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The Fat Wars
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Anna Wintour's remarks about Oprah's weight sent fat-acceptance activists into overdrive this week. Marisa Meltzer writes about the fat-shionista backlash, including a bestselling new book—Lessons From the Fat-O-Sphere—that argues that the best diet is no diet at all.
When Anna Wintour appeared on 60 Minutes last weekend, the subject of the Vogue editor’s uniformly thin body ideal invariably came up. "There's such an epidemic of obesity in the United States, and for some reason, everybody focuses on anorexia," she said, adding that she could only “kindly describe” Minnesota residents as “little houses.” Here, she made a wide gesture with her hands to show how wide the Minnesotans in question really were. She said, however, that her true goal is to teach readers how to “eat, exercise, and take care of themselves in a healthier way.”
Wintour’s is, if nothing else, an egalitarian policy. When Oprah Winfrey landed the cover of Vogue in 1998, she was told by the editor to slim down first. "It was a very gentle suggestion," Wintour said. "I went to Chicago to visit Oprah, and I suggested that it might be an idea that she lose a little bit of weight…I said simply that you might feel more comfortable.”
And then there was this month’s Vanity Fair, with a cover story on Jessica Simpson—target of much tabloid debate this winter after photos surfaced of her filling out an unflattering pair of mom jeans and a tank top—in which its writer, Rich Cohen, tries to address the elephant in the room: “She didn’t want to talk about her weight, so, of course, that’s all I could think of,” he writes. “What are you working on now [that you’re fat]?”
Enter Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby, the authors of a new book, Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with Your Body, who promise there is an alternative to diet extremes. The goal of the book is to "achieve detente" with your body. Their premise is that dieting or "permanent lifestyle change" or whatever we (and by "we," they seem to be saying "women") call it doesn't work in the long-term. The authors suggest that we turn our anger away from ourselves and towards the diet industry, our culture, and the media that encourages us to hate ourselves.
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It’s not a new idea—Susie Orbach’s Fat Is a Feminist Issue came out in the ‘70s—but the book, which is based on Harding and Kirby’s popular fat (“fat” is their preferred term) acceptance blogs (Harding’s is “Shapely Prose”, which Kirby blogs at “The Rotund”, is a tentative hit: Just a few days after it came out early this month, it had reached the number-one position on the Powells.com list. Kirby thinks that the book is finding such a willing audience right now is because “body policing has ratcheted up more than usual.” Just ask Jessica Simpson.
A little background: Harding and Kirby are big voices in the so-called fat acceptance movement, a fight that has been around since the 1970s and now has national organizations and regularly updated newsletters to keep up the momentum. But the movement seems to be gaining some steam—not only with the publication of Fat-o-sphere and the media reaction to Wintour’s comments or the scrutiny surrounding Simpson, but with new trends, like Fatshionistas —a group of fashion blogs and photo galleries dedicated to plus-size garb. The popular women’s site, Jezebel, put up a post about the Fatshionistas on Monday as a response to Wintour’s remarks, yielding a stream of pro-fat comments, including to concise: “All I have to say to Ms. Wintour is FUCK. YOU.”
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Wednes
Do real medical doctors really say that fat causes suicide and "other mental health issues"? I suppose if being fat makes you hate yourself to that point maybe, but fat does not inherently cause suicide--for heaven's sake!
Learning to love your body regardless of size seems like a pretty reasonable solution to me. After all, it can be damn difficult to take care of a body you've been taught to hate.
etindc
Why is there a "how the stars slim down" gallery appended to this story about how celebrities present an un-normal body image?
baptox
Beacause Tina Brown is as sold as as it gets.
missbike
If you go out on the street and people yell ugly names at you, people you've never seen before and don't know- guess what? You hide inside with no social life and get horribly depressed. Then suicidal. Then you get treated with drugs that cause huge weight gains because psychiatrists are so heavily bought off.
Maybe then it keeps getting worse? Yeah, being yelled insults at constantly and catching abuse from society in general can push women into isolation, depression, and suicide.
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Wednes
The fact that you equate fat people with murderers and rapists illustrates just how deeply some people's ignorance and dismissiveness runs.
