65
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.25038/am. 0i18.295
Rocío Ries a-Camacho
Uni e si y o O iedo, Spain
An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y as Disciplina y
Powe in he Con empo a y Ame ican Young Adul Spo s
No els
Abs ac : The goal o his pape is o in es iga e he ole o disciplina y powe egimes o em-
inini y in spo ing ins i u ions depic ed in spo s ic ion. Wi h a enewed in e es in analyzing
spo s p ac ices as speci ically gende ed, his pape add esses how con empo a y na a i es’
deepe add ess o he a ec i e encoun e s o cha ac e s has econ igu ed he spo s li e a y
pano ama. As ep esen ed in Mi anda Kenneally’s no el, Coming Up o Ai (2017), iend-
ship poses a challenge o he ins i u ionalized, pa en al and gende ed bodily ulne abili y o
spo s. The analysis e eals how he adolescen body is manageable bu can also con es , in
di ec ques ioning o he in e es s o au ho i y. Enjoying iendship in spo s, e en ually, e-
eals pa hs owa ds mo e inclusi e (bodily) p ac ices in hem. Finally, his pape speaks o he
ac ha ju enile ic ion, adi ionally conside ed an a chi e o nega i e in luence on young
eade s’ beha io s, can exe cise he opposi e e ec oo.
Keywo ds: YA ic ion; spo s ic ion; con empo a y Ame ican li e a u e; disciplina y powe ;
body; eminini y; iendship; die e ics
In oduc ion
P io o del ing in o he analysis o he no el, i is ele an o look a one ba-
sic Foucauldian discou se sca olding young adul spo s ic ion, ha o “disciplina y
powe .”1 Discipline, pa icula ly, is a e m Michel Foucaul coined o e e o he eg-
ula ion, subjec ion and imposi ion o docili y upon indi idual bodies.2 As i pe ains
o spo s, Manley e al. a gue ha i is “ he u iliza ion o da a o he con ol and
egula ion o he indi idual a hle e” ha adequa ely si ua es a hle ic bodies unde he
Foucauldian no ion o disciplina y powe .3
1 Ka ie Da ies, “Theo izing he Ac i e Body in Child en’s Spo Fic ion: A Foucauldian Tex ual Analysis,” PhD
diss., Uni e si y o Albe a, 2014, ii–iii.
2 Michel Foucaul , Discipline and Punish: The Bi h o he P ison (New Yo k: Vin age, 2012), 137.
3 And ew Manley, Ca he ine Palme and Ma in Rode ick, “Disciplina y Powe , he Oligop icon and Rhizom-
a ic Su eillance in Eli e Spo s Academies,” Su eillance & Socie y 10, 3–4 (2012): 306.
*Au ho con ac in o ma ion: [email p o ec ed]
66
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
Foucaul did no himsel add ess he ele ance o exe cises as disciplina y ech-
niques wi hin an a hle ic con ex . None heless, he e is a g owing body o academ-
ic li e a u e by enowned spo sociologis s who ollow Foucaul ’s heo iza ions. As
Ma kula and P ingle insis , his ocus on he body “as a si e o o ce ela ions” eso-
na es closely wi h spo s s udies.4 As he wo k by Ka ie Da ies demons a es, he en-
dency has ouched spo s li e a y s udies as well. In his la e case, no wi hs anding,
he ield emains a he unexploi ed.
A no ion o discipline wi hin a spo s con ex does no only apply o he subjec-
ion o he body o exe cise, bu o die as well. In The Use o Pleasu e, Michel Foucaul
de o ed an en i e sec ion o he s udy o die e ics. Hi he , he a gued ha , in he ime
o he classics, “die […] was in ended o be a delibe a e p ac ice on he pa o an
indi idual, in ol ing himsel and his body.”5 Die e ics conce ned a disciplina y ech-
nique o egula e one’s co po eali y and, as Foucaul claimed, oo, one’s mo ali y.6
E en hough Foucaul denied such same impo ance o ood and die e ics o
con empo a y socie y, highligh ing ins ead, he ele ance o sex,7 he e is an ex en-
si e academic co pus ha claims o he wise.8 This is he case p esen ed by co po eal
eminis s who, d awing on Foucaldian analysis, ecupe a e die ing “as a disciplina y
p ac ice ha se es o cons uc docile bodies.”9 The basal ex s in his ega d a e San-
d a Ba ky’s “Foucaul , Feminini y, and he Mode niza ion o Pa ia chal Powe ” and
Susan Bo do’s Unbea able Weigh .
