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The Eating Disordered Lifestyle: Imagetexts and the Performance of Similitude

The Eating Disordered Lifestyle: Imagetexts and the Performance of Similitude Discourse in support of the eating disordered “lifestyle” is grounded in the belief that eating disorders are lifestyle choices rather than diseases, a claim that is counter to popular and medical opinion. I analyze how the images and text on two “lifestyle” websites work together as “imagetexts” to make the unreasonable appear reasonable. Lifestyle imagetexts argue for similitude between the lifestyle philosophy and mainstream culture by mimicking culturally accepted symbols and self-consciously drawing attention to this mimicry. In this way, lifestyle imagetexts may be understood as performances of the contradictions in mainstream rhetoric rather than rational arguments about them. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Argumentation and Advocacy Taylor & Francis

The Eating Disordered Lifestyle: Imagetexts and the Performance of Similitude

Jensen, Robin E.
Argumentation and Advocacy , Volume 42 (1): 18 – Jun 1, 2005
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The Eating Disordered Lifestyle: Imagetexts and the Performance of Similitude

Abstract

Discourse in support of the eating disordered “lifestyle” is grounded in the belief that eating disorders are lifestyle choices rather than diseases, a claim that is counter to popular and medical opinion. I analyze how the images and text on two “lifestyle” websites work together as “imagetexts” to make the unreasonable appear reasonable. Lifestyle imagetexts argue for similitude between the lifestyle philosophy and mainstream culture by mimicking...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2005 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
2576-8476
eISSN
1051-1431
DOI
10.1080/00028533.2005.11821634
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Discourse in support of the eating disordered “lifestyle” is grounded in the belief that eating disorders are lifestyle choices rather than diseases, a claim that is counter to popular and medical opinion. I analyze how the images and text on two “lifestyle” websites work together as “imagetexts” to make the unreasonable appear reasonable. Lifestyle imagetexts argue for similitude between the lifestyle philosophy and mainstream culture by mimicking culturally accepted symbols and self-consciously drawing attention to this mimicry. In this way, lifestyle imagetexts may be understood as performances of the contradictions in mainstream rhetoric rather than rational arguments about them.

Journal

Argumentation and Advocacy – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jun 1, 2005

Keywords: visual argument; argumentation; imagetext; gender; eating disorder

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