E-Book of the Week: Body Panic

Dworkin, Shari and Faye Wachs. Body Panic: Gender, Health and the Selling of Fitness. New York: NYU Press, 2009.

In this work the authors explore cultural portrayals of health and body image, and how the two have been conflated, focusing primarily on health and fitness magazines. Do they encourage readers to stay fit in order to stay healthy, or for better performance in sports or outdoor activities? Or are they focused on how the reader can improve their looks and sexual success? In exploring these questions, the authors look at gendered presentations of men and women depicted in these publications, and how the pursuit of health and fitness has been commercialized.

Previewed by Alison Cody, Public Relations & Instruction Librarian. Click here to read this book.