Acco ding o hese au ho s, he bodies unde he su eillance o die e ics a e
ha dly always hose o women. In hei con igu a ion as docile bodies, women ake
up ‘ eminine p ac ices’, such as egimes o ien ed a a aining weigh -loss. As Ma kula
and P ingle sugges , no wi hs anding, a Foucauldian amewo k signi ican ly allows
o he conside a ion o how “indi idual exe cise s […] a emp[ ] o esis such a dis-
ciplina y, panop ic a angemen .”10 In u n, Foucaul himsel claimed ha one migh
use “ esis ance as a chemical ca alys so as o b ing o ligh powe ela ions.”11
In ic ion w i en o he you h, no ably, ood and die e ics emain a majo ob-
jec o conce n, pa icula ly o gi l cha ac e s. As cu en li e a y c i icism has i :
Conside ed as pa o a b oade ideological phenomenon, YA [young
adul ] no els wo k alongside magazines and o he media in a ge ing
4 Pi kko Ma kula, and Richa d P ingle, Foucaul , Spo and Exe cise (London and New Yo k: Rou ledge,
2006), x.
5 Michel Foucaul , The Use o Pleasu e (New Yo k: Vin age Books, 1990), 107.
6 Ibid., 102.
7 Michel Foucaul , “On he Genealogy o E hics: An O e iew o Wo k in P og ess,” in Michel Foucaul : Be-
yond S uc u alism and He meneu ics, ed. H. D ey us and P. Rabinow (Chicago: Uni e si y o Chicago P ess,
1983), 229.
8 On his no e, see Elspe h P obyn, Ca nal Appe i es: Foodsexiden i ies (London, New Yo k: Rou ledge, 2000).
9 C essida Heyes, “Foucaul Goes o Weigh Wa che s,” Hypa ia 21, 2 (2006): 132.
10 Ma kula and P ingle, Foucaul , Spo and Exe cise, xi.
11 Michel Foucaul , “The Subjec and Powe ,” C i ical Inqui y 8, 4 (1982): 780.
67
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
young gi ls and ea u ing pe asi e, o en explici and decidedly gen-
de ed di ec i es o makeup, clo hing, exe cise, and die . Ins ead o in-
cluding s ep-by-s ep ins uc ions o glossy pho og aphs o supposed
ideals, YA no els p o ide models o beha io by showing cha ac e s
dealing wi h ules abou sel -p esen a ion.12
The appea ance-o ien ed mo i s o gi l cha ac e s in a as quan i y o mode n
no els13 make unde s andable he disapp o ing ega ds held by eminis li e a y c i -
ics like Do o hy Ka lin. When emale co po eali y has been a s ake, mode n o ms o
young adul ic ion ha e unc ioned as loci o he ep esen a ion o diso de ed ela-
ionships wi h ood o gi l cha ac e s. Many seem o ep oduce wha in he sociology
o ea ing diso de s is known as he ‘domino e ec ’. The label add esses he con agion
o abno mal ea ing pa hologies ha allegedly akes place in g oups o gi l iends, a h-
le es o no , wi h an ala ming equency.
Today, i has been shown ha ju enile ic ion can ha e de imen al e ec s o e
hei young women eade ship. Fic ion p esen ing cha ac e s wi h ea ing diso de s,
p ecisely, has been demons a ed o be able o ein o ce ano exia.14 Pa alleling soci-
e y’s conce ns, young adul ic ion ega ding spo s o he kind a ge ed a gi l audi-
ences, hence, has la gely es ic ed he ep esen a ion o a hle ic cha ac e s who con-
on his iew o diso de ed co po eali y.
