Week 3 Reading Response PDF

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Weekly Reading Mini-Essay Assignment...

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Mia McConnell Politics of Health 23 January, 2018 1

Fat Panic and the New Morality, 1st segment from This American Life "Tell Me I'm Fat" on Lindy Who is the text by and who is it for? (1-2 sentences) "Fat Panic and the New Morality" is a critical essay written by Kathleen Lebesco, a researcher of politics of fatness in U.S. culture, that was published in Jonathan Metzl's book Against Health in 2010. Lebesco is responding critically to both general American culture and rhetoric on the "obesity epidemic" and also to critiques of the epidemic who have sought to propose realistically problematic strategies. In the first segment of This American Life's 2016 podcast "Tell Me I'm Fat", author, comedian, and activist Lindy West has a conversation with the host Ira Glass that surrounds Lindy's desire to reshape the image and rhetoric of being fat that she outlines in her book Shrill. Similar to Lebesco, Lindy seeks to respond to critical and demeaning perceptions of being fat that she has individually struggled with and that stain American concepts of bodies and health by expressing her message to the general public that holds and reinforces these misperceptions. What is it (they) about, empirically? What is being studied as the object? (1-2 sentences) Both the essay Fat Panic and the New Morality and this American Life's "Tell Me I'm Fat" podcast are focused on the out-sized concern for the "obesity epidemic". Lebesco and Lindy both study American culture, medical professionals, and individuals (including the authors themselves) to expose and critique the many different ways in which the "obesity epidemic" is manifested, projected, and consequential. How was the information in the text generated? Lebesco's information was substantially generated from her research of the politics of fatness in US culture over the last 10 years, including several years that she spent specifically tracking critical responses in public discourse to the "obesity epidemic" and the political intentions behind the 'healthist' strategies proposed by critics. Lebesco also included personal information, especially in the last segment of the text, from her own experiences with weight-loss programs as she reflected both on an upsetting experience with "Weight Watchers @ Work" and a hopeful experience with the movement HAES. Lindy's information was almost entirely generated from her own experiences that are described in her book Shrill. While she mostly described her experiences and observations, specifically the incident with her boss that was a turning point for her perception of fatness, Lindy also refers to some statistical data on obesity in the US and depictions of fatness in the media that are included in her book.

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What is the main argument(s) and goal(s) of the writing? (3-5 sentences) Lebesco argues that the relentless social campaign on the U.S. "obesity epidemic" is a socially acceptable cover-up for a "moral panic" . This panic is manifested and exemplified by aggressive concern "about an imagined threat", hostility in the form of pointing fingers of blame, consensus, disproportionality of the consequences of fatness, and volatility of cultural norms. Fatness has been misconceived to be a direct result of intentional individual choices, "bad" eating habits, and a determining factor of whether we are good or bad people to produce a culture that demonizes fatness and shames fat bodies. In short, Lebesco conveys that this "moral panic" extends beyond reinforcing health norms to bolster aesthetic norms, unhealthy methods of weight loss and inaccurate depictions of self-discipline. In conclusion, Lebesco questions the political motivations hidden behind the "obesity epidemic" and also questions whether counter-arguments under the 'healthist' umbrella are in an attempt to "condemn or rescue fat people from moral censure" (78). Lindy retells her story of her brain 'changing' shape around the perception of fatness to argue the power and liberty in coming out as fat. In order to emphasize the necessity for a shift in mindsets, Lindy reveals the ways in which society misrepresents fatness as a temporary state of failure and the cruel manner in which individuals, doctors, and an entire culture shames and isolates fat people with in-genuine and unwarranted concerns about fat people's "health". Lindy argues that contrary to popular opinion behind the "obesity epidemic" people are not choosing to be unhealthy, especially considering how many individuals are, according to medical assessments, "fat". In reality, shame and diets rarely produce any positive results for fat people and instead tear down mental health and confidence. Ultimately, Lindy disentangles the belief that being fat is a temporary state of failure that should make individuals sad and apologetic and instead argues the happiness she felt when she "came out" as fat and found the aspects of being fat objectively beautiful. Discuss a passage (citing page number) that inspired, frustrated or provoked you, explaining why it did so (4-6 sentences) I really loved Lebesco's recount of her experience with the HAES, Health at Every Size, movement. I was inspired by the way in which this movement promotes respect for "bodily diversity" by endorsing truly healthy ways to be "healthy". Rather than impose unrealistic and extreme weight-loss and dieting programs that primarily just hurt the mental health of individuals rather than inspire them, HAES encourages balanced eating that is both nutritious and pleasing, physical activity that is in the name of exercise rather than weight loss, and ultimately prioritizes the well-being of individuals (80). My favorite part of this extensive passage was the concluding line that depicted HAES as a program that "throws a funhouse mirror on the supposedly "healthy body" as a signifier of moral worth" (81).

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I was extremely frustrated by the quote Lindy gives from her boss's book on his experience in South Dakota. Although I have personally fallen susceptible to the critiques of the "obesity epidemic" that both Lindy and Lebesco expose, I was shocked by the cruelness in Savage's depiction of individuals at the water park in South Dakota. I felt as though Savage dehumanized these individuals enjoying their day at a water park by referring to them as some perfect example of the obesity epidemic in the United States with almost a humorous and sarcastic tone as he states that "anyone who denies the existence of the obesity epidemic in the United States hasn't been to a water park in Sioux Falls". He goes on with this cruel tone by remarking how much the water level would "[drop] 6 feet" if the people got out of the wave pool - removing any concern for these people’s feelings or mental states to simply point out their weights.

Pose two **open-ended** questions for class discussion based on the text Lindy drew a parallel between the "ew" that people project on fat people and the "ew" that drives anti-gay bigots. Do you think that this parallel holds validity and if so what are the greater consequences Lindy is trying to reveal with this parallel? Lebesco recounts how the image of fatness has changed dramatically over time as American culture became marked by an abundance of resources rather than a scarcity of them. Furthermore, Lebesco argues that fatness became associated with certain races, genders, and classes. Do you believe that there is potential for this image of fatness to change again in the future? If social norms to change could they have the power to disentangle the current associations we have with fatness and either remove associations or produce new associations?...