The issue of body size seems to have cropped up on Barbelith a bit, of late – most notably in the context of catwalk fashion, and
camera features – and I thought a Head Shop thread on body size/shape and culture might be productive.
I feel as though the last couple of years have brought body size into focus in an unprecedented way. UK Magazines now specialise in details of celebrity weight gain and loss. A concern in the US and UK over obesity keeps surfacing in the news.
Size is being politicised (in a way somewhat similar to the politicisation of gender and disability). This kicked off decades ago in the 1980s with texts such as Susie Orbach’s Fat is a Feminist Issue (of which I can't argue the title’s point, but don't like the conclusion) and a growing awareness of eatign disorders (See Orbach’s Hunger Strike, Bordo’s Unbearable Weight and the chapter ‘Hunger’ in Wolf’s The Beauty Myth). The Size Acceptance and Fat Acceptance movements interest me (I’ll stick up some texts later in the thread – mostly I’ve been reading websites and random zines). They ask questions about how the scientific, medical and social research are conducted and reported, and also about more general cultural beliefs.
One thing I never expected to see was an awareness of eating disorders in the mainstream media, which is then used as a tool to tell women what shape their bodies should be. Part of Naomi Wolf's point was that if people knew anorexia existed, something would be done. Now, 'Celeb denies anorexia' or 'Celeb admits bulimia' have become just another two headlines – any political analysis of how eating disorders function in society has been lost, and they've become a sign of personal trauma or weakness.
I wanted to get a bit anecdotal, I hope helpfully. Whenever I'm offered a biscuit at work, if I turn it down, the biscuit-owner will say 'You're so good.' And recently, the woman from whom I buy chocolate has also started to tell me: 'You're so restrained.' She thinks I want more chocolate, and I'm denying myself, and that this denial has some moral worth. She is making less money out of me, but I still get praise.
Basically, I'm aware that to have my body type is to be read by a lot of people as farsighted, self-controlled, and rational. And frankly, if I wasn't aware of the trouble this system of rewards kicks up for everyone – myself, anyone larger than me, anyone smaller than me – I would start believing the propaganda. I'm good! I'm restrained! Go me!
I'm imagining this primarily as a thread about the cultural handling of body size, rather than science, but I can foresee overlaps. If anyone would like to start a parallel Lab thread, I'd be delighted. I'd ask people to be particularly thoughtful in framing their replies not to offend - indeed, the fact that one can't see the physical form of other posters is a debate in itself, but is certainly a motive for care.
I don’t mind in what direction this gets taken, but I thought I’d note a few things to kick off:
- I’m frustrated by the way the debate is often fashioned into two camps. Larger people are encouraged to insult thinner people, and thinner people are encouraged to say not only ‘Being thin has its down side’ (true) but also ‘…so fat people should stop complaining.’ (false conclusion). In a sense (and I know how dodgy this analogy is) it reminds me of chaps who realize gender is messing them up, and instead of noticing that gender is messing everyone up, conclude that feminists should stop complaining. Dictates around body size are messing everyone up. I’m not dismissing the idea of fat acceptance, because I think there’s a specific need for it and it doesn’t (largely) seem grounded in slagging off other body sizes. But the specific tendency to take sides rather than unite against the whole shebang infuriates me.
- I’ve had intriguing off-board conversations with a fellow Barbelith poster about whether the solution for individuals is to get back to the needs and requirements of one’s real body, trying to clear away all the cultural stuff that confuses what and when one eats and acts. While I find this appealing – and it’s the basis for a lot of advice on disordered eating – I’m not sure there is a ‘real’ body to get back to – I suspect that we have such culturally mediated relationship with body size and food that the best we can do is learn to negotiate with the systems.
- I’m interested in the way body size is often presented as entirely ‘rational’ (for want of a better word) – body size is entirely attributable to the conscious behaviour of the person involved, and thus any credit or blame is theirs alone. This seems to be complicated only by introducing a supplementary ‘addiction’ model, in which a small minority of people have an eating disorder. I’d like to see more recognition that almost everyone falls between those two models; that food consumption is tied up in a lot of other social and mental processes.
So, there are three thoughts, and you all have others. I haven't begun this with a particular incident or theorist, but I can provide either if it helps the discussion.
In short: What the bloody hell is going on? And how can it be sorted out? And what would it look like, were it sorted? |
