Contemporary Views
Thematic Analysis of the Relationship between Orthorexia Nervosa and Instagram
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Joanna Jones
This paper focuses on the role of social media in relation to the Eating Disorder Orthorexia Nervosa (a pathological obsession with healthy eating with similar symptomology as Anorexia and Bulimia). The term Orthorexia is frequently posted on social media, especially Instagram in which #orthorexia currently has hundreds of thousands of public posts. Using thematic analysis to explore the relationship between ON and Instagram, I situate this disorder more widely within discussions of body image, online online communities, social media, and mental health issues. Having analysed the ‘most popular’ public posts on Instagram with the hashtag #orthorexia, preliminary findings suggest that Orthorexia on Instagram is closely linked with popular food trends such as ‘raw eating’ and ‘clean eating.’ It also appears to be heavily associated with exercise addictions. A multifaceted overriding theme of ‘regaining control’ is also identified: 1) regaining control from the disorder, 2) regaining control over the public health obesity epidemic, and, 3) regaining control over the falsities of marketing strategies about food in order to discover what is truly healthy and natural. Thus, my research suggests a link between expressions and representations of Orthorexia on Instagram, perhaps encouraging moral panics among those who identify with the hashtag Orthorexia.
Representation of Women in Contemporary Regional Television: A Study from Maharashtra, India
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shilpa D Hattiangadi
Women’s portrayal on television is a popular subject of study among researchers after realizing the effects television viewing has on its audiences. A vital function of media is to entertain masses. The content is voraciously consumed by the masses without too much of analysis or critical thinking. It plays a powerful role in shaping social beliefs, reinforcing behavior, forming attitudes regardless of whether the portrayal of characters is in positive or negative light, reflecting strengths and weakness or vulnerability, aiming to confine the characters within a set framework or attempting to breaking glass ceilings. Has the portrayal of women in television transformed according to changing times? Does the portrayal vary from the national to the regional level? Is the depiction doing justice to the woman of the twenty-first century who has struck a beautiful balance between profession and home? Have the mass media also attempted to transform the image of woman from being a mere commodity to being shown gracefully and respectfully? This paper attempts to study the portrayal of women characters of today’s popular Marathi regional soaps and understand if their depiction is close to reality. With the help of a survey, the researcher has been able to identify popular soaps in Marathi, and will analyze the content and the depiction of characters, particularly women of the top five serials that have emerged from the survey.
The Image of the Syrian Refugees in the Lebanese Press: Case of Al-Akhbar Newspaper
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Hatem El Zein
This paper explores the image of the Syrian refugees in the Lebanese press, namely in Al-Akhbar Newspaper. It intends to answer the question: How does Al-Akhbar depict the image of the Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon? This paper analyses samples of articles published in Al-Akhbar to uncover the discourse of this newspaper relating to the Syrian refugees. The strategy used to achieve the aim of the paper, and hence to answer its postulated question is qualitative. The findings of the paper is significant because it reveals the journalistic practices and agenda towards one of the most serious issues that concerns the whole Lebanese citizens in a sectarian and a multiconfessional country.