Ye no all ic ion o gi ls is c ea ed equally. Fo Ka lin, eenage ic ion is,
ce ainly, also capable o cons uc ing gi l cha ac e s in a judicious way. Ka lin insis s
upon he au ho i y o he c i ic and he abili y o disce n hose young adul i les
which coun as ‘body- iendly’ examples. In his pape , I sugges ha con empo a y
o ms o young adul spo s ic ion, co esponding o he 21s cen u y examples, do
depic such al e na i e possibili ies. Mi anda Kenneally’s Hund ed Oaks se ies is a
case in poin . The no el objec o s udy he e, Coming Up o Ai , is o e ed as a si e
whe e he dominan iew ha gi l eenage s, in gene al, and a hle es, in pa icula , a e
complian wi h he disciplina y powe o die e ics, is challenged.
Dedica ion o spo , in his no el, canno be me ely conside ed a way o cha -
ac e s o subjuga e o a bodily egime. Spo s a e a p ac ice highly socioa ec i e in
na u e, as hey in ol e he possibili y o con es and o eam. Especially among young-
s e s, mo i a ions o engaging in spo a e no simply co po eal. A. Smi h, in ac ,
con ends ha “you h conside physical appea ance and a hle ic p owess as impo an
o popula i y” bu also “engage in spo because o he desi e o make iends and
a ilia e wi h pee s”15 and o enjoy hemsel es.
12 Do o hy Ka lin, “How o Be You sel : Ideological In e pella ion, Weigh Con ol, and YA No els,” Jeunesse:
Young People, Tex s, Cul u es 6, 2 (2014): 72.
13 See Ellen Single on, “G ace and Do o hy: Collisions o Feminini y and Physical Ac i i y in Two Ea ly Twen-
ie h-Cen u y Book Se ies o Gi ls,” Child en’s Li e a u e in Educa ion 35, 2 (2004): 113–34.
14 Emily T oscianko, “Feedback in Reading and Diso de ed Ea ing,” in Cogni i e Li e a y Science: Dialogues be-
ween Li e a u e and Cogni ion, ed. M. Bu ke and E. T oscianko (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2016), 177.
15 Alan L. Smi h, “Pee Rela ionships in Physical Ac i i y Con ex s: a Road Less T a elled in You h Spo and
Exe cise Psychology Resea ch,” Psychology o Spo and Exe cise 4 (2003): 33.
68
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
In Coming Up o Ai , a ec dynamics be ween he g oup o iends depic ed
a e a wo k in such a way, exac ly. Toge he , he cha ac e s o Kenneally’s piece impose
hei own desi e o enjoy ood and spo s o e he aspi a ions o aine s and pa en s
alike. In he s o y, a gi l named Geo gia is he one o ebel agains a die bo h imposed
by he coach and encou aged by he mo he . As i will be seen, despi e being a sup-
po ing cha ac e , Geo gia is one o s ongly iden i y wi h, gi en he ele ance he
na a o g an s o he s o y. The na a ion, exp essly, is in he i s -pe son o Maggie,
he swimme p o agonis o he no el. Addi ionally, he na a ion is in e nal, allowing
o he p o agonis ’s s imula ing e alua ions o he ac ion and dialogues aking place.
Me hodological amewo k
In his pape , Foucaul ’s no ion o discipline is applied. By means o close eading,
he analysis will ocus on how disciplina y powe a ec s, in pa icula , he si ua ion
o Geo gia wi hin he uni e si y spo s con ex o he no el. The discussion will pay
a en ion o how disciplina y echniques a e ep esen ed as being gende ed in he s o y.
