OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES, HAMPLANETS, AND FATSPEAK: THE VENTING GENRE AS SUPPORT AND SUBVERSION ON REDDIT’S r/FATPEOPLESTORIES

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Signorelli, J. (2017). OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES, HAMPLANETS, AND FATSPEAK: THE VENTING GENRE AS SUPPORT AND SUBVERSION ON REDDIT’S r/FATPEOPLESTORIES. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Ten posts from the Reddit community Fat People Stories (/r/fatpeoplestories) and their corresponding comment sections comprise an analytical corpus of 45,867 words. Using both Askehave and Nielsen’s (2005) two-dimensional model for genre analysis and Bax’s (2011) heuristic for discourse analysis, the corpus is examined through these lenses to determine the various move structures and rhetorical strategies that constitute the genre of venting and, more specifically, the communicative purpose of this genre in the Fat People Stories Community. This study is then able to forward a definition of venting as its own genre distinct from its frequent conflation with ranting in the existing literature to date. Additionaly, as health and body image remains a contentious and controversial topic, the functions of venting within the Fat People Stories community has implications for discourse surrounding the obesity epidemic and public health as a whole.

Details
Author

Signorelli, Julia

Title

OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES, HAMPLANETS, AND FATSPEAK: THE VENTING GENRE AS SUPPORT AND SUBVERSION ON REDDIT’S r/FATPEOPLESTORIES

Physical Description

1 online resource (112 pages) : PDF

Date

2017

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Ten posts from the Reddit community Fat People Stories (/r/fatpeoplestories) and their corresponding comment sections comprise an analytical corpus of 45,867 words. Using both Askehave and Nielsen’s (2005) two-dimensional model for genre analysis and Bax’s (2011) heuristic for discourse analysis, the corpus is examined through these lenses to determine the various move structures and rhetorical strategies that constitute the genre of venting and, more specifically, the communicative purpose of this genre in the Fat People Stories Community. This study is then able to forward a definition of venting as its own genre distinct from its frequent conflation with ranting in the existing literature to date. Additionaly, as health and body image remains a contentious and controversial topic, the functions of venting within the Fat People Stories community has implications for discourse surrounding the obesity epidemic and public health as a whole.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Linguistics
Sociolinguistics

Degree

M.A.

Subject Area

English

Advisor(s)

Blitvich, Pilar

Committee Members

Miller, Elizabeth
Davis, Boyd

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2017.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Signorelli_uncc_0694N_11594

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1543