GENÇLİK ARAŞTIRMALARI DERGİSİ
167
The Meaning of Having a Weak Body for Young People in The Context of Socio-Cultural Construction of Weakness
Consequences
Young people`s reasons for having a weak body shouldn`t be examined only individu-
ally but instead according to several factors such as the social groups that they are in,
gender expectations, familial relationships, media and consumption. Giddens (2000, p.
127) states that the body doesn`t only belong to the individual and is effected by the in-
dividual’s social experiences and the norms of the group that the individual belongs to.
Similarly, Turner says that we should accept that our bodies are shaped by the society
(cited in Wallece and Wolf 2004:436).
How the physical change experienced by the young person is shaped on a social and cul-
tural basis can be explained by sociological imagination. Social imagination is explained
by Mills (1959) and social construction is described by Berger (1963). According to the
nature of the qualitative research, the findings of the study cannot be generalized. This
research tries to understand the reasons for losing weight in the context of the meaning
and importance assigned to the weight loss for the participants. As a result, it is deter-
mined that the weak body is important for young people for reaching out to the body
idolized by the society, maintaining a healthy life, being liked by the opposite sex, liking
themselves, being considered as beautiful, having self-confidence and finding clothes
that reflect themselves.
Kaynakça/References
• Alemdar, S. (2016). Özel bir zayıflama merkezine devam eden yetişkin kadınlarda sağlıklı yaşam biçimi
davranışlarının ağırlık kaybına yansımasının değerlendirilmesi (Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Başkent Üniversitesi
Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü Beslenme Ve Diyetetik Bölümü, Ankara). http:tez2.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi
adresinden edinilmiştir.
• Barker Erin T. & Galambos Nancy L. (2003). Body dissatisfaction of adolescent girls and boys: risk and
resource factors. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 23:141-165
• Baudrillard, J. (2004). Tüketim toplumu. İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
• Berger Peter L. ve Thomas L. (1966). The social construction of reality a treatise in the sociology of
knowledge. Penguin Books.
• Boero N. (2007), All the news that’s fat to print: the american “obesity epidemic” and the media, Quali-
tative Sociology, 30, 41–60.
• Burcu, E. (1997).
Çırak ve kalfa gençlik altkültür grubu hakkında sosyolojik bir araştırma
, Doktora
Tezi, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Ankara). http:tez2.yok.gov.tr/ UlusalTezMerkezi
adresinden edinilmiştir.
• Butler C. (2015). Making interview transcripts real: the reader’s response, Work, Employment and Soci-
ety, 29, 166–176.
• Casanova E. M. (2004) “No ugly women”: concepts of race and beauty among adolescent women in
ecuador, Gender and Society, 18, 287-308.
