Here's the list of Fat Studies Panels at the Pop Culture Association conference in New Orleans at the end of April. It looks AMAZING.
http://www.pcaaca.org
Fat Studies I: Making a Big, Fat Difference: Fat Activism
Chair: Sheana Director, Bowing Green State University
The Story of the Chubsters
Charlotte Cooper, University of Limerick
Identity and Inclusion: Expanding Fat Activism
Meghan Griffin, University of Central Florida
(E)Rac(e)ing the Movement: Intersections of Race and Fat in Contemporary Fat Rights Activism
Sheana Director, Bowing Green State University
Fat Therapist, Fat Activist
Kari Petersen, counselor, activist
Fat Studies II: Fatness as It Informs Other Identities
Chair: Lesleigh Owen, Chaffey College
Gender Anxiety and Abject Bodies
Kyla Bender-Baird, researcher, activist
Are We What We Eat?: The Representation of Fatness in Czech Media Contents from a Gender Perspective
Iva Baslarova, Masaryk University
Fat, Young Femininity and Other Slippery Identities
Lesleigh Owen, Chaffey College
Fat Studies III: Encountering and Coping with Anti-Fat Bias
Chair: Elena Levy-Navarro, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
From Individual Coping to Collective Action: Stigma Management in an Online Community
Daiane Scaraboto, York University
Eileen Fischer, York University
“And Of Course She was Fat”: The Presentation and Consumption of Mary Seacole’s Body
Alison McMonagle, The George Washington University
Toward a More Liberal Society: The Dangers of Conversion Therapies and Dieting Programs
Elena Levy-Navarro, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
Fat Studies IV: Tight Fit: The Mental and Physical Experiences of Being Fat
Chair: Lesleigh Owen, Chaffey College
“The Women’s Sizes are in the Back”: Exclusion and Invisibility of Fat Female Bodies in Retail Space [filler title for now]
Barb’ra-Anne Carter, University of Oklahoma
A Difficult Fit: Space, Fatness and the University
Amy Gullage, University of Toronto
Fatness as a Liminal Experience
Hannele Harjunen, Umeå University Centre for Gender Studies
Fat Studies V: Examining Visual Representations of Fatness
Chair: Zeynep Atayurt, scholar, activist
The Voluptuous Art of Beryl Cook
Zeynep Atayurt, scholar, activist
GEORGE DINHAUPT EXHIBITION
George Dinhaupt, California State University, Long Beach
Mind/Body Duality and the Ubiquitous Fat Butt Shot
Bernadette Bosky, Olympiad Academia
Expanding Laughter? Shame(lessness) and Body Image Incongruity in FAT ACTRESS
Katariina Kyrölä, University of Turku
Fat Studies VI: Reading the Fat Text: Fatness in Popular Media
Chair: Julia McCrossin, The George Washington University
Socializing Young Readers: A Content Analysis of Body Size Images in Caldecott Winners
Linda Wedwick, Illinois State University
Nancy Latham, Illinois State University
Tracing the Roots of Kit Reed’s Pro-Fat Body Ideals: An Examination of “The Food Farm” and “The Last Big Sin”
Barbara Risch, University of Texas at El Paso
Blues Legacies and Punk Politics: How Beth Ditto Envoices the Fat Body
Alexandra Apolloni, University of California, Los Angeles
The Future is Fat: WALL*E and the Fear of a Fat Planet?
Julia McCrossin, The George Washington University
19 January 2009
16 January 2009
Fat Panic Journalism Bingo!
Wow, have a look at this amazing tragic fattie feature in The Guardian. Grooo! It's rotten!
Anyway, it's inspired me to make a bingo card for use whenever any of us come across bad "obesity epidemic" journalism, with a mighty tip o' the hat to Bill Savage's Obesity Epidemic Random Story Generator in Big Bums (a few copies still available!). Print and enjoy.
Anyway, it's inspired me to make a bingo card for use whenever any of us come across bad "obesity epidemic" journalism, with a mighty tip o' the hat to Bill Savage's Obesity Epidemic Random Story Generator in Big Bums (a few copies still available!). Print and enjoy.