Intolerance is also bad and ugly, and I don't accept it.
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snakesonablog
This has to be the stupidist comment I've ever read on the net, even though I factored in a hyperbole component.
If a person wants to eat himself or herself to ill health, what's it to you? It is their body, to do with as they wish. This is very different from someone destroying ANOTHER life by rape or murder.
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snakesonablog
Your taxes and healthcare costs won't increase because of obesity any more than they do because of smokers. It will be the obese who pay those costs. What a stupid argument. And, quit backtracking on what you said. Your examples were proposed as an equivalency argument.
Personally, I'd rather ban stupidity, perhaps with voluntary sterilization to improve the gene pool. I suggest you volunteer as the first subject.
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cbeenthere
sarastro is becoming the know it all of the DB.
dragonlilleth
Fat is not healthy. It killed my mother. Diabetic and dead at 56 from an MI. It also causes fertility problems because it makes estrogen. We should all strive for a healthy BMI, 18-25. Forget the rail thin models, that's idiotic too. But fat is ugly because it is unhealthy and to say I'm 300 lbs and healthy is dillusional. And we are all paying for the increased health care costs of the obese. Sarastro3, I'm with you all the way!!
qazwerty
I read that some evidence has shown that a sedentary lifestyle is more likely the cause of problems people associate with fatness. Since a sedentary lifestyle tends to correlated with fatness, people assume that fat itself is the cause of problems when it is also a symptom.
This explains why there are thin, unhealthy people and fat, healthy people.
FawnLiebowitz
S3 is right--fat is gross and moreover, its completely avoidable, unlike cancer, or high blood pressure or even being ugly. Just stop shoving unhealthy food into your mouth whenever the urge hits you and try to get a little exercise--voila! No disgusting fat!
missbike
You're one of those mean girls who bullied other girls in high school. It doesn't work out here, Miss Neurotic Little Wait Until You See What Life Throws Your Way.
Maybe it'll be one of the cancer treatments that makes you fat. Maybe you'll have a wreck and gain 100 pounds from not being able to move around. Don't be nasty because karma will see to you...
And fat bullies think ten pounds over size zero is fat. Your opinion is meaningless.
yessika
For Anna Wintour's reference, the slimmest state in the nation is Colorado, with an obesity prevalence of 18.7%. While that's no great shakes, the picture's even more grim for both New York and Minnesota, which are remarkably close in obesity rates -- 25% of New York State residents are obese, with 25.4% of Minnesota residents obese. Turns out New Yorkers are *also* the size of houses...
blade87
The frantic tone over the weight of public women has become obsessively shrill. Even dumber is the stern medical personnel happily giving quotes how death stalks anyone (which it does, since humans have definitive life span) with a BMI over 24.
But somehow these fat acceptance people are even worse. Human beings look their worst when too fat- or too skinny, for that matter. Both states of being are unhealthy.
The constant drumbeat of dire fat news just makes everyone feel crummy, except those like Winotour who showcase their smug inanities.
What we need to focus on is what we as individuals can control and let the rest go. Stop buying the stupid magazines, stop bingeing and purging, get off the yo-yo diet.
dragonlilleth
Well said! There's plenty of information out there about how to live a healthy lifestyle at a healthy weight. We should all be striving to do so. Oh, and obesity is reproductively not healthy...not a good survival characteristic. While I'm at it, fat is not a good term, it's too relative. Obese has a definition and should be used instead.
baptox
I agree with most of what you said but want to add that focus on appearance is a reflection of the rampant narcisissim in our culture, and narcissism, not weight or health, is the real problem.
Women need to reject focus on their bodies and expend those energies on creating a better world. A better personal world is good physical health, which involves eating healthful foods and exercising. But let's not stop there. Mental health issues will almost always undermine physical health (smoking, poor eating habits, anorexia, obesity, unnecessary surgical procedures, for example) if individuals are brainwashed by ideals.
Critics of womens' bodies need only to wait a few years and experience the contempt our culture has for older people, regardless of their weight, body size or gender.
finderj
Good grief.