Speci ically, he analysis s udies he meaning behind he weigh -loss die imposed upon
his cha ac e . In oducing he gende a iable in he discussion, i will be shown how
die e ics appea as a no malized disciplina y p ac ice o eminini y. In u n, he analysis
will inco po a e he no ion o a ec dynamics o examine how iendship ames Geo -
gia’s esis ance o disciplina y powe agains no ms o eminini y.
Punching abo e hei weigh : analysis o suppo ing cha ac e s in Coming
Up o Ai
Adul s, whose ole as educa o s is “insc ibed a he hea o he p ac ice o each-
ing”, Foucaul sugges ed, ha e “a ela ion o su eillance” o e child en.16 In Coming
Up o Ai , Geo gia, Maggie, Hun e and Le i, a g oup o iends, con es he spo s
uni e si y sys em by igno ing he expec a ions o pa en s and aine s. The age g oup
con as , albei ic ional, is ele an in ha , as A. Smi h insis s, “ he o e whelming
bulk o esea ch on social in luence in you h spo and physical ac i i y has ocused
upon he ole o adul s in go e ning you h psychosocial and beha io al ou comes”,
pu ing he emphasis on “coaches, eache s, and pa en s.”17 He concludes ha “i is
puzzling he deg ee o which esea ch on pee s has paled in compa ison gi en he
ele ance o hese social agen s.”18
In he no el, he emphasis is d awn o how iendship egula es he ac ions un-
de aken by young cha ac e s. Resol ed o p io i ize happiness, he g oup o iends
16 Foucaul , Discipline and Punish, 176.
17 Smi h, “Pee Rela ionships in Physical Ac i i y Con ex s,” 26.
18 Ibid.
69
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
con on s disciplina y powe p esen wi hin he spo s li e depic ed in i . One such
abuse, eadily in oduced in he i s pages, is he ex eme die commanded o Geo -
gia, Maggie’s bes iend. To come o he poin , Geo gia is a gymnas u ned chee -
leade who becomes equi ed o commi o his die in o de o en e he Uni e si y
o Tennessee A hle ics. The imposi ion o die s in gymnas ics, ypical in he mode n
young adul spo s pano ama,19 is he main spo s misuse o disciplina y powe Com-
ing Up o Ai seeks o disman le. As a na a i e s a egy, he no el elies on di ec
dialogue as well as on he p o agonis ’s s eam o hough s o denounce his p ac ice.
Geo gia’s p oblem is i s shown du ing a mee -up o he g oup a he local
bu ge place. A e ealizing ha he iend does no appea com o able abou he
ood on he able (“Tha ’s when I no ice she’s only been picking a he ies and he
shake is un ouched”),20 Maggie exp esses he conce n o he : “You okay?” […] “I go
an email om an assis an coach a Tennessee.”21 The dialogue con inues in his ein:
“wha did he coach say?” […] “Tha I need o ollow a s ic die .” Geo gia pops a
F ench y in he mou h and chews. “Like, I ha e o ea a ce ain amoun o calo ies
pe day and ha e o coun g ams o ca bs and a .”22
Geo gia’s announcemen se s he dialogic s uc u e o he hang-ou scena io:
when going ou , hey ea and alk abou hei li e p oblems. In his se ing, no ea ing
is ega ded as p oblema ic. Signi ican ly, being asked i she is okay al e s Geo gia’s
hough s conce ning he die . Be o e, no ably, Geo gia is only “picking” a he ies, a
e b selec ed on he basis o i s emo ional ca go o nega i i y, as i is associa ed wi h
es ic ion o ood in ake.23 In u n, Geo gia’s speech s yle makes use o a scien i ic
desc ip ion o es ic i e nu i ion (“calo ies pe day”, “coun g ams”). Coun ing cal-
o ies, decidedly, esona es wi h Foucaul ’s wo ds when he a gued ha “ he disciplines
[…] dis ibu e along a scale.” 24 He e, Geo gia seems o be epo ing he con en o he
con e sa ion in he e ms o he coach. B ay sus ains ha such an “obsessi e a en ion
o he calcula ion o calo ies […] indica es ha weigh -loss egimens, diso de ed o
o he wise, a icula e he body h ough a nume ical g amma in ol ed in an escha ol-
ogy o he lesh”25 ‘Picking’ also sugges s lack o enjoymen o he ood, as i she had
been ea ing wi hou much in e es . The momen she oices he anxie y, she suddenly
‘pops’ a y, which onoma opoeically conno es a momen o un consump ion o ood.
