Competing Cultural Discourses of GLP-1 Agonists: An Application of Relational Dialectics Theory

Abstract

As GLP-1 medications become more available and FDA approved in a number of cases, discourses related to their use by individuals for purposes of weight loss and management permeate social life. Prominently, weight management is often positioned in society and researched as a private matter of individual choice, behavior, and responsibility. Relational dialectics theory posits culturally dominant discourses and marginalized discourses to be in constant flux with power as central to meaning construction. Therefore, we examine the competing discourses that animate the weight management experiences of people who have used, have considered using, or are currently using GLP-1 medications to manage their weight through the lens of relational dialectics theory. Through an online, qualitative survey (n = 130) and contrapuntal analysis, we identify four discourses: GLP-1s as a magic bullet and quick fix; deservingness; GLP-1s as freedom and control; and GLP-1s as medically necessary. The interplay of these discourses reveals people using GLP-1 medications for weight management as being doubly stigmatized. As such, they are stigmatized both for their weight and their method of weight management resulting in an inability to escape dominant discourses.