Grubancypacja as a word-formation and conceptual structure in the Polish discourse on obesity

Abstract

The article concerns the analysis of new word-formation structures functioning in the contemporary discourse created by fat people who accept their bodies (its appearance and condition) and actively oppose the stigmatization and exclusion of people due to their appearance (and especially: body weight). The key expression in this analysis (word grubancypacja) is described as a lexeme and as a conceptual structure expressing the beliefs and value system of one of the discursive formations in the broader discourse on obesity. In the texts constituting the examined discourse, the adjective gruby ‘fat’ (as well as the noun grubość ‘being fat’) in relation to people with large body weight is used as neutral or even positive (as an element of their identity). The adjective otyły ‘obese’ becomes an indicator of the negative, oppressive identification of these people with a disease (obesity disease) and the social (stereotypical) image of obesity. Methodologically, the article refers to the basics of structuralist description of word-formation, extended with cognitive components — the conceptual blending theory is applied. The analyzed material consists primarily of texts published on the Internet by the Polish fat acceptance movement activists: Urszula Chowaniec and Natalia Skoczylas.