Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2285-6053
Date Available
8-21-2025
Year of Publication
2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Graduate School
Department/School/Program
Gender and Women's Studies
Faculty
Melissa Stein
Abstract
What does it mean to “eat right?” The notion is, of course, culturally, historically, nationally, politically, ethnically, and class determined. For the purposes of this project, however, I am particularly interested in changing notions of what it means to “eat right” within the post-World War II to the early new millennium American context, as such notions are represented within the prescriptions of popular culture. I turn to popular culture because this is the commons of the hegemonic call to “normalcy”—this is where we all learn to imitate, aspire, or rebel against a generic American consumer-self in conformity with the biases, covert agendas, and desires of the collective cultural norms of a given historical moment. The “normal” might be something to strive toward or in many cases to resist and rebel against. The “ideal” (of those oriented toward either the “normal” or the “rebel”) may not be within the grasp of many, but these aspirational ideals always serve as powerful cultural presences.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.405
Recommended Citation
Carpenter, Heather N., "How to Eat Right and Why We Ask that Question" (2025). Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies. 14.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gws_etds/14
