Vogel Else
a Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
Anthropol Med. 2017 Aug;24(2):159-173. doi: 10.1080/13648470.2016.1276322. Epub 2017 May 15.
Drawing on participant observation in a 'mindful weight loss' course offered in the Netherlands, this paper explores the normative register through which mindfulness techniques cast people in relation to concerns with overeating and body weight. The women seeking out mindfulness use eating to cope with troubles in their lives and are hindered by a preoccupation with the size of their bodies. Mindfulness coaches aim to help them let go of this 'struggle with eating' by posing as the central question: 'what do I really hunger after?' The self's hungers include 'belly hunger' but also stem from mouths, hearts, heads, noses and eyes. They cannot all be fed by food. The techniques detailed in this paper focus on recognizing and disentangling one's hungers; developing self-knowledge of and a sensitivity to what 'feeds' one's life; and the way one positions oneself in relation to oneself and the world. While introducing new norms, the course configures 'goods' and 'bads' in different ways altogether, shaping the worlds people come to inhabit through engaging in self-care. In particular, the hungering body is foregrounded as the medium through which life is lived. Taking a material semiotic approach, this paper makes an intervention by articulating the normative register of nourishment in contrast to normalization. Thus, it highlights anthropologists' potential strengthening of different ways of doing normativity.
基于在荷兰开设的一门“正念减肥”课程中的参与观察，本文探讨了正念技巧将人们与暴饮暴食和体重问题联系起来的规范层面。寻求正念的女性通过饮食来应对生活中的困扰，并因对自己身材大小的过度关注而受阻。正念教练旨在通过提出核心问题“我真正渴望的是什么？”来帮助她们摆脱这种“与饮食的斗争”。自我的渴望包括“肚子饿”，但也源于嘴巴、心灵、头脑、鼻子和眼睛。并非所有这些渴望都能靠食物来满足。本文详细介绍的技巧侧重于识别和理清自己的渴望；培养对滋养自己生活之物的自我认知和敏感度；以及一个人在与自己和世界的关系中定位自己的方式。在引入新规范的同时，该课程以完全不同的方式构建“好”与“坏”，通过参与自我护理塑造人们所生活的世界。特别是，饥饿的身体被凸显为体验生活的媒介。本文采用物质符号学方法，通过阐述滋养的规范层面与正常化的对比进行干预。因此，它凸显了人类学家在强化不同规范方式方面的潜力。
