A01=Lynne Gerber
Author_Lynne Gerber
bodily desires
Category=QRM
Category=QRVP7
christianity
cultural obsessions
demographic studies
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
evangelical christians
ex-gay ministries
exodus international
fatness
fieldwork
first place
gender
go straight
god
godly ideals
gods will
health problems
heterosexuality
homosexuality
judgment
lgbtq
losing weight
religion
religious study
sex
sexual orientation
sexuality
sin
social issues
sociology
united states
values
weight-loss program
Product details
- ISBN 9780226288123
- Weight: 397g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 09 Jan 2012
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Losing weight and changing your sexual orientation are both notoriously difficult to do successfully. Yet many faithful evangelical Christians believe that thinness and heterosexuality are godly ideals - and that God will provide reliable paths toward them for those who fall short. "Seeking the Straight and Narrow" is a fascinating account of the world of evangelical efforts to alter our strongest bodily desires. Drawing on fieldwork at First Place, a popular Christian weight-loss program, and Exodus International, a network of ex-gay ministries, Lynne Gerber explores why some Christians feel that being fat or gay offends God, what exactly they do to lose weight or go straight, and how they make sense of the program's results - or, frequently, their lack. Gerber notes the differences and striking parallels between the two programs, and, more broadly, she traces the ways that other social institutions have attempted to contain the excesses associated with fatness and homosexuality.
Challenging narratives that place evangelicals in constant opposition to dominant American values, Gerber shows that these programs reflect the often overlooked connection between American cultural obsessions and Christian ones.
Lynne Gerber is a lecturer in the religious studies department and research fellow in the Religion, Politics, and Globalization Program at the University of California, Berkeley.
