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Obesity and the Technological Fix: Weight Loss Surgery in American Women

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dc.contributor.authorAugustine, Donna Marieen
dc.contributor.committeechairLa Berge, Ann F.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMcCaughey, Marthaen
dc.contributor.committeememberLederman, Muriel L.en
dc.contributor.departmentScience and Technology Studiesen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:38:20Zen
dc.date.adate2003-09-03en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:38:20Zen
dc.date.issued2003-05-05en
dc.date.rdate2011-09-05en
dc.date.sdate2003-05-23en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis is an analysis of how societal values shape our ideas of health and disease, the designs and marketing of weight loss surgery technologies, and the ways in which obesity reducing-operations are accepted and desired. Gender ideologies, American values of commodity capitalism, treatment that focuses on the individual, and a moral aversion to fat have all shaped the medical treatment of obesity as an epidemic and the promotion of weight loss surgery as the best available solution. In this project, I approach the question of obesity by deconstructing the terms that have framed it as a social problem and I show how and why specific technological remedies have been pursued. My thesis is that among obese Americans, females and their bodies are especially stigmatized and pathologized. Because of this, efforts and applications of science, technology, medicine, and policy focus to "fix" these bodies/people, which are considered out of control.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-05232003-112255en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05232003-112255/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/33142en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartdonnaaugustineETD.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectweight loss surgeryen
dc.subjecttechnological fixen
dc.subjectObesityen
dc.titleObesity and the Technological Fix: Weight Loss Surgery in American Womenen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineScience and Technology Studiesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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