Archive For May, 2011
Over on xoJane, I wrote a post about what Oprah and I have in common. When Oprah tries something new, millions of women will follow, diets included. And yet, if Oprah can’t manage to make herself permanently thin, with all her resources, then what the hell kind of chance do the rest of us have? […]
Whenever I write things elsewhere that are critical of bodily norms, and especially about weight, there are always certain Bingo-friendly responses. The most common one is a sort of exasperated, heaving insistence that I—or anyone else—“just” lose weight. Don’t talk about things, for heaven’s sake! Don’t criticize the popular cultural messages about bodies and health! […]
So xoJane is a thing, a new thing perpetrated by Jane Pratt, late of Sassy and Jane. The former was a massive influence on my formative years, the latter I loathed, just a little bit. Nevertheless, when the opportunity came to contribute to Jane’s latest project, my positive memories of the former won out over […]
A few sharp-eyed readers have sent me a link to this recent poll of South Florida ob-gyns, which revealed that some offices outright refuse treatment to all women over a certain weight. Fifteen obstetrics-gynecology practices out of 105 polled by the Sun Sentinel said they have set weight cut-offs for new patients starting at 200 […]
David Sirota is a columnist over at Salon, and a couple weeks ago, he wrote an article about the cultural differences in how fatness is perceived in men versus women, inspired by Weight Watchers’ recent announcement that they plan to start targeting men explicitly in their advertising. It seems men are an untapped group in […]
So Michel Foucault and Jeremy Bentham walk into an elementary school cafeteria*
By Lesley | May 12, 2011
Five elementary schools in San Antonio are embarking on a “research project” which amounts to extensive surveillance and measurement of students’ lunchtime eating habits. “We’re trying to be as passive as possible. The kids know they’re being monitored,” said Dr. Roger Echon, who works for the San Antonio-based Social & Health Research Center, and who […]
My (relatively brief) analysis of Lady Gaga’s new video for “Judas” is up over on Gaga Stigmata. In it, I look at prostitution as the video’s main thematic thread, and its messages about what our culture does to women in positions of power. Check it out: Gaga/Magdalene: Unpacking Prostitution in “Judasâ€. Here is a quote […]
So! Brink is a shooty video game coming out tomorrow. I only know this because my husband is quite excited about it, and obviously my vagina acts as a barrier to my enjoying shooty video games. At least, that’s what a surprising number of big-name video game developers seem to think. It’s true that I’m […]
Let’s start at the bottom, and work our way up. The Daily Mail, true to its usual levels of fail, has published an article whose sole purpose is to showcase a paranoid theory that wearing leggings will make you fatter. Physiotherapist Sammy Margo said: ‘Leggings… hold in and support the quadriceps (thigh muscles), buttocks and […]
So! Last weekend found Marianne and I in New York for the Fat Girl Fleamarket, and for our promised live Fatcast. The Flea was amazing, as usual, and I think the Fatcast went okay, though I was hopelessly distracted by technical difficulties and by the mimosas our brunch waiter totally peer-pressured us into drinking beforehand. […]
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