Mimi Nichter's Fat Talk

The obsession teenage girls have regarding their bodies makes them obsessed with dieting and their weight. From middle school through high school, girls are concerned about the way they look, what they eat, as well as how others perceive their self-confidence. In Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say about Dieting, Mimi Nichter examines how friends, family, mass communication and media, as well as society play a vital part in the way teenage girls view themselves. Appearances play an important role as young females look for reassurance from friends and family regarding their own perception of their body. The girls that Nichter interviews are looking for support from their friends, which in turn allow them to form bonds with one another. …show more content…
She focuses primarily on the sub-group of American white teenage middle class girls, and speaks to them, as well as the other girls about how they feel about their looks, what they eat, and their dieting habits. Nichter’s research neglects the group of wealthy or poor teenage girls to see how they cope with their body image or deal with fat talk amongst their friends. Without interviewing all socioeconomic classes, readers are unable to see different cultural backgrounds of people, their values, and how they deal with friends and family. However, the research she does provide gives sufficient information regarding the struggles teenage girls have growing up and their views of their body. In fact, black girls seem happier with their appearance and do not focus on weight, while white girls do. Black girls care more about what peers think of them and feel that beauty is seen in how you hold yourself rather than how one’s body looks. Nichter’s research shows how many girls do not really diet, but rather watch what they ate, allowing them to be in charge of their own their bodies. In some cases, they watch their weight and what they eat with their mothers because their mothers have their own issues regarding