“My body has gone out of style”: A critical examination of fashion magazines’ GLP-1 agonist drug discourse

Abstract

This paper examines the fashion media discourse on the rise of the “Ozempic Era” in the American editions of Vogue and Elle magazines published in print and online since the announcement by the FDA clearing a GLP-1 agonist to be prescribed as a weight loss aid. Using critical discourse analysis, I explore the coverage of Ozempic and other brand name drugs in the fashion press. I situate the discourse on GLP-1’s ability to reshape the body to fit a long-held esthetic ideal at the intersection of lifestyle/fashion and health/wellness journalism and the intertextual context inherent to each. The voices and perspectives of fat women on this medical development and its relevance to both the fashion industry and their own lived experience are prioritized in the analysis.

Keywords

body image fashion media weight loss lifestyle media fashion discourse critical media studies

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