2
Parallel Discourses and "Appropriate" Bodies:
Media Constructions of Anorexia and Obesity in the Cases of
Tracey Gold and Carnie Wilson
“I was this toxic blimp, tired of feeling out of control”
--Carnie Wilson, US Weekly, November 6, 2000
“I was lucky enough to learn certain lessons early—that you’re in control of your own life and you
choose the kind of life you want to live.”
--Tracey Gold, Redbook, September, 1997
Scholars have long argued that images of women in popular press fashion and
gossip magazines influence young girls and women into believing a whole host of myths
about the “perfect” body and “model” behavior. Such images and editorial material may
also work to construct and uphold a particular set of ideological boundaries about gender
roles in particular (Ballaster, et al. 1991; Bordo, 1993; Ferguson, 1983; Hermes, 1995;
Kilbourne, 1999; McCracken, 1993; McRobbie, 1996; White, 1970; Winship, 1987;
Wolf, 1991). The perpetuation of these myths, however, has created a space for non-
conforming bodies to be gazed upon as examples and lessons to be taught to those of us
who haven’t gotten the message yet. In particular, the bodies of celebrities, stars, and
those who are constantly in the public and pop culture eye are worth discussing because
of the hegemonic and pedagogical power they hold.
The power of the press has long been the center of intellectual discussion, as has
the power of meanings collected and constructed within the public sphere. Mass media
images of gender, beauty and women have been at the heart of many feminist arguments
about the need for change in our understanding of gender and the role it plays in our day
to day existence. The role of a body, much like the role of a woman, is also negotiated
between the pages and airways of our popular culture, and dangerous limits and
expectations are merging into a discourse on the body that precariously favors particular
Convention