First, define "fat". Obesity is a medical condition with an accepted, research-based definition.
Fat is an opinion.
Second, realize that media images are incredibly disporportinate to the average American woman. A 5'8" or taller actress/model/performer who weighs under 135 lbs is a.) taller than the average of 5'5", and b.) between twenty and thirty-five pounds underweight for her height. (Read those medical charts - this isn't new information)
Last, let it go.
If a woman at the table on the other side of the room weighs four hundred pounds, and is not receiving government assistance (read: taxpayer dollars), then what she weighs and what she eats are none of our business.
Overweight people receiving taxpayer dollars to deal with health issues caused by weight are in a different category. While "Nanny" government cannot and should not police personal choice to that extent, both food stamp recepients and Medicare/Medicaid recepients can be encouraged to make healthier eating choices through simple changes in those programs.
In other words, don't let media imagery be the basis for your judgement of who is 'fat' and who is not.
sophia5
Is there any global warming in "Wintour's" cold world?
What's up with the sun glasses indoors?
To cover insecure eyes?
Eyes as steely and unapproachable as a grey London day?
baptox
My guess, from her incredibly unhappy demeanor, ridiculous comments, and obsession with materialism and the external ideal, is that she's a closet smoker, drug addict, anorectic and/or alcoholic. If nothing else, she exhibits very poor mental and spiritual health.
The corporate fashion world is not kind to aging women, either. She is lashing out at others to avoid criticism of herself. How sad and what a wasted life.
dcnoble
I come from short, small stock. Most members of my family are the same. However, a few family members are significantly overweight. What I notice most is that they have a diminished range of activities they can participate in--no hiking, skiing, swimming, etc. Mostly they hang out, watch TV, eat, etc.
When you cannot climb a flight or two of stairs without getting winded, or hike a few miles in the woods, or take the kids for a full day at Disneyland, how can you claim to be healthy? Just because you haven't developed a serious health condition yet, doesn't mean you aren't already on that road.
I am all for loving the body you are in, but this idea of fat acceptance is dangerous because it is not medically correct. Being overweight is unhealthy, so is starving yourself. I think Jessica Simpson still falls safely in the middle. Kelly Clarkson looks unhealthy.
Genni2002
dcnoble - this is the point exactly: 'Jessica Simpson still falls safely in the middle. Kelly Clarkson looks unhealthy.' You cannot necessarily tell by looking at a person if the person is healthy or not or falls in the middle or not. A skinny purger may look okay on the outside but the inside may be curdling, right?
Just because you can see a person's size does not make their weight an intensely personal issue and so why people feel they have the right to just go on and comment about it like it is their business anyway is beyond me. Shut the f*** up and set examples. Ms. Wintour seems expresses views that make her sound like some kind of caricature of a fashion magazine editor...
exploora
You are right, and then the health issues come next. I have see people getting fat, they quit baseball, cycling, and they sit and eat and watch tv, then get fatter. I think the mp3 are great, cause they can really help you enjoy a walk, as long as you dont get mugged, of course. I think people worry about that alot.
snakesonablog
That's true, but it's a cycle, isn't it? They are too embarrassed to exercise or be seen.
mindlessmissy
The Fatwahs ???
I did not know we had those in America ... YET !
exploora
I think fat does cause high blood pressure and diabetes, I know someone who just got diagnosed with that, who is very fat, and lost 7 pounds, and still is very fat.
And I know someone else who was advised to lose 10 pounds by their doctor, to avoid the risk of getting diabetes and high blood pressure. And it is harder to do. Cause eating is alot of fun :) and right now there are a lot of specials on to stimulate the economy.
dailyplanet
So...now it comes to this so incredibly hateful and ignorant comment posted here. Fat people on government "assistance" such as food stamps and medicare/medicaid should now be vilified for over-eating/eating unwisely!!! It's not horrific enough being poor and exercising every human's right to medical care...now these people have to be trashed for eating too much. Are there people so lacking in humanity that they damn the frailties of others so callously? I guess there are! Why not implement mandatory weigh-ins and deny medical treatment for fat people so your tax dollars won't be wasted! I'll tell you one thing...and it's a real eye-opener...it's better to be rich and thin than fat and poor.
exploora
I sort of agree with you, but it is the same with smoking and being treated for asthma or copd or something, they usually try to get the person to quit smoking, cause it is part of the problem, and I have heard of people being denied lungs cause they still smoke, but if they keep smoking they are probably addicted, and might not be able to quit, unless they are tied up in bed or something.
