In the article “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance” written by Mary Ray Worley, she points out that obesity is considered negative, because society has determined that it is. She supports this idea, by reflecting back to her personal experiences of attending the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) convention in San Diego, which is a convention to support and love yourself. Worley claimed it was like “another planet,” because of the “diversity” of sizes. According to Worley, everyone was accepted in this “planet” while in her “home planet”, that acceptance was lacking (Worley 163).…
Susan Bordo examines Western culture as it relates to the body, specifically the slender body in this chapter of her book, Unbearable Weight. Diets have been important since the Ancient Greek and Middle Ages, where the Greeks mastered their “public” selves by regulating “food intake… as a road to self-mastery” and the Christians fasted for their “inner” selves to achieve “spiritual purification and domination of the flesh” (page 185). By the nineteenth century, diet became associated with the aesthetics of the physical body and “fat, not appetite or desire, became the declared enemy” (page 185). The ideal body has no excess “bulge, fat, or flab” (page 189); this is a simply impossible standard for women to achieve due to their given biological…
“Dieting makes everything worse, for the chances are high that fat people will fail. They will be saddened and frustrated by their failures” (Schwartz 180). She gives us her view of a fat society. This society is one, which in fact only fat people reside. No no more vindication on people with larger size.…
In her essay, Worley compares twentieth-century society to a NAAFA convention she attended. Worley describes her home as a place where “you’re grateful if you can find clothes that you can actually get on, and forget finding clothes that actually fit you.” In Worley’s eyes American culture has always treated obese people as a lower class and pushed aside anything that was designed for a fat person. On the other hand, at the convention she finds a planet created specifically for overweight people. The convention opened her eyes to an entirely different planet that is free of inhibitions with nothing to be ashamed of. There she could find clothes that shaped to her body perfectly and she was entertained by belly dancers of all shapes and sizes that “were exquisitely beautiful and voluptuous” (493). She then goes on to discuss how society views fat people and how she believes health care professionals are prejudice towards them. Mary concludes by arguing that like her, all obese people can learn to love their bodies and “play and dance without self-consciousness” (496).…
Since Jennifer was a kid, she has gotten the comments about her looks, that she is big, lazy and disgusting, and she believed them. As a strong person she knew she was more than just a fat girl, a slob. She started exercising, eating healthy, but no matter how hard she “tried to run, swim or cycle away from it, her weight found her”. Jennifer was fit and healthy, but wasn’t happy with the way she looks. “The worst discrimination I have suffered because of my gender is nothing compared to what I experience daily because of my weight. I am sick of it”, Jennifer A. Coleman says.…
In Amanda Spake’s article, “Rethinking Weight”, and Daniel Heimpel’s article “Who Says Americans are Fat?”, the authors discuss underlying issues concerning weight, analyzing the the risks of obesity. They go beyond these risks to examine society’s perception of what is and isn’t obese to discuss where these problems begin and how we should go about ending them. Using facts and large amounts of data, these authors covey their positions in a logical and empirical manner, while at times weaving in their own opinions to persuade readers one way to the other. Although “Rethinking Weight” by Amanda Spake seems to share similar concerns and ideas with “Who Says Americans are Fat?” by Daniel Heimpel, there are significant differences…
* How might the ‘fat’ body be seen as a threat to ‘acceptable’ norms of behavior?…
Obesity has been identified in the 21st Century as one of the most serious health epidemics. Being obese is also one of the most preventable diseases today. Several factors contribute to a person becoming overweight: lack of exercise, excessive caloric intake, and genetic heredity. Personally, all three factors contributed to my disease. Overcoming obesity has been one of the greatest learning experiences that I have encountered. During my five year journey to a healthier lifestyle, I have recently been called to bring justice to this socially debilitating crisis. Passionately, I feel compelled to assist others in the same predicament that once ran my life. The effects on your health, personality, and behaviors are incredibly different when comparing and obese individual from one who is of a healthy weight. Another component identified through this journey, is the oppression that occurs and is felt by obese people. Oppression is a consequence of discrimination. Acceptance in society is challenging for an obese person, buying clothes that fit is hard, and fitting in an airplane seat is excruciating. I am compelled to stand up to these types of oppression and bring justice to it.…
Instead of tearing overweight people down, they can encourage them to take action to help them live a happy and healthy life. Sometimes in life, people need to understand that it takes positive remarks and actions to help one another out while facing struggles. Society poses this stupid idea that you have to be a certain size to model, or be on TV and that’s unacceptable. It’s time to take action now and stop the mindset that fat people are unaccepted.…
In addition to risking physical health, obesity can impair psychological health. Being perceived as fat can be the source of ridicule, ostracism, and sometimes discrimination from others; it can…
Part I of The Weight of the Nation discussed the effects of the obesity epidemic in America. It immediately grabbed my attention when they stated that more than 18% of American children are obese. Two-thirds of America (or 68.8%) is overweight or obese. There is a strong connection between a high BMI and diabetes mellitus and hypertension, especially when accompanied by a high percentage of abdominal fat. I found it interesting, and important, that the first woman who shared her story pointed out the psychosocial effects of her obesity. She expressed that her self-esteem is affected by how her husband expresses his view of her weight. She later stated, “You get tired of that feeling of failure," regarding her failed efforts at losing weight.…
Over the years, my perspective on obesity has been informed by education in the fields of public health, family therapy, and feminist theory. While obesity may appear to have a clear definition, BMI of 30 or greater, speak this word in any of the three aforementioned disciplines and you will receive some opposing views. My goal for this report is to outline some key terms surrounding obesity based on field and argue for a more inclusive, interdisciplinary understanding rather than a one-sided view.…
Obesity is a serious problem in America. It is a much bigger problem than people perceive. In fact, over a third of the nation’s population is obese. Being obese and being overweight is not the same thing, although they are often perceived as being the same. Being overweight means that a person weighs too much in comparison with their height; however, obesity is observed by the amount of body fat a person has (Winters 44). Americans perceive being obese the same way they perceive being overweight; they see both as simply being a cosmetic problem that can be fixed with the right nutrition and diet (Hughes 72). This may be true for people that are overweight; however obesity is a very serious health problem whose solution must be further studied. In fact, the rate of obesity has raised so much over the past decades, it is considered to be one of America’s biggest health problems (Wang 1572). For one to solve the health problem of obesity, he or she must not assume that the solution of obesity for everyone is diet and exercise, but they must look further into obesity in race and age to determine the real factors.…