162
Çiğdem Sema Sırma
The Meaning of Having a Weak
Body for Young People in The
Context of
Socio-Cultural Construction of
Weakness*
Copyright © 2018
Republic of Turkey Ministry of Youth and Sports
/
Journal of Youth Researches • November 2017 • 5(13) • 162-170
ISSN 2147-8473
Received
| 25 February 2018
Accepted
| 18 April 2018
E X T E N D E D A B S T R A C T
A N A LY S I S / R E S E A R C H
Çiğdem Sema Sırma**
Instead of being considered as a chronological period, in sociological literature youth
period is considered to be a period in which peer relationships become more important,
romantic relations are more frequent, responsibilities differ and the attention to the body
increases. Burcu (1997, s. 11) describes the youth period as a social category in which
a fast progression and physiological, psychological and sociological changes are inten-
sively experienced between the childhood and the adulthood. In this period, the expec-
tations about a young female and male body may socio-culturally differ. This research
aims to explain young people`s desire to have a weak body through the socio-cultural
construction of the meaning assigned to the weak body.
* This article uses the data of the phd thesis “ A Research on Weight Loss Behavior among Young People in terms of Family
Life Satisfaction “ which was supported by Tubitak 2214-A Program
** Ph.D. Sociologist, Ankara,