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missbike
You really are ignorant. Not just mean, Sarastro- mean and ignorant! I wish I could see what you'll look like twenty years from now... so fat you can't walk. It's coming.
exploora
I remember when I a kid we had a treat on the weekend, and I think that is the sensible way to go. Having treats every day I think puts the weight on.
Going to Macdonalds once a week I think is ok, going every day is bound to cause problems, Macdonalds doesn't even recommend it.
Just like drinking cola, If you drink too much, they are discovering it can lower your potassium rate, and cause paralysis.
I think a box of cereal to snack on, verses a bag chips for a snack. I see people in the grocery store buying ten big bags of chips, and they are fat. If I buy a bag of chips, I buy a small bag and I buy one bag. You really have to be careful. Once you get fat, you have to feed the fat.
snakesonablog
I think the epidemic is tied to soybean oils used in processed foods (which are high in Omega 6's, and inflame the system, and corn syrup in everything (which the body does not recognize for satiety, and which, in fact, stimulates appetite).
cregis
I suggest that anyone who is overweight not buy Vogue. After all Vogue shouldn't want fat money. It's not their thing. People should not care what this Vogue person thinks of them.
Care about yourself.
harlowe
Wintour is an idiot, but so are those that cheer on people being fat. Obesity is not healthy, you shouldn't just accept or embrace it. That's like embracing your heart disease or cancer, no you fight it.
Wintour however is the larger idiot, because she perpetuates unhealthiness in other ways and she's such a vapid bitch. Minnesota houses? Oh really? I hope people in Minnesota stop buying her ad-fest of a magazine (is there really a magazine between all those ads). Anyway on to her stupidity, the studies are showing the highest incidences of obesity is in the South (you know the opposite of North) with Mississippi having the highest incidences of obesity. The Midwest is the middle of the road, but Minnesota is ranked the healthiest state to live in with regard to health insurance and the number of adults who exercise.
How do I put this delicately like she did? Ms. Wintour's brain is like this (fingers show the size of a pea).
http://calorielab.com/news/2008/07/02/fattest-states-2008/
http://money.aol.com/mortgage/healthiest-states
missbike
She really is incredibly stupid, but even worse she's amazingly neurotic. See the haircut she can hide behind? The carefully parsed words that have a very different meaning? She got where she is because she's a huge bully- and woman bullies always rely heavily on the "you're fat" remark. And she's so thin at that age because her neurotic self starvation didn't require a lot of puking. Ruins the insides, stops the heart...
But all those no ass ribs stuck out old New York women are famous for wolfing down one thing- amphetemines. Kind of cheating?
nclark499
As a child, I enjoyed eating whatever I liked, whenever I liked. Those habits became a problem when I grew older. Not only was I less active but I had two children. And then I got fat - or should I say medically obese. I was really okay with it. I still felt very stylish and sexy - my husband loved my curves. Then I noticed my health deteriorating. In the past year I have lost 45 pounds, dropped 4 pants sizes, and never felt better.
Why did I do it? Not because some bitch at Vogue magazine thinks all women should be ultra-thin. I did it so I could play with my kids and enjoy time with my husband. As a junior high teacher, I use my experience to counteract what Vogue (and other magazines like it) are teaching our youth. I have lost weight by making better food choices, not stuffing myself with fast food, and getting some exercise.
It makes me sad that someone with so much power to evoke change chooses to be snobbish and nasty.
liviapeacock
I think the "Hamburger Helper" commercial, before the segment appeared said it all...
Before we tell you about the world's thinnest, richest, most beautiful people, we'll plant the seed of high carbs, high sodium, high fat first--oh, and not a veggie in sight.
Ahh, media.
Thank you.
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