Summary Of Fat Acceptance A Basic Primer By Seminara Geissler
Fat acceptance is a radical concept that most Americans shy away from discussing. This is not the case with Hillel Schwartz’s essay “Fat and Happy?” from his book Never Satisfied. Schwartz discusses the way fat people are treated by society and what he believes life would be like if we lived in a Fat Society rather than the current Skinny World we live in. In his article it seems that Schwartz’s goal is to capture the attention of as many different audiences as possible by using sarcasm and many different sides to his argument that fat acceptance should be an important value in society.
" The primary thing shown, is that fatness is a bad, temporary thing that leaves people forever traumatized. Negative characteristics of the character sends the very untrue message that all fat people are or should be ashamed to be that way, and do their best to shrink down their bodies as fast as
The problem at hand is that even with the opportunities to be educated and change their lifestyle, eating habits are ingrained into these communities. The Weight of Obesity frames this theory successfully by taking readers through the steps of the obesity epidemic, and using her experience to assist in understanding
As diets and health become more and more of a public concern in America. Two authors weigh in on their opinions on how the American public should handle the problem of obesity as well as their solutions to the overwhelming issue. In one article, “Against Meat,” published on the New York Times website in 2009, points out that the solution to obesity should be vegetarianism. Johnathan Foer who is a vegetarian, claims that his diet and way of living is his the way of improving health in the American public. Foer’s article provides a sense of humor as well as personal stories to attempt to persuade his audience for the ethical treatment of animals along with his personal solution for his own health and the health of his family.
In “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko tackles the issue of who is responsible for fighting obesity. Balko argues that the controversy of obesity should make the individual consumers culpable for their own health and not the government (467). As health insurers refrain from increasing premiums for obese and overweight patients, there is a decrease in motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle (Balko 467). As a result, Balko claims these manipulations make the public accountable for everyone else 's health rather than their own (467). Balko continues to discuss the ways to fix the issue such as insurance companies penalizing consumers who make unhealthy food choices and rewarding good ones (468).
In David Freedman’s essay How Junk food Can End Obesity, Freedman makes the claim to policy arguing that instead of demonizing processed foods, Americans should instead support the idea and production of healthier processed and junk foods. He calls on the public to recognize that while many products on the market these days are labeled as “wholesome” and “healthy”, consumers should learn to become aware of the fat and calorie content in these products because many times they have the same- if not more- fat and calorie contents as that of a typical Big Mac or Whopper. In his essay, Freedman primarily places blame on the media and the wholesome food movement for the condemnation of the fast and processed food industries saying, “An enormous amount of media space has been dedicated to promoting the notion that all processed food, and only processed food, us making us sickly and overweight” (Freedman), he further expresses that this portrayal of the
In the article “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” by Mary Maxfield published in 2012 states that people’s knowledge about health, is more so based on culture or origin. Rather than what is actually healthy. She also claims that as a culture “we no longer discuss healthy eating without also discussing healthy weights. Due to Maxfield’s claim that as a culture, we do not make conscious dieting decisions about healthy foods and normal weight, I disagree with that for a few reasons. There are many people in America that are health conscious, and some people truly have their own knowledge about what is healthy weight and a healthy diet.
In both David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater” and “ Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business”, the argument of obesity in America is present and clear from opposing viewpoints. Both articles were written in the early 2000’s, when the popular political topic of the time was obesity and how it would be dealt by our nation in the future. While Zinczenko argues that unhealthy junk food is an unavoidable cultural factor, Balko presents the thought that the government should have no say in it’s citizens diet or eating habits. Zinczenko’s article was written with the rhetorical stratedgy of pathos in mind.
“In the past, eating disorders were generally considered to be confined to young white females from middle-to-upper class families living in Western societies” (Caradas 112). Both studies exploit the false stereotypes associated with eating disorders and culture. Both parties believe that non Western cultures are being influenced by the “slim is beautiful” idea. Each view points out the false misconception that non Western cultures traditional ideas of being thick is related to health is protecting them from eating disorders. Studies prove all ethnicities have shown concern towards body shape and eating attitudes in recent years around the
Every individual is different and unique in their own way, may it be their body size or the color of their skin. No individual is similar, which is precisely the point that Cheryl Peck makes in her essay “Fatso”. The essay portrays Peck’s view of the conflicts that she goes through in her life as an overweight person. She makes a point by point contrast to her imaginary life, repeating the phrase “I have never”, and her real life where she faces discrimination because of her weight. Peck’s use of tone and word choice highlights the purpose of her essay, which is to raise awareness about discrimination against overweight people to audiences who are thin and have not experienced any judgment from others.
“Make sure to shop in the fresh sections of the grocery store for nutritious foods,” the doctor told the obese patient as they trudged out the door. How can I afford to buy these foods, the patient thought to themselves, when I only make $130 a week and am trying to feed a family of four? This situation is the harsh reality for forty-five million Americans. (emotional appeal) Of the many Americans who have been labeled obese, very few have the actual monetary means to fix their ailment. The war on obesity has consumed lower class America for several years and the end is nowhere in sight.
Cosgrove, clinic’s chief executive and heart surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, wants to declare obesity a disease and his solution would be to stop hiring obese people to help them lose weight. He said, “People’s weight is a reflection of how much they eat and how active they are. The country has grown fat because it’s consuming more calories and burning fewer. Our national weight problem brings huge costs, both medical and economic…” (Leonhardt 637).
From an early age, we are exposed to the western culture of the “thin-ideal” and that looks matter (Shapiro 9). Images on modern television spend countless hours telling us to lose weight, be thin and beautiful. Often, television portrays the thin women as successful and powerful whereas the overweight characters are portrayed as “lazy” and the one with no friends (“The Media”). Furthermore, most images we see on the media are heavily edited and airbrushed
I. Introduction: a. Attention Getter: Nothing can be as satisfying and enjoyable as eating junk food. Is it not? It can be so good! Food is what makes us who we are.
Many observational studies have looked at weight discrimination and the risk of future weight gain and obesity. In one study of 6,157 people, non-obese participants who experienced weight discrimination were 2.5 times more likely to become obese over the next few years. This shows that fat shaming is certainly NOT likely to motivate people to lose
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