The seman ic dicho omy es ablished be ween bo h e bs emphasizes ha she needed
o be asked ha ques ion, because i is wha p omp s he ou o he pa alyzed in ake.
The eac ions ha ollow Geo gia’s e ela ion a e also in e es ing o no e. Mag-
gie’s is o gasp, while Le i and Hun e s op ea ing. This can be acknowledged as a show
19 See S e en Le enk on, The Luckies Gi l in he Wo ld (New Yo k: Penguin Books, 1997).
20 Mi anda Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai (Illinois: Sou cebooks Fi e, 2017), 5.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid., 6.
23 Rocío Ries a-Camacho, “Niching New Ma e ialis S udies: Con empo a y No h-Ame ican Young Adul
Spo s Fic ion as Ano exia Biblio he apy,” MA diss., Uni e si y o O iedo, 2018.
24 Foucaul , Discipline and Punish, 223.
25 Abigail B ay, “The Ano exic Body: Reading Diso de s,” Cul u al S udies 10, 3 (1996): 426–27.

70
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
o espec and as a ges u e o solida i y, in ha ood is some hing o be enjoyed oge h-
e as a g oup o no a all. A his poin , mo eo e , hei eac ions con ey su p ise, as
i i we e illogical o equi e a egimen o Geo gia. This, i is sugges ed, con ibu es o
b eaking he na u alized associa ion be ween chee leading and die cul u e. Hun e
is he one o ecupe a e om he shock and o quickly s a e “you don’ need o lose
weigh . You look g ea .”26 His commen s a e he i s in explici ly con adic ing a ig-
u e o au ho i y, he uni e si y coach, in his case.
Hun e ’s s a emen , mo e no ably, demons a es he ele ance o discussing dis-
ciplina y powe among iends. In ac , as claimed by A. Smi h, his is o en p oduc-
i e as i ep esen s an en ichmen o pe spec i es: “in he physical ac i i y se ing,
[…] pee -based in e en ions designed o p omo e dialogue on mo al dilemmas and
subsequen a emp s a eaching mo al balance among in ol ed pa ies can be suc-
cess ully implemen ed.”27 In ha sense, upon hea ing Hun e , Geo gia “gi es in and
slu ps he milkshake.”28 This scene esona es wi h he s udy conduc ed by Schu z
and Pax on on he cons uc i e aspec s o iendship ela ionali y, which showed ha
communica ion, us and pee accep ance a e ce ainly de e minan s o body sa -
is ac ion.29 The no el’s la e ea men o Geo gia’s case, howe e , emphasize wha I
belie e o be he mos powe ul body- iendly asse o he no el.
Speci ically, he p o agonis ’s i s -pe son na a ion ou weighs di ec dialogue
in add essing i s c i ique o es ic i e spo s die s. Du ing ano he e ening mee ing,
Geo gia adds a laye o p eoccupa ion o he die issue, as he mo he has been no i ied
o his equi emen : “Mom ound ou ha he Tennessee coach ga e me a die plan o
ollow”, […] “I couldn’ wai o college, o ge away om my pa en s and do my own
hing, bu i looks like my coach is going o be jus as con olling as Mom. Ugh.”30 As
i can be seen, Geo gia’s mo he does no espond o he s e eo ype o he “mo he
as ood p o isioning.”31 She is, con e sely, depic ed as one obsessed wi h complying
wi h he ole o disciplina y powe as i pe ains o egimes o beau y. Like Geo gia’s
Tennessee coach, she ag ees wi h Geo gia’s commi ing o a die and encou ages i . In
his sense, disciplina y echniques, indeed, “ e e indi iduals om one disciplina y
au ho i y o ano he .”32 Howe e , unlike he coach, she is no conce ned only abou
he daugh e ’s spo s pe o mance.
