a little something nice about how fat is omg costing people so much of what they hold so very dear

[fflo]

($$, that is.) (or maybe i should say imaginary $$, $$ of the conjectural chosen focus.)

CarrieP at Big Fat Blog sends us to a new Paul Campos interview at the Atlantic. She points out that the comment thread there is unusually thoughtful, compared to what often follows "obesity" pieces online. I haven't gotten that far with it yet myself, but I'm liking the interview, in bits and pieces today.

Comments

Re: here's the bit, amy/cohost/kessler

[fflo.livejournal.com]

well it kind of actually is a critique of that link--- of the making of that link, of the touting of that link, of the context of (the construction of) fat in that link and others, and in the whole debate, the assumed premises of debate. campos doesn't make just one argument, but one thing he'd like to see questioned (and his anvil implicitly questions) is how the discussion itself reflects and shapes the cultural things you say "got it" to.

fat people have such extensive experience of "health" used as a weapon against us, used in discourse that scapegoats us and truly contributes to our oppression. the kind of skepticism you exhibit, which is perhaps encouraged in people encountering/entertaining campos, is our friend, in that struggle. many of us struggle, as do many not-fat people, with what and how to eat, and how to cope with psychological issues there, along with a slew of others, but the damage done to us by the war on obesity, and our struggle with that, gets way too little attention. even something like evidence along the lines of "diets don't work" gets co-opted by the diet industry. and pharma is a scarier foe than the weight loss biz. a goliath. we need all the davids and slingshots we can round up.

just by asking that question, amy let loose one little rock.

i just got a phone call from a fat kid who's upset. not about fat, just now....

Re: here's the bit, amy/cohost/kessler

[(Anonymous)]

"well it kind of actually is a critique of that link--- of the making of that link, of the touting of that link, of the context of (the construction of) fat in that link and others, and in the whole debate, the assumed premises of debate. campos doesn't make just one argument, but one thing he'd like to see questioned (and his anvil implicitly questions) is how the discussion itself reflects and shapes the cultural things you say "got it" to."

yeah but...i'm getting that sick grad school feeling, with thoughts of "interrogating" as the ultimate goal. a cultural critic can tell me many things, but he/she can't tell me whether there's a link between weight and type II diabetes. i mean, i understand how the premises of debate get set and how the premises can be wrong. but if i had my mother back for example i wouldn't not sweat this possible link because i note propaganda when i see it. because there's an obesity myth, and diets don't work, i wouldn't say to a loved one--oh that's all bullshit. i'd want to sort through the various angles--and agendas--and try to figure out what's true. and if "fat acceptance" has to extend to the food industry, no thanks. i think they do make us all more unhealthy. and i do believe in what kessler calls "conditioned hypereating," etc.

(i'll do anything not to work!)

Re: here's the bit, amy/cohost/kessler

[fflo.livejournal.com]

i think i hear what you're saying here. and ftr (this woman i was chatting with yesterday used "ftr" for short, leaving me to wonder for half an hour what it might stand for, before i finally got "for the record") (so much for shorthand), no version of fat acceptance i know about is cheering for the food industry or for eating disorders (or disordered eating) or for clogged blood vessels or messed up insulin response or sickness or disease or death.

i do think the academic-ish tearing apart (or interrogating or dismantling or pick-your-fashion-word) of unexamined or insufficiently examined cultural practices can have quite real real-world effects. and is worthwhile. if often tedious and irritating and self-congratulatory and a lot of other objectionable/irritating things.