euro-obesity-2016_scientifictracks-abstracts

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Volume 6, Issue 8(Suppl) J Obes Weight Loss Ther 2016
ISSN: 2165-7904 JOWT, an open access journal
Page 41
Notes:
Euro Obesity 2016
October 10-12, 2016
conferenceseries.com
7th Obesity & Endocrinology
Specialists Congress
October 10-12, 2016 Manchester, UK
Coping by cross-dressing: An exploration of exercise clothing and consequences for obese heterosexual women
Deborah A Christel, Nicole H O’Donnell and Linda Arthur Bradley
Washington State University, USA
Over the past decade participation in physical activity for adult women has decreased while body size has increased. Overweight
and obese individuals are considered the majority demographic in the United States; however, plus-sized clothing sales are
minimal in comparison to other segments. Furthermore, there is little known about the clothing practices of obese women who
engage in physical activity. The current study addresses this research gap by exploring obese heterosexual women’s clothing practices
for exercise, with an emphasis on what women wear, their perceived choices, alternatives and satisfaction. Lowe and Anspach’s notion
of freedom of dress was the guiding conceptual framework for in-depth interviews with (n=56) obese women. A majority of the
women perceived having limited freedom in dress, and reported cross-dressing in men’s clothing to engage in physical activity, which
resulted in a perceived lack of gender expression. Cross-dressing is wearing clothing of the opposite sex and gender expression; it is
a way in which a person acts to communicate gender within a given culture. Women in this study indicated and the authors discuss
that as clothing size increases, perceived freedom in dress decreases. In order to increase freedom in dress, our participants tended to
believe that it is their personal responsibility to lose weight.
Biography
Deborah A Christel completed her PhD in 2010 from Oregon State University and focuses her research on plus-size apparel and weight bias. She is an Assistant Professor
at Washington State University in the Department of Apparel Merchandising, Design and Textiles.
Deborah A Christel et al., J Obes Weight Loss Ther 2016, 6:8(Suppl)