Susie Orbach, author of Fat
is a Feminist Issue, believes acceptance with one’s self image is a
beneficial way for females to relate to their bodies and food. I believe this
because Orbach states “While this preoccupation with fat and food [referring to
diet columns, diet doctors, and thin admirable woman occupying the cover of
almost every women’s magazine published today] has become so common that we
tend to take it for granted, being fat, feeling fat and the compulsion to
overeat are, in fact, serious and painful experiences for the women involved.”(448)
The author is explaining that the obsession of today’s women being centered on
having “the” body pushes some women to suffer with their self image and
becoming the exact opposite. Instead she believes self-acceptance is the key to
living their lives the way they want to.
Orbach believes a self-indulgent attitude is a harmful way
for females to relate to their bodies and food. I believe this because the
author explains that women will purposely over-eat and become obese to make a
point; That point being a huge “screw you” to the public. Susie says “Being fat [has] become one way to
avoid being marketed or seen as the ideal woman… fat expresses a rebellion
against the powerlessness of women, against the pressure to look and act in a
certain way.” (452)
Carrie Packwood Freeman and Debra Merskin, authors of “Having It His Way: The Construction of
Masculinity in Fast-Food TV Advertising, believe self-confidence is a
beneficial way for males to relate to their food. I believe this because Freeman
and Merskin state, “The commercials analyzed for this study illustrate a strong
connection between meat and masculinity. These fast-food ads share basic gendered
codes that reinforce lessons of heterosexual male socialization.”(465) A man
with self-confidence would not in the slightest feel emasculated nor would he
be persuaded by the fast- food advertisements to go out and buy an over sized and
over loaded burger or sandwich simply to regain his masculinity.
Freeman and Merskin believe credulousness is a harmful way
for males to relate to their food. I believe this because the authors also
state, “Many of their menu items [referring to fast-food restaurants] are low
in fiber and high in fat, sodium cholesterol and simple carbohydrates, which
can contribute to obesity and disease, especially when consumed in the
extra-large portion sizes that are common.” (459) Credulousness defined is the
willingness to believe or trust too readily without proper or adequate
evidence. Men believe in these fast-food ads all too often and because they
trust in the advertisements they hear or see throughout their daily lives they
then become slaves of the fast-food industry buying and eating this so called
“masculinity” and eventually become victims of the countless health problems
that are later to come.
While I agree with a few things you have stated, I truly don't believe that some woman over eat or become obese to "make a point". I could be completely wrong, but I don't think for the majority of woman or even men for the matter of fact, want to become obese for any reason, especially not to prove a point. I personally believe that some people care more about how they look than others, and either way is perfectly fine way to live life. As long as you are happy with your life and how you feel then no one should try to conform to what the "media" thinks you should look or act like. Everyone is made differently , some bigger, some smaller, some smarter, some more athletic... the list goes on, but at the end of the day one shouldn't try to conform or rebel to the "media" norm. Just be who you are, and if you want to change something for yourself then do it, else wise just be happy with who you are.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with the way men "become slaves of the fast-food industry..." quote. I personally don't watch TV commercials about big fatty plates of food and think if I just eat that then I will be more "masculine". I like having greasy hamburgers and a big juicy steak with baked potatoes because they are delicious. I personally have never ate a meal to feel more "masculine", because that is just plain stupid. When it comes to what I eat it depends on what I am feeling that day and how much money I have to spend, not what the "media" thinks I should eat to feel like more of a man. I don't care how manly something might make feel after I eat it, if I don't like it I wont eat it, end of story. As a whole I think you have raised some good points from the readings, ones that should truly be addressed.
Savvy, while I agree with most of what you had to say regarding what Orbach says, there are a few points that I don’t find fitting to the way society is today. I do believe that self-acceptance is one of the most important aspects of a women when it comes to our bodies. However, I don’t feel that the women who are saying “screw you” to society are doing it to prove a point. On pg. 449 Orbach says that being fat is purposeful. I disagree. I feel that it is more of a cover-up, or an excuse, for already have given in to the pressures of society and not being able to hold up to the standards. Women, who are already overweight due to other causes, not by purposely gaining weight, like overeating caused by depression, use this “screw you” attitude to compensate for their loss of control. Not to say that is hasn’t happened, but in my experiences I’ve never heard a “fat” (what society views as fat) women say that she purposely gained weight in spite of media and societies ideal of what a women should look like. I feel that there are too many diseases and other health risks associated with weight gain that becoming “fat” to prove a point is arrogant. I admire women who can truly accept their body the way it is and say that they are comfortable in their own skin, but only if their high self-image is genuine and not an excuse.
