diet industrial complex

When it comes to diet articles—specifically articles about what women eat—I think it's only natural (if depressing) that we're interested. And we must be, because stories like this one grace the front pages of tabloids, women's magazines, and blogs almost daily. We live in a culture that commodifies women's bodies and promotes near-impossible beauty ideals, so why wouldn't we be curious as to how some of our most popular products get made? When we're constantly told that there's only one way that women should look (tall, young, thin, white, able-bodied, conventionally pretty, etc.), we're bound to be curious when someone tells us how we too can look that way. A "You're not gonna believe this diet!" headline is a lazy but surefire way to get readers, especially female readers, to pay attention.