The problems of “the families and the children” discussed in this article involve the group receiving obesity treatment. It is viewed as such, since the help of specialists (doctors, dieticians, psychologists) was sought by these people. The empirical and clinical data presented in this article comes from observation and examination of children and their families, for whom obesity is considered to be a problem. Based on scientific studies and the data gathered from clinical practice, psychologists describe the specifics of the psychological difficulties of these obese people.
It is commonly accepted that such behaviour (the compulsive consumption of food), as well as somatic functioning (excessive body weight) are signs of difficulties in a person’s psychological functioning. In the case of obesity, the problems are inappropriate (excessive) eating and inappropriate (excessive) body mass. Thinking about obesity as a disorder comes from the existence of certain objective anomalies. People who are obese are sent to psychologists as a result of their emotional difficulties, lack of success in social functioning, and health problems. In a situation when the patient is a child, it is the child’s parents who seek specialist help due to the difficulties that the child has exhibited. Obesity becomes a clinical problem when it negatively influences the quality of the person’s psychological, interpersonal, and somatic functioning. Exploring the relationship between storytelling, contingency and politics, the article illustrates how fictional accounts can help scholars reclaim contingency as a critical component of political understanding: it can help to illuminate vanquished identities and perspectives and in so doing bring to the fore alternative, unforeseen social and political possibilities.Clinical psychologists view obesity as a disorder due to the scale of the problem for the person that is affected. Winterson's preoccupation with storytelling challenges dominant representations of history and identity and in effect foregrounds different ways to perceive of political realities.
Her novels adventure into a wondrous world where reality and fantasy combine and established patterns of knowledge are juxtaposed with what is conventionally deemed myth. To analyse the potentials and limits of storytelling to do this, the present article examines the fiction of Jeanette Winterson. Key here, I argue, is the ability of stories to inspire the imagination needed to render entrenched political patterns and practices contingent. Yet stories can help to not only construct political realities but also transform them. Stories help to provide structure and meaning in what often seems a random, haphazard world. Storytelling is fundamental to human existence. This article examines Jeanette Winterson's novels to show how storytelling can hold transformative political potential.
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