Worley’s article is ineffective, as it does not have much factual information or outside resources with citations, though there are some positives; the article is only contributing opinions and biased statements, which may be effective to some readers, and it is attempting to persuade people to accept fat…
“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 the article “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance,” author Mary Ray Worley discusses the hardships a fat person endures, and the hindering weight of society’s judgements and misconceptions on their shoulders. Worley suggests that these judgmental people cause the real problem in society--the overgeneralization of fatness as a one-shoe-fits-all disease.…
Fat, it is a word we all know very well. It is a simple word, but yet the definition is so complex. In today’s society “fat” has an extremely negative connotation. We criticize and fat shame individuals who do not fit the ideal body type. Recently in a video title, “Dear Fat People”, so-called comedian, Nicole Arbour argues that obese people should be fat shamed because they choose to be that way. Logically, if we make them feel bad about themselves, they will surely be motivated to get skinny and get fit. More than two-thirds of Americans are either obese or overweight. Does that mean that more than half the country thought “Hey, I wanna be victimized and called out on a condition I have no control over”?…
Classifying obesity as a disease is another example of inventing an illness. 2. Also classifying obesity as a disease is another step towards eroding people's autonomy and making them passive participants in their health 3. Medicare and Medicaid are going to get the bill for every bad choice anyone makes, ever. 4. With the exception of when obesity is caused by a known pathology, such as hypothyroidism, it is largely caused by poor decisions—like binging on food or eating lots of candy, ice cream or Cheetos. 5. There is no know gene that makes people choose bad eating habits. 6. The AMA, in classifying obesity as a disease, furthers the dependency, disempowerment and entitlement culture that is eroding scientific truth and personal autonomy in…
“At best, fat people are seen as victims of food, bad genetics codes, or bad metabolism; at worst, they are slovenly, stupid, or without resolve” (Guthman 127). Julie Guthman states in her essay, “Can’t Stomach it: How Michael Pollan el al. Made I Want to Eat Cheetos” her point of view on the obesity epidemic. Her view was clearly states that, she disagreed with the author’s and doctor’s arrogant take on the epidemic. One of her main points in her essay is, “it has become common to speak of an epidemic of obesity” (Guthman 127), but in reality the epidemic is much more complex situation. Other authors agree with Guthman with similar view points, tone, and also similar action routes to end the epidemic. These authors are, Jennifer Webb, Mallory…
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?…
According to Jeffrey Hunger, “people assume there is a direct relationship between how much people weigh and their psychological health.” People that are overweight are more likely to report problems with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. However, majority of the time it’s due to the individual experiencing weight-based discrimination. Also, when individuals face discrimination because of their weight, they tend to avoid exercising in the public and going for doctor appointments. For example, Mr. Hunger stated, “we know that obese and overweight people have an increased motivation to avoid exercising in public.”…
Being fat is OK, written by Paul Campos is a great opinion piece stating that the federal government and BMI charts group people as “overweight” when really they aren’t. Campos addresses that even if you are healthy and exercise, you can still be obese or over weight because of your height and weight. He believes that there are three lies behind it all and society doesn’t know the answer to most of the questions involving weight. Campos doesn’t think its fair that some people have to be considered obese. He thinks the American diet industry is just a scam that gives you cures to lose weight, which won’t even help because of a persons BMI.…
She emphasizes her opinion, that while diet and exercise lead to a healthier figure; they actually lead oneself to become unhealthy from a constant feast and famine cycle. This is due to the negative pressures that American society has placed on the overweight individuals. They will diet in order to achieve their “ideal bodies” but will fail. And when they ultimately fail, the author claims, they, in turn, see themselves as failures. When the individuals fail they return from the famine back to the feast stage and this constant battle begins over and over again.…
In Fat and Happy?, Hillel Schwartz is examining the arguments over obesity and the effectiveness of its treatments. Schwartz mortifyingly claims in his article, that a fat society would be a preferable culture to live in. He uses biased arguments and unsupported information to back his views against the overweight society. He does state some information that is defended by evidence but much of his statements require further confirmation. Schwartz sways his readers opinions over the causes of obesity and the efficiency of its cures using logical fallacies and personal attitudes.…
I have discussed the prejudices orbiting around the idea of being considered fat in Western society earlier in my thesis. These same prejudices do not always begin in the minds of adults, however, but can be sourced back to children. Once these negative notions are in place, they leave a significant effect on a child’s behaviors and feelings on the way they look, changing how they perceive others in social settings, such as school. Children bullying and shaming one another in these environments is a serious issue that helps contribute to the victims’ low self-esteem. Preadolescents who suffer from weight-related teasing tend to find themselves with terrible self-images and a risk of creating unhealthy behaviors later…
This visceral reading of fat bodies is informed by several narratives, most recently the medical narrative surrounding the obesity epidemic but also through moral narratives and identity narratives (such as the fat acceptance movement These narratives often don’t exist separately in the discourse of fatness. In fact they all intermix and draw on each other to give validity and authority to an opinion. In theory, if the cultural knowledge about a fat body is justified by medical fact it affirms that cultural perception for not only the viewed, but also the…
I think that this article is very helpful and if people read this the world would have less obese. Many people say they want to lose weight but don’t always want to know how to fix it or just think it’s too hard. I understand that it is hard to lose weight and people think that it’s just a breeze but it’s not. I think that if people knew what they were eating they wouldn’t eat as much as they do. I, myself know overweight people and know that if they really want to lose weight they could, just like people can do whatever they put their mind up…