Listen to my story: personal narratives as resistance discourses in obesity treatment online communities

Abstract

In contemporary society, obesity is often framed within the Weight-Centred Health Paradigm (WCHP), which equates health with body size and moralizes fatness. While individuals living with obesity may internalize aspects of this dominant narrative, they also resist its stigmatizing components. This study analyses the personal narratives of members of an online community for individuals with obesity to explore how resistance to certain elements of the WCHP manifests in their stories. The findings reveal that the primary form of resistance lies in the adoption of an illness identity, which reframes obesity as a chronic condition rather than a moral failing. This medicalization of fatness challenges societal stereotypes of laziness and lack of discipline by emphasizing participants’ ongoing efforts to manage their health. Additionally, resistance emerges in two key areas: (a) the use of medical discourse to counteract fat stigma, and (b) the negotiation of identity in relation to body size. While some participants resist the reduction of their identity to their body size, others grapple with tensions between internal and external perceptions of self. These narratives illustrate how online communities enable members to share experiences and counteract stigma, while resisting the moralizing tendencies of the WCHP.