| dc.description.abstract | Bullying of girls based on their body size remains a problem in schools that often appears
to be tolerated and neglected by adult staff. Thus far, there has been a limited amount of
research on this topic, including a lack of investigation of students’ perspectives of being
bullied for their heavier weight. In my thesis, I interviewed six female pre-service
teachers who had experienced fat bullying in elementary and secondary school. They
were asked about these experiences, how their peers, teachers, and administrative staff
responded at the time, and what impact their experiences might have for future teachers.
Through critical discourse analysis, my analysis of the data revealed systemic oppression
of fat youth through bullying and exclusion that was often tolerated, and occasionally
even encouraged, by staff in Health and Physical Education settings such as gymnasiums,
outdoor fields, and the girls’ change room, as well as other environments including the
academic classroom, recess, and cafeteria. Further, these participants, although once
victims of fat bullying, reproduced fatphobic discourse when discussing their experiences
and future plans, thereby creating the possibility that they themselves might unwittingly
reinforce fatphobia when they become teachers. Given these findings, three
recommendations are offered for pre-service teacher education: 1) Offer a specific
course, or part of a course, that tackles oppression and bullying from a systemic
perspective; 2) Ensure that fat pedagogy is infused throughout Health and Physical
Education courses; and 3) Offer workshops on fat bullying. | en_US |
