RESEARCH_FILE
Mimi Nichter
University of Arizona
Known for:Ethnographic research naming and describing 'fat talk' among adolescent girls
Key findings
- 2000
Based on three years of interviews with middle- and high-school girls, documented 'fat talk' — the routine 'I'm so fat' lament — as a ritualized speech practice with social functions: seeking reassurance, showing humility, and expressing solidarity with peers. Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say About Dieting ↗
- 2000
Found that girls' talk about weight and dieting served peer-group purposes — managing how they were seen and maintaining belonging — and often diverged from what they actually did, making the talk a poor guide to their behavior or their bodies. Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say About Dieting ↗