Michelle M. Lelwica, TH.D. - Religion of Thinness
Dr. Michelle Lelwica is the author of Starving for Salvation: The Spiritual Dimensions of Eating Problems among American Girls and Women (Oxford, 1999), which is an academic analysis of the religious and cultural underpinnings of eating disorders and related problems. She has also published a number of scholarly articles, delivered papers, and lectured widely on the role of religion and spirituality in women’s conflicted relationship to food and their bodies.
She is currently Associate Professor in the Religion Department at Concordia College—Moorhead, MN where she teaches classes that deal with embodiment, mindfulness, religion, gender, and cultural critique. She studied religion at Harvard Divinity School, where she received her Doctorate of Theology (Th.D.) in the area of Religion, Gender, and Culture in 1996. Michelle lives with her husband and two children in northern Minnesota. She is motivated by the dream of creating a world in which the bodies and spirits of all people—and all beings—are loved, nurtured, and respected not in spite of but because of their marvelous diversity.
Religion of Thinness
Satisfying the Spiritual Hungers behind Women's Obsession with Food and Weight
320 pages (paperback)
order online at www.bulimia.com
In a society that worships thinness, it's little wonder that so many women devote an enormous amount of time, energy, and expense in the pursuit of a slender body. This pursuit has come to function like a religion, with it's own set of beliefs, myths, rituals, images, and moral codes that encourage followers to seek "salvation" through weight loss.
At the heart of this secular "Religion of Thinness" is the belief that in order to be happy, healthy, and beautiful, one must be noticeably slim. Idealized images of this ideal inspire devotees to define themselves through their physical appearance, while daily rituals like counting fat grams and burning calories give them a sense of control.
The Religion of Thinness has its own moral guidelines: "good" and "bad" foods, as well as guilt and the possibility of penance for those who transgress. Before and after advertisements invite us to be "born again" by transfiguring our flesh, while weight-loss programs tap into our desire for community by promoting solidarity in the crusade against fat. Fanatics, like Pro-Ana websites provide thinspiration, and the most orthodox adherents develop eating disorders.
Ultimately, The Religion of Thinness offers false promises of freedom and fulfillment that leave followers feeling unsatisfied and incomplete. Learning to identify and more adequately address unmet spiritual needs is a crucial step toward resolving conflicts with food and weight.
The Religion of Thinness offers two practical tools to help readers on this journey: cultural criticism and mindfulness practice. Through the use of practical techniques, readers become more conscious of widespread societal messages that fuel the $40 billion weight loss industry and become deeply aware of internal responses, which can free to live more peacefully in their own flesh. With its combined emphasis on cultural critique and spiritual growth, The Religion of Thinness charts new territory in the movement to create a culture in which the bodies of all people are unconditionally accepted, respected, cared for, and loved.
Written both as an indictment of sociocultural standards and as a self-help book, The Religion of Thinnesscontains more than 20 images ranging from weight-loss advertising and magazine covers like GQ with a bare-breasted Jennifer Aniston in oversized jeans to religious iconography from many faiths and traditions. This groundbreaking title will become a household phrase.
