Imaginary health: Appearance, aesthetic and body shapes in the reality shows Medida Certa and Além do Peso
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4013/fem.2016.182.08Abstract
The article seeks to understand how media imagery uses the association between body care and accountability of individuals to produce an idea of health tied to appearance, called here “imaginary health.” We use the concept of biopolitics and theories of the imaginary to study the empirical material: the reality shows Medida Certa and Além do Peso, broadcast by TV Globo and TV Record, respectively. We propose an analysis model focused on three categories: (i) body without shapes, based on the social imaginary about the risks of fat/inactivity to health; (ii) media modeling of bodies, emphasizing the efforts in search of the weight and measures of imaginary health; and (iii) prêt-à-porter body, for the presentation of a body-image ready for exhibition/consumption.
Keywords: imaginary health, biopolitics, reality show.
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