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From Appearance Tales to Oppression Tales

Based on participant observation and taped interviews with participants and leaders in Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous, and the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), this article considers how organizations accomplish frame alignment with their members. All three organizations construct frames of meanings concerning participation, appearance, and food that reflect their own objectives. However, these frames must be aligned with members' own meanings, which, at times, contradict the organizational frame. Frame alignment is accomplished in Weight Watchers by group leaders emphasizing rationality with regards to food, body, and social relationships. Within Overeaters Anonymous, a redemptive frame is constructed that transforms the dieting practices of its members into a spiritual activity. The injustice frame of NAAFA transforms mundane aspects of everyday life, such as eating, into a political activity. As all members adopt the meanings of their respective program, they come to embrace a new personal identity that serves the organization.