Geo gia’s mo he is di ec ly abusi e o he daugh e ’s appea ance, in ac . This
is known a he na a o ’s con as ing hough s abou he own pa en s: “Unlike my
pa en s, who suppo me no ma e wha , M s. Layne won’ le he daugh e lea e
26 Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai , 6.
27 Smi h, “Pee Rela ionships in Physical Ac i i y Con ex s,” 32.
28 Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai , 6.
29 Helen K. Schu z and Susan J. Pax on. “F iendship Quali y, Body Dissa is ac ion, Die ing and Diso de ed Ea ing
in Adolescen Gi ls,” B i ish Jou nal o Clinical Psychology 46, 1 (2007): 67–83. doi: 10.1348/014466506x115993
30 Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai , 6.
31 Lisa Rowe, “The Apple o He Eye: The Mo he ing Ideology Fed by Bes -selling T ade Pic u e Books,” in C i ical
App oaches o Food in Child en’s Li e a u e, ed. K. Keeling and S. Polla d (New Yo k: Rou ledge, 2009), 58.
32 Foucaul , Discipline and Punish, 226.
71
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
he house wi hou makeup and hinks ea ing a Ji y Bu ge is a bad idea because
g ease ‘ uins you complexion’.”33 Hi he , ‘complexion’ does no only sugges body
build and i s connec ion o a hle ic pe o mance. Linked wi h he idea o makeup
applica ion,34 i is e iden ha Geo gia’s mo he conside s he sel en i led o man-
age he daugh e ’s beau y egimes, including he main enance o ‘app op ia e’ weigh .
He expec a ions o he daugh e ’s body, in ha sense, a e gende ed in na u e. The
passage, eally, speaks o a ep oduc ion o a no ma i e ep oduc ion o disciplina y
powe . On no ma i i y, no ably, Foucaul s a ed ha “ he powe o he No m appea s
h ough he disciplines.”35
The no el p o ides c i ical p oo ha disciplina y no ma i i y is gende ed. Inci-
den ally, le i be ecalled ha Foucaul heo ized his no ion o disciplina y powe apa
om gende , as he claimed ha i “p oduces homogenous e ec s o powe .”36 None-
heless, ins ead o simplis ically ein o cing he no m, he s o y eso s o he na a-
o ’s hough s so as o b ing i unde a c i ical spo ligh . Pa icula ly h ough he usage
o quo a ion ma ks in “ uins you complexion”, i is implied ha Maggie mocks M s.
Layne’s ideas o wha coun s as beau i ul in a gi l’s body. This is a obus mechanism o
make eade s di ec ly ques ion he ac ha eenage gi ls should be loyal consume s o
appea ance media. The na a o con inues he s eam o hough s in his line:
Geo gia used o be an eli e gymnas , bu g ew oo all and wasn’ good
enough o s ay compe i i e in he spo a he highes le els. Tha ’s why she
swi ched o chee leading. Rega dless o wha Geo gia’s gymnas ics coach
said – ha she mos likely wouldn’ e e make a na ional o Olympic eam
– M s. Layne hough Geo gia should’ e s uck wi h i and ied ha de .37
A his poin , ecalling he eason why Geo gia le gymnas ics ein o ces Mag-
gie’s c i ique o e Geo gia’s mo he . Being oo all and no skilled enough, Geo gia
had o abandon gymnas ics. Geo gia’s mo he appea s, he e o e, i a ionally depic -
ed, unable o accep ha he daugh e was unsui ed o gymnas ics. Thus, she appea s
obsessed wi h con olling some hing ac ually subjec o con ol, ha is, he daugh e ’s
weigh . This pa e n is con inued du ing Maggie’s e lec ions on Geo gia’s mo he ’s
own pe sonal ixa ions: “Geo gia’s mom ma ied he high school boy iend, was he
s a o he Uni e si y o Alabama gymnas ics eam, and hasn’ aged a day in wen y
yea s. She hinks Geo gia needs o ollow he same pe ec li e plan, and ha equi es
s icking o a die .”38
33 Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai , 6.
