Tervisliku toidu representatsioon ajakirjades
Date
2006
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Abstract
Description
In my Bachelor thesis I analyzed representation of health food through four different
discourses: moral, biomedical, hedonistic and esthetic, in three differently oriented
magazines: lifestyle magazine TervisPluss, women’s magazine Anne and family
magazine Pere ja Kodu.
The objective is to define which use of language is common in representing health food,
which values and identities the texts carry or create. Research is based on eight
journalistic texts that have been published in magazines mentioned above during a period
of three years from year 2002 to 2005.
A part of this thesis is based on a previous research from spring 2005 in cooperation with
Tiina Jurjeva. This analyzed the contexts in which health food is represented in three
Estonian magazines: Anne, Pere ja Kodu and TervisPluss. The research established six
discourses (moral, scientific, biomedical, esthetic, hedonistic and sports discourse), four
of which are the basis of this thesis. In defining those discourses authors drew from
psychologists’ Helen Madden and Kerry Chamberlain research on health food related
texts in New-Zeeland’s women’s magazines.
The selected texts were analyzed using Fairlough’s critical discourse analysis, since it
enables to search the text thoroughly and focuses on the text content and the values it
carries.
Research states that health food is mainly represented in opposition to food that is
unhealthy. Most articles bring out the products and foods that are unhealthy, such as
sugar, fat, salt.
Health, being fit and beauty are of highest value in the analyzed texts. Three of the eight
texts analyzed stated fitness as a norm of beauty. This statement occurred in two
esthetically discoursed texts and one morally discoursed text.
Two other important values that were emphasized in esthetical, moral and biomedical
discourses were will and discipline.
Health food consumers in all discourses except biomedical are women who obey the
society’s norms of being fit and beautiful. Another characteristic of health food consumer
is human weakness that leads to slips in diet in course of which people eat something
forbidden – tasty but unhealthy.
The spokespeople in those articles are nutrition specialists and people who have been in
close contact with food related issues – weight watchers, parents, people ho have tried
different diets. They are the people who through their statements help to define health
food.
In conclusion this thesis gives an insight to the representation of health food and it’s
consumers. A more thorough research acquires interviews with consumers to understand
their point of views.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), bakalaureusetööd