Name: Sydney Hurley

Social Justice Group: Women’s Role and Representation in the Media (print/ads/tv)

Date of Fieldwork: January 12, 2023

Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Natalia Petrzela

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork?[:: :

Our group interviewed Natalia Petrzela, she is a parent in middle school, a writer, a historian, professor, fitness expert and activist. She has written two books, one about America’s obsession with fitness, and another about modern political culture. She has written several articles in different newspapers, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, CNN, and the Atlantic.

In our interview, she talked about America’s fitness culture and body standards, and how it’s changed throughout the decades. In the 90s it was desired to be super slim, a term that it sometimes referred to as “model skinny”. In the 2000s, it turned more curvy with big boobs and wide hips, but small waist and not much of a stomach, and that gained a lot of popularity with the Kardashians as they were looked up to as body inspo. She mentioned how while taking fitness classes in the past, it was more common for fitness instructors to encourage the women to work out, but not for the sake of them and their health, but instead to “lose last night’s cake”. Instead, we as a society should be focused on helping women become the healthiest and happiest versions of themselves that they can be. It gave us a very interesting new idea of all the things that can affect women’s representation.

As we continue with our topic, this interview helped us a lot with a new perspective on how women’s body trends affect their mental and physical health. This interview was very informational and helpful and we are very grateful for the opportunity to speak with her.