Abstract

Following the arrival of Weight Watchers UK in 1967, slimming clubs expanded rapidly in Britain in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Initially aimed at, and founded by, women, these organizations were complex emotional spaces in which female entrepreneurship and homosociality would unfold. Looking afresh at the relationship between women and commercialized weight loss, this article provides the first detailed study of the rise of the slimming club in mid-to-late-twentieth-century Britain. Slimming clubs proved lucrative business opportunities for some women; moreover, as homosocial spaces intersecting with women’s everyday lives, they had the potential to be emotionally and psychologically empowering. A history of these organizations thus complicates feminist critiques of the slimming industry. This article draws on a variety of historical sources to piece together this forgotten history, including contemporary slimming guides, newspaper ‘before-and-after’ features, and oral history interviews with industry professionals and former slimming club members. Though members recognized that the commercial promise of transformation was shot through with contradictions, simultaneously, slimming clubs sparked enjoyment in being in the female body and provided a space away from domesticity.

中文翻译：

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减肥使自己变得更好吗？1967–1990年英国的减肥俱乐部和女性

摘要

继慧Watch轻体英国到达1967年，减肥俱乐部在1960年代末和1970年代初在英国迅速发展。这些组织最初以妇女为目标，并由妇女创立，是一个复杂的情感空间，女性企业家精神和同性关系将在此展开。重新审视女性与商业化减肥之间的关系，本文首次详细研究了20世纪中后期英国的减肥俱乐部的兴起。减肥俱乐部为某些女性带来了丰厚的商机；此外，由于同社会空间与妇女的日常生活相交，她们有可能在情感和心理上赋予力量。这些组织的历史因此使女性主义对减肥行业的批评变得复杂。本文利用各种历史资料来整理这段被遗忘的历史，包括当代减肥指南，报纸的“前后”功能以及对行业专业人士和以前的减肥俱乐部成员的口述历史采访。尽管成员们意识到转型的商业承诺是通过矛盾实现的，但与此同时，减肥俱乐部却激发了人们在女性体内的乐趣，并提供了远离家庭生活的空间。