When being obese is a good thing: voices of Ghanaian participants in a dance reality TV show

IF 0.8 Q2 AREA STUDIES

Journal of Contemporary African Studies Pub Date : 2022-03-30 DOI:10.1080/02589001.2022.2048808

Akosua K. Darkwah, Rashida Resario

引用次数: 0

Abstract

ABSTRACT The discussion on (mis)representations of black women's bodies often focuses on their hyper-corporeality and hyper-sexualisation, with little attention paid to the women thus represented and their views. Reality shows are roundly criticised for objectifying women, being unAfrican and offering little to Africans. This paper contests this perspective by drawing on interviews with 19 contestants in a dance reality show in Ghana. We demonstrate that African participants in this show have a much more affirming view of the show. For them, the show offers benefits including celebrity status, training and employment opportunities. These benefits were not lost on family and friends who supported the candidates in various ways. Given the economic conditions in Ghana, this reality show offers obese women an opportunity to turn their condition into an asset and to do so largely with the backing of friends and family.

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当肥胖是一件好事时：加纳舞蹈真人秀参与者的声音

关于黑人女性身体的(错误)表现的讨论往往集中在她们的超肉体化和超性化上，很少关注这样表现的女性和她们的观点。真人秀节目因物化女性、非非洲化、对非洲人提供的太少而受到严厉批评。本文通过对19名加纳舞蹈真人秀选手的采访，对这一观点提出了质疑。我们证明，非洲参与者对这个节目有更肯定的看法。对他们来说，该节目提供的福利包括名人身份、培训和就业机会。以各种方式支持候选人的家人和朋友也享受到了这些好处。考虑到加纳的经济状况，这个真人秀节目为肥胖女性提供了一个机会，让她们在朋友和家人的支持下，将自己的身体状况转化为财富。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Contemporary African Studies AREA STUDIES-

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Journal of Contemporary African Studies (JCAS) is an interdisciplinary journal seeking to promote an African-centred scholarly understanding of societies on the continent and their location within the global political economy. Its scope extends across a wide range of social science and humanities disciplines with topics covered including, but not limited to, culture, development, education, environmental questions, gender, government, labour, land, leadership, political economy politics, social movements, sociology of knowledge and welfare. JCAS welcomes contributions reviewing general trends in the academic literature with a specific focus on debates and developments in Africa as part of a broader aim of contributing towards the development of viable communities of African scholarship. The journal publishes original research articles, book reviews, notes from the field, debates, research reports and occasional review essays. It also publishes special issues and welcomes proposals for new topics. JCAS is published four times a year, in January, April, July and October.