Aesthetics, addictions and health advice: understanding ‘tanorexia’ in contemporary Britain, 1978-2016    

This PhD will explore how the acquisition of a tan – a symbol of health and beauty in the West – has become a compulsive disorder, despite the increasing incidence and awareness of its association with melanoma. My study will build on geographical, cultural, psychological, policy-related and economic factors explored in my Liverpool-based MA research by extending to Newcastle and Blackpool. Regions in these cities occupy the top nine positions out of 324 for the highest quantity of sunbed outlets. This will provide a wider and deeper analysis to explain the developing and persistent high usage of sunbeds and increasing use of tanning enhancements pills and injections in these areas.