Too Thin or Not Thin Enough?: Complications in Female Cross Country Runners' Narratives on Diet and Body Image

This project investigated how female cross-country runners construct narratives about diet and body image. Previous literature has suggested a linear relationship wherein female athletes in lean-positive sports continuously... [ view full abstract ]

This project investigated how female cross-country runners construct narratives about diet and body image. Previous literature has suggested a linear relationship wherein female athletes in lean-positive sports continuously strive to be thinner to achieve success. As such, they develop eating disorders and distorted body images. After conducting a narrative analysis, interviewing eight women on the varsity cross-country team at Middlebury College, I argue this process is more complicated and multi-layered. Not only is there a contrast between the thin ideal promoted by mainstream patriarchal culture in the United States and the thin ideal in cross-country running, but there also is tension within the sport itself. These athletes must reconcile the fact that becoming too thin is stigmatized by their competitors and by societal values, yet it also leads to optimal athletic performance. They also face the fact that the most efficient body for distance running does not match mainstream standards of beauty. Toeing this difficult line between thin enough and too thin speaks to the lack of agency that female athletes face under patriarchal capitalism. This thesis addresses how their narratives are ultimately about mediating external multi-directional powers stemming from patriarchal, capitalist values that inform and direct their bodily practices.