WEIGHT DISCOURSE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Jenny A. Armentrout, PhD Student, BGSU

DESIRE Scholars Workshop:

Link (5:40)

Link (all if there is time)

My research interests/background…Weight is a multi-faceted topic that MATTERS and effects EVERYONE…

Intro… The Colbert Report

PART 1: Weight Effects Every Medium & Message

Weight Discourse? What?

A few immediate, politically-charged examples...

Michelle Obama Chris Christie Candy Crowley Marilyn Wann Kevin Smith

Current US Weight Discourses

The mainstream media tells us…

obesity= “lazy, gluttonous, shameful, wrong, deviant, one’s own fault, unsexy, unproductive, and physically unattractive”

obesity = the last socially accepted stigma

obesity= low agency in the public sphere

Current US Weight Discourses

The CDC tell us… approximately 67% of people

in the US are now either overweight or obese

it is ok to perpetuate “epidemic” and “disease” ideologies within American culture

obesity is unhealthy and costly, driving increased rates of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease

we must wage war against and eradicate obesity (map)

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1990

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1991

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1992

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1993

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1994

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1995

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1996

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1997

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% ≥20%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1998

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% ≥20%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1999

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% ≥20%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2000

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% ≥20%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2001

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2003

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2004

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2005

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2006

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2007

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 2008

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

PART 2: The Human Rights Issue

The Status Quo

For the aforementioned reasons we allow weight to effect US culture in the following ways…

it has been exacerbated as a spectacle-creating, fear-invoking, medicalized, political, dialectical, capitalistic, consumer-driven, economical, socially-accepted, sexual, Puritanical (right/wrong) tension

it is a type of cultural violence that is influenced by systemic, structural, and institutional configurations

it is both pervasive and constitutive, resulting in the stigmatization, marginalization, and discrimination of individuals of size

Size/Weight Stigmatization

Anti-obesity attitudes begin early in childhood

Weight stigmatization can be categorized as an abomination of the body that blemishes the individual character, and it may be heightened by race, gender, or economic background

family members, doctors, classmates, sales clerks, friends, and coworkers all

participate Individuals of size are “othered”

Size/Weight Marginalization

Self-perception, other-perception, acceptance, denial, and misrepresentation all perpetuate obesity marginalization

Sense of self and body satisfaction become intertwined

Individuals of size contend with a

symbolic, innate, and concrete state of limbo

Size/Weight Discrimination

Discrimination is seemingly innate… the unfair treatment of one person or group

usually because of prejudice about race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender, and/or size/weight

Individuals of size physically do not “fit in” at work, in cubicles, in theaters, in restaurants, in social situations, nor in various public transportation situations; they have trouble finding clothing that fits, sometimes have weight-related nicknames, and are shamed privately and publicly

12% in 2004–2006 (increasing) Education, health care, and

employment Michigan remains the only state with an anti-

discrimination law that includes sizeism

PART 3: Is Weight Acceptance Possible?

Communication

As individuals of size we must question our personal communication tactics…

Nonverbal artifact displays Relationship management Humor use (sarcasm, self-denigration,

etc.) Humor function (identification,

clarification, enforcement, and differentiation)

Adopting the “jolly fat person” stereotype

Personal Coping

We must consider our psychological tendencies and body image…

Accept your size. Love and appreciate the body you have. Self-acceptance empowers you to move on and make positive changes.

Trust yourself. We all have internal systems designed to keep us healthy – and at a healthy weight. Support your body in naturally finding its appropriate weight by honoring its signals of hunger, satiety, and appetite.

Adopt healthy lifestyle habits. Develop and nurture connections with others and look for purpose and meaning in your life. Fulfilling your social, emotional and spiritual needs restores food to its rightful place as a source of nourishment and pleasure. Find the joy in moving your body and becoming more physically vital in your everyday life. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, and seek out pleasurable and satisfying foods. Be attentive to the experience of eating and to which food choices truly help you feel good.

Embrace size diversity. Humans come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Open to the beauty found across the spectrum and support others in recognizing their unique attractiveness. -Health at Every Size, 2009

Reframing

Let’s rethink our word choices. Instead of…

overweight, fat, plump, large, round, voluptuous, rotund, curvy, podgy, fleshy, big, corpulent, etc.

Obesity is “a complex occurrence caused by the interaction of genetic, cultural, socioeconomic, racial, behavioral, physiologic, performative, metabolic, cellular, and molecular influences”

Fat is similar to “coming out of the closet” if one is homosexual. Many reclaim the term as a badge of defiance in the same way that gays/lesbians associate with terms like "queer" and/or “dyke"

People of size and individuals who are overweight/obese are phrases that can be used to allow for our acknowledgement of a person’s individuality, agency, and satience

Rehumanization

As a society we must be attentive to the needs of EVERYONE…

“Size diversity is a valuable aspect of our lives, and we continue to strive for a world in which people will honor that diversity, value their own looks, and judge others based on the content of their character”

-The Council on Size & Weight Discrimination (2008)

Our goal must be to provide the same level of agency for individuals of size equivalent to what everyone receives

The media and health care system must show ample willingness to address these issues, for individuals of size are the majority

Question Power Structures

Challenge various culturally violent institutions such as drug companies, the diet industry, the food industry, the world of fashion, and Congress. For instance: travel providers…

Southwest Airlinespolicy

United Airlinespolicy

Alaska Airlinespolicy

Express Yourself

Read and participate in ongoing discussions…

Big Fat Blog The Rotund Fat Activist Network Joy Nash’s Fat Rant Blog Kate Harding’s Shapely Prose

Take Action

Consider researching, supporting, joining, or donating to the size acceptance movement…

NAAFAsite

ASDAHsite

ISAAsite

PART 4: Conclusion

Peace-building Initiatives We must contemplate the possibility for

resistance and challenge the status quo We must consider the political implications of

changing one’s attitude We must address our own attitudes toward

difference and DIVERSITY We must begin to imagine and support the

changing of a world where issues of weight, size, and shape are possibly the last existing socially-accepted forms of prejudice

We must be comfortable with the awareness that this moment of struggle is an ongoing internal conflict rather than one specific moment of discursive rapture

We should question such divisions instated by a culture that champions human rights and the democratic ideal

Final Thoughts & Questions?

“Scales are for fish, not people.” -Susie Orbach 2004

"The Church says: the body is a sin. Science says: the body is a machine. Advertising says: The body is a business. The Body says: I am a fiesta." -Eduardo Galeano 1997

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince