The Meaning of Size 93individualistic break with constraints of class society” (p. 72). She argued,
“It was a break with the past and seemed to offer the possibility of tran-
scendence of class itself ” (p. 73). Therefore, being fat represented the
trappings of a lower class and thinness indicated an escape from the class
structure.
Second, it has been suggested that thinness represents freedom from
reproduction. For example, Orbach (1986) stated, “Slimness is opposed
to fertility,” and noted that Twiggy’s prepubescent thinness challenged
the association between femininity and childbearing (p. 75). Similarly,
Bordo (1990) argued that thinness symbolizes “liberation from a domestic,
reproductive destiny” (p. 103) and that the more androgynous body “may
symbolise freedom...from a reproductive destiny and a construction of
femininity seen as constraining and suffocating” (p. 105). Therefore, thin-
ness represents an escape from the expectation that women will reproduce.
Success
Finally, thinness also represents success (see figure 5.4). Bordo (1990)
stated that fat is “indicative of laziness, lack of discipline, unwillingness to
conform and absence of all those ‘managerial’ abilities that, according to
the dominant ideology, confer upward mobility” (p. 95). Similarly she stated
that “body weight came to be seen as reflecting moral or personal inade-
quacy or lack of will” (p. 94). This is similar to Brownell’s analysis of
thinness as moral perfection (1991).
Throughout both the quantitative and qualitative literatures a larger size
is associated with a range of negative meanings. In contrast, a thinner size
is associated with positive qualities such as control, freedom, and success.
These associations with size are not, however, consistent across all cul-
tures. For example, Mvo, Dick, and Steyn (1999) carried out a qualitative
study to explore the perceptions of 10 overweight black women from dis-
advantaged communities in Cape Town, South Africa. They all had under-
weight infants and were asked about the culturally acceptable body size for
women and children. Some of these women expressed a desire to lose weight
for practical reasons. The women, however, placed a high value on food,
as food was often scarce, and therefore regarded voluntarily regulating food
intake as unacceptable. The participants described increased body mass as
a token of well-being, and stated that marital harmony was reflected in being
larger. In addition, they said that overweight children were seen as a sign
of health, as it meant that they had access to sufficient food supply and
intake. In line with this Cogan et al. (1996) assessed preferred body size