title: Just Desserts? Exploring Constructions of Food in Women's Experiences of Bulimia.
abstract: Bulimia, an eating disorder that affects more women than men, involves binging and compensatory behaviors. Given the importance of food in experiences of these behaviors, in this article, we examine constructions of food in accounts of bulimic behavior: how these constructions relate to cultural discourses, and their implications for subjectivity. Fifteen women who engaged in bulimic behaviors were interviewed. Through a thematic decomposition of their accounts, we identified six discursive constructions of food: "good/healthy" or "bad/unhealthy," "contaminating body and soul," "collapsed into fat," "pleasurable reward," "comfort," and "fuel for the body." Many constructions were consolidated through participants' embodied experiences, but made available through discourses in public health, biomedicine, and femininity, and had implications for subjectivity in terms of morality, spirituality, and self-worth. Thus, despite women deploying these constructions to make sense of their bulimic behaviors, they are culturally normative; this point has implications for therapeutic and preventive strategies for bulimia.
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Health Research, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|2 Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Churruca
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Health Research, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ussher
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Health Research, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Janette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D002032:Bulimia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Australia; diet, nutrition; discourse analysis; eating disorders; health promotion; interviews; malnutrition; qualitative; social constructionism; thematic decomposition; women’s health