulation, Oppression, and Autonomy

Bibliographic Data

ID17814159
AuthorsKathryn L Mackay (0000-0001-9022-4558, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume10
Issue2
Pages61-78
Publication date2017-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1937-4577 • E-ISSN: 1937-4585
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/ijfab.10.2.61
OpenAlexW2764071684
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited29

Some kinds of public health messages are unjust and unethical, and feminist analyses of oppression and autonomy can assist in explaining why. Using public health anti-obesity campaigns to provide context, I explore, in this paper, how manipulative public health campaigns oppress the targets of these messages and undermine people's ability to be self-directed decision makers. I begin with an analysis of what it means to communicate in a manipulative way. This leads to the argument that such campaigns are both oppressive and incompatible with the self-authorization required for health-related behavioral changes

Autonomy · Obesity · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Health Policy Implementation Science · Law · Medicine · Obesity and Health Practices · Endocrinology

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Open DOIOpen Access