34 Fo Ba ky, his “p esupposes ha a woman’s ace unpain ed, is de ec i e” (Sand a Ba ky “Foucaul , Femi-
nini y and he Mode niza ion o Pa ia chal Powe ,” in W i ing on he Body: Female Embodimen and Feminis
Theo y, ed. K. Conboy, N. Medina and S. S anbu y, 129–54 /New Yo k: Columbia Uni e si y P ess, 1997/, 139).
35 Foucaul , Discipline and Punish, 184.
36 Ibid., 202.
37 Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai , 56.
38 Ibid.
72
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
Touching on ageism (“hasn’ aged a day in wen y yea s”) and epea ing he die
equi emen , Maggie’s dismissal o Geo gia’s mo he ’s obsession wi h appea ance is
s eng hened. Fo example, no ma i e ageism is cle e ly dismissed h ough Maggie’s
own use o “ hinks” as he chosen epo ing e b. “She hinks”, which sounds close o
“she belie es”, dep i es Geo gia’s mo he ’s assump ions o accep abili y. Meanwhile,
he e ms in which he li e plan calcula ed o Geo gia a e desc ibed (“pe ec ” and
“same”) con ibu e o a e se he idea. In pa icula , hey sugges ha i is un ealis ic
o expec ha ollowing he mo he ’s example is anywhe e nea o desi able. Maggie’s
e lec ions cons i u e, hen, ano he e iden challenge o a igu e o au ho i y; he e,
o Geo gia’s mo he . A e his na a ed passage, he dialogue be ween Maggie and
Geo gia con inues in a p o es ing one by Geo gia.
“How’d you mom ind ou ?” I [Maggie] ask, hoping she didn’ hack he
email. I wouldn’ pu i pas M s. Layne. “I hadn’ go en a ound o an-
swe ing he coach’s email [...] so she called ou house and le a message
on he answe ing machine. Then Mom go pissed because ‘a lady always
esponds o co espondence’ and said I need o ollow he die .” Hun e
pu s a iendly a m a ound he shoulde s. “You look g ea . Don’ lis en
o hem.”39
Geo gia c i icizes he idea o emba king on a die h ough a epo ed speech
s yle. Speci ically, Geo gia mockingly epea s he mo he ’s speech o pa ody i . The
quo a ion ma ks in “a lady always esponds o co espondence” a e a o mal de ice
ha indexes a idiculing one o oice o he mo he . The exac ep oduc ion o wo ds
like “lady” and “co espondence” sugges s ha Geo gia inds he mo he ’s concep ion
o gende oles and hei co esponding poli eness con en ions a chaic and ludic ous.
The quo e, in u n, seems o ep oduce he schema o “pa en s and eache s […] [as]
ha [ing] ex ensi e in luence admonishing gi ls o be demu e and ladylike.”40 I is sig-
ni ican o no e ha he di ec idea o he mo he equi ing Geo gia o s ick o he die
is in p ope epo ed speech (“said”) and cons i u es a neu al wo d. This po ays he
mo he ’s s a emen abou Geo gia’s die as a se e e one, no open o u he discussion
(“need o ollow he die ”).