13 January 2009
Fat Town Pride
I'm moderately obsessed with places that are reputed to be the fattest towns and cities. The National Centre for Social Research, 2000-2002 reported that my home borough of Newham was the fattest in London, although now I believe that Tower Hamlets may have pipped us to the post. Dr Foster's map of "obesity hotspots" provides plenty to wonder about.
Anyway, I was digging through a box of clippings this week and I found this report from 2006 that raised an eyebrow. The quoted sources hint at the shaming and stigmatising of working class neighbourhoods that is inherent when remote "obesity" do-gooders interfere. I'm glad the report embraces local people's defiance of the map.
Bizarrely, the obesity hotspot map referred to here is the product of work by a credit reference company. Why would Experion want this? I notice this report name-checks the Dr Foster map reported a year later by the BBC. What's that about? Is there more than one map? Ehhhh…
Edited to add: Oh my god, I just found this! The PDSA take fat panic to a whole new level.
Anyway, I was digging through a box of clippings this week and I found this report from 2006 that raised an eyebrow. The quoted sources hint at the shaming and stigmatising of working class neighbourhoods that is inherent when remote "obesity" do-gooders interfere. I'm glad the report embraces local people's defiance of the map.
Bizarrely, the obesity hotspot map referred to here is the product of work by a credit reference company. Why would Experion want this? I notice this report name-checks the Dr Foster map reported a year later by the BBC. What's that about? Is there more than one map? Ehhhh…
Edited to add: Oh my god, I just found this! The PDSA take fat panic to a whole new level.
Grey areas
I'm writing in praise of grey areas, ambiguity, complicatedness, mixed-upness and flexibility. I like these things because they are the spanner in the works when people retreat into rightness and wrongness, party lines, insider and outsiders, polarisation, enemy and Other-making.
Lately I've noticed a theme doing the rounds in – ergh, I'm going to use the word – the fatosphere. The theme concerns the drawing of lines. There's a line, some people say, between Them and Us. Once you cross the line, you become one of Them. If you try to lose weight intentionally, or if you have weight loss surgery, you become Them. If you talk about it, you become Them, it doesn't matter how sterling your fat lib credentialsare used to be, they are now worthless.
I've seen other social justice movements founder because of factionalism and it's depressing to see the same things going on in fat liberation. A feminist movement that won't accede membership to women who do sex work, or lesbians who refuse to accept the humanity of their transgender sisters are on the same trajectory as fat libbers who, for example, shut down people who present opportunities to talk about the complexities of choosing weight loss surgery because it's just too painful or awkward to process.
I am coming to realise that I am really not interested in being part of an exclusive movement of politically pure people who observe and enforce the rules. I don't think lines and barriers are very helpful in trying to create a diverse movement and I don't appreciate the resentful silences that are being created on either side. If there's a bad fit between theory and life that degrades and is excluding otherwise excellent people, perhaps the original doctrine is faulty.
I like grey areas because they remind me that dogma might sound appealing but that it is not really human. I like the messiness of humans, that we don't fit neatly into theoretical ideals, that there's always someone who doesn't fit. I think those awkward buggers who don't fit (and keep going on about it to those who do) are the ones to learn from. Shutting them out is plain stupid.
Lately I've noticed a theme doing the rounds in – ergh, I'm going to use the word – the fatosphere. The theme concerns the drawing of lines. There's a line, some people say, between Them and Us. Once you cross the line, you become one of Them. If you try to lose weight intentionally, or if you have weight loss surgery, you become Them. If you talk about it, you become Them, it doesn't matter how sterling your fat lib credentials
I've seen other social justice movements founder because of factionalism and it's depressing to see the same things going on in fat liberation. A feminist movement that won't accede membership to women who do sex work, or lesbians who refuse to accept the humanity of their transgender sisters are on the same trajectory as fat libbers who, for example, shut down people who present opportunities to talk about the complexities of choosing weight loss surgery because it's just too painful or awkward to process.
I am coming to realise that I am really not interested in being part of an exclusive movement of politically pure people who observe and enforce the rules. I don't think lines and barriers are very helpful in trying to create a diverse movement and I don't appreciate the resentful silences that are being created on either side. If there's a bad fit between theory and life that degrades and is excluding otherwise excellent people, perhaps the original doctrine is faulty.
