Surveiller et maigrir. Sociologie des modes de contrainte dans un groupe commercial d’amaigrissement

Abstract

[paper in French] How to make people lose weight? Based on an ethnographic study of a commercial weight-loss group, this article analyses how such an organization rely on specific modes of surveillance aimed at controlling the participants’ attitudes and behaviours. The article enlightens different agencies of this social control, such as group leaders, peer pressure, or domestic partners. It insists on the role played by writing and written materials as key tools in this body discipline.