On he o he hand, Geo gia’s mo he ’s eac ion is consis en wi h Foucaul ’s
ideas abou he “pa en -child en cell”, when, ollowing Ben ham, he a gued ha
anyone, “in he absence o he di ec o ” can sus ain disciplina y powe , including
“his amily, his iends, his isi o s, e en his se an s.”41 In his case, i is he mo he
ha es ablishes he amily as “ he p i ileged locus o eme gence o he disciplina y
ques ion o he no mal.”42 I is use ul o ema k, also, ha Foucaul de ended ha
39 Ibid.
40 Ba ky, “Foucaul , Feminini y and he Mode niza ion o Pa ia chal Powe ,” 102.
41 Foucaul , Discipline and Punish, 202.
42 Ibid., 216.
73
Ries a-Camacho, R., An Embodied Challenge o Feminini y, AM Jou nal, No. 18, 2019, 65−77.
“disciplina y punishmen is, in he main, isomo phic wi h obliga ion i sel ; i is no so
much he engeance o an ou aged law as i s epe i ion, i s eduplica ed insis ence.”43
In ac , Geo gia’s mo he ’s way o punish he daugh e is simply o insis ha she mus
comply wi h he die . Hi he , no ma i i y, ha is, eminini y, is hence p esen ed as
inescapable.
Inescapabili y is u he sugges ed h ough he usage o echnology o su -
eying Geo gia’s body. Wi hou being physically he e, as a “ aceless gaze”,44 Geo gia’s
coach has been able o ansmi he desi ed sys em o supe ision in elaying i o he
home answe ing machine. In ha sense, echnology unc ions ubiqui ously, as “a sys-
em o su eillance wi hou walls, windows, owe s o gua ds.”45 Once again, howe e ,
Hun e insis s on li ing Geo gia’s body con idence (“you look g ea ”) and ca ego ical-
ly ebels agains such imposi ion (“don’ lis en o hem”). In es ablishing a “ hem”, as
dis inc om an “us” ( he g oup o iends), he powe ully dismisses he au ho i y o
his es ic ion o Geo gia’s ea ing beha io s.
La e onwa ds, he eso ing o he i s pe son na a o ’s inne monologue
becomes once mo e a powe ul li e a y mechanism o oice an explici challenge o
Geo gia’s die imposi ions.
We si down [Le i and Maggie] a ou egula able by he windows wi h
Hun e and Geo gia. A e saying hi, I unpack my lunch o pas a and
ene gy d inks. Hun e ’s al eady hal way h ough his sub sandwich, and
Geo gia’s de ou ing a g illed chicken salad… and some b ead and soup.
She’s way o e he calo ie coun sugges ed by he college chee leading
coach, bu I hink ha wen in one ea and ou he o he , which is good.
I doesn’ seem heal hy o be ha es ic i e gi en he wo kou s.46
How he scena io is amed h ough Maggie’s pe cep ions is i al o achie ing
a obus c i ique. In e ms o spa iali y, “ou egula able” is indica i e o hem being
used o spending ime a he ca e e ia. The can een is a place which, o none o hem,
con eys ood a oidance: hus, Hun e is desc ibed as “al eady hal way” h ough his
sandwich, whe eas Geo gia is pe cei ed as “de ou ing” he lunch. Acco ding o Mag-
gie’s pe cep ions, ood is mou hed wi h cele i y. I would sugges ha his cons i u es
an e ec i e way o eco e ing a physiological sense o nou ishmen .47 The na a o ’s
logic ollows he p emise ha because he e is hunge , ood is ea en; so he e is no ,
in o he wo ds, an emo ional ela ionship wi h i . Geo gia’s lunch con en s, mo eo e ,
43 Ibid., 180.
44 Ibid., 214.
45 Ma k Pos e , The Mode o In o ma ion: Pos s uc u alism and Social Con ex (Camb idge: Poli y, 1990), 93.
46 Kenneally, Coming Up o Ai , 93.
47 Susie O bach wa ns ha “ he high isibili y o ood and i s appa en abundance has c ea ed a clea age in
ou pe cep ions o i […] no longe el o be simply he adequa e esponse o physical hunge ” (Susie O bach,
Hunge S ike: The Ano ec ic’s S uggle as a Me apho o ou Age /London: Ka nac, 2005/, 32).