I like grey areas because they remind me that dogma might sound appealing but that it is not really human. I like the messiness of humans, that we don't fit neatly into theoretical ideals, that there's always someone who doesn't fit. I think those awkward buggers who don't fit (and keep going on about it to those who do) are the ones to learn from. Shutting them out is plain stupid.
07 January 2009
Sad News
Although I'm grateful for the notice, I'm very sad to hear of the demise of Big Fat Blog, which will switch off in October this year. I want to say a big fat THANKS to Mr McAleer for his activism over the years, for showing us how it's done, and for supporting the community so excellently. Hats off to you Paul.
Psychics and weight loss industries
I watched this interview between Richard Dawkins and Derren Brown the other day. It's all about the tricks that psychics use to get people to believe them, and about how that relates to religion.
What struck me about the discussion was that Brown could easily have been talking about the diet industry rather than psychics, and that weight loss proponents use similar psychological tricks to dupe people. A deeper analysis is beyond me at the moment, but I noticed a few things as I was watching:
Weight loss industries rely as much on showbiz bravado as psychics, including the use of simple, vivid images that draw people in, such as the Before/After transformation archetype.
That psychics, and weight loss companies and advocates, are types of industries that are unregulated and know they are peddling junk. Brown talks about psychics investing in the lie of their profession because people need the comfort of the belief that their loved ones are still with them, they frame their work as being good for people, kind. But Brown also points out that this is exploitative and that people should decide for themselves what they need. I think the diet industry is similar, framing the products and services they sell as part of a "comforting" fantasy of escape and transformation. I think this is equally unethical.
I was fascinated by Brown's comments about what happens when psychics misread a situation, or fail to get a hook. He said that it doesn't matter if they get it wrong, they are rarely found out because their clients want to believe in them, they suspend disbelief to a staggering degree, they blame themselves if things don't turn out as they'd hoped, or the psychic's smoke and mirrors distract the punters from what's really going on. Sound like diet mentality to you?
Even more stunning were Brown's comments about punters taking offence when their illusions are shattered, that they don't want to know and don't care when psychics are unmasked. It would be really interesting to see if a similar process goes on with dieters.
I liked Brown's point about cultural relativism and how that works to the benefit of psychics. The idea is that all beliefs are equally valid. But Brown and Dawkins reject that, they take a view that belief systems need evidence and testing to establish their legitimacy. With regard to psychics and diets I am inclined to agree.
What struck me about the discussion was that Brown could easily have been talking about the diet industry rather than psychics, and that weight loss proponents use similar psychological tricks to dupe people. A deeper analysis is beyond me at the moment, but I noticed a few things as I was watching:
Weight loss industries rely as much on showbiz bravado as psychics, including the use of simple, vivid images that draw people in, such as the Before/After transformation archetype.
That psychics, and weight loss companies and advocates, are types of industries that are unregulated and know they are peddling junk. Brown talks about psychics investing in the lie of their profession because people need the comfort of the belief that their loved ones are still with them, they frame their work as being good for people, kind. But Brown also points out that this is exploitative and that people should decide for themselves what they need. I think the diet industry is similar, framing the products and services they sell as part of a "comforting" fantasy of escape and transformation. I think this is equally unethical.
I was fascinated by Brown's comments about what happens when psychics misread a situation, or fail to get a hook. He said that it doesn't matter if they get it wrong, they are rarely found out because their clients want to believe in them, they suspend disbelief to a staggering degree, they blame themselves if things don't turn out as they'd hoped, or the psychic's smoke and mirrors distract the punters from what's really going on. Sound like diet mentality to you?
Even more stunning were Brown's comments about punters taking offence when their illusions are shattered, that they don't want to know and don't care when psychics are unmasked. It would be really interesting to see if a similar process goes on with dieters.
I liked Brown's point about cultural relativism and how that works to the benefit of psychics. The idea is that all beliefs are equally valid. But Brown and Dawkins reject that, they take a view that belief systems need evidence and testing to establish their legitimacy. With regard to psychics and diets I am inclined to agree.
02 January 2009
Chubsters welcome you through the month of diet hell
Resist rubbish new year's weight loss resolutions and take to the streets instead! Fight back in belligerent, mean, snarling, lo-fi Chubster style. Here's how:
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