“People need to be valued because of who they are”: Self-conception and strategies of resistance in women who challenge weight-loss diet culture

Abstract

This paper explores how the self-beliefs of women who have rejected weight-loss diet culture inform their strategies of resistance. We conducted a qualitative survey inviting participants to share methods they have used to challenge diet culture. One hundred and twelve women (Mage = 37.01, SD = 10.54) provided complete responses. Most were heterosexual (72%) and resided in Australia (59%). Our thematic analysis generated two themes: “diet culture is internalised, dismantling it is personal,” which was characterised by participants’ self-beliefs or self-identification, and the personal strategies they used to counter diet culture; and “diet culture is social, relationships are sites of resist..