ReplyDeleteYour take on Freeman and Merskin’s work was also well said and no doubt agreeable on many points. The only point I might question is how often do the persuasive techniques of the advertisements actually work on getting a male to eat a cheese burger. In my personal experience, most men I know are so consumed in being fit and in shape that they would rather eat a salad or veggies than meat in order to get their desired physical appearance. Many athletes, including Olympic medalists, have a diet with a majority consisting of fruits, vegetables, and grains, with just some protein. Does this make these athletes, the ones that society most often portrays as “manly men” any less manly.
I disagree with the point you made where you state that Orbach believes that the self-indulgent attitude is harmful for females to relate to their bodies and food. I believe that the author was instead making a point that being fat in itself can be beneficial for women in relation to their bodies because it helps them to break away from “society’s sex stereotypes.” This is stated on page (449) where it expounds on what being fat represents to women through a feminist perspective. Here Orbach goes on to say that “being fat” is an attempt for women to end stereotyping in society. She also writes that being “fat” is a challenge to women and their sex-role brought out from culture and stereotypical womanhood experiences. The fact that women have body diversity and not all women are thin and tiny, proves that society does not strictly define women as a whole, but that individuals define themselves and approve of themselves to their own liking. Having this individualistic outlook on themselves also shows that some women don’t have to be dominated by others. The fact that women can love their bodies regardless of their particular shape helps to fight against the society’s sex stereotypes. The matter is not merely “overeating” or “being fat” that women are embracing or finding to be beneficial, rather breaking free from the pressures of society to live their own unique life and loving and being more than content with themselves for who they are in the world.
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I don’t not agree with a lot of what you said, women over eating just to try to prove something to the world is as false as cows being able to fly. Women do not over eat to prove something; it has to do with genetics and how we are raised and many other factors. They are not saying, “screw you” to the public and many women I know hate the fact that they are over weight, but sometimes you just cant help it. Self-control is one thing that Americans are very lacking in. That does not mean that we strive to become over weight, but that also does not mean that there are over weight people that should greatly consider a different life style. They did not choose to be that way but they can’t choose to change. The other point you made relating to men eating as a way of showing masculinity because of advertisements I think is as wrong as the above statement I countered. Eating has nothing to do about being masculine and it never should. It does not matter what you eat or what you enjoy eating to show just how masculine you are it matters how you take care of yourself. Both of these articles to me are so warped and so lacking in any concrete factual truth that it is just ridiculous in my opinion that they where even published. Though almost all of what I read I found to be complete rubbish I will agree that our images are to very important to women. I know personally I like to look good and when I don’t it greatly affects my self-esteem and sometimes even my eating habits. But as for the rest of what you have said I say a big ol fashioned “helllll nah’ to it and the rest of what the articles stated.
ReplyDeleteWhen Orbach talks about the media and how they control womanly fashion I have to disagree with her. The media feed off of feeble minds that see what is only put in front of them. If women buy these magazines and give in to the stereotypes than they are stupid. Being fat is not mainstream because men don’t like it, it is not mainstream because it isn’t healthy and men aren’t attracted to that. We are attracted to healthy attractive women. See how those words co-exist? If you look at the other end of the spectrum some girls are not fat enough and are so skinny that it’s unhealthy. Still unattractive and although they are not fat, men still want nothing to do with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the Freeman and Merskin piece. Men are portrayed as carnivores that eat whatever they want. That word portrayed is just another way of saying stereotyped, and again a way the media preys on the feebleminded people who buy it. I will admit ordering a salad does embarrass me a little. However I still do it because it’s a healthy decision in my lifestyle. Many men do not stick to the straight eat only meat diet because in reality that does not make the man muscular. It takes many other things that the media does not cover.
Although you made a lot of very pertinent points, I disagree that women over-eat to “rebel against the mainstream.” I am not, nor have I ever been, a woman. This being said I grew up with my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and two younger sisters. It seems that women, in many different areas, over-eat due to a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment they associate with food. This association leads to obesity in women. These women who see becoming healthy, the true mainstream goal, as an unreasonable or unnecessary goal are usually the ones leading the rebellion. Mainstream media since the Greek empires in the Middle East have always been associated with perfection. The ideal form is that of a Greek goddess. This has been seen and studied in many sculptures.
ReplyDeleteAs far as men being seen as carnivorous buffoons, this is a somewhat reasonable statement. Men associate meat eating with protein and the growth of muscle. This is why many ads tend to show men eating large steaks. This goes back to mainstream medias portrayal of the perfect specimen. In most cases, a lot of young men want to be anything from superheroes to their favorite sports superstar. In order for them to accomplish this they must eat meat and workout to be these broodingly strong guys they see in the media. Women are seen eating salads because muscularity is a male gender trait. For example, men work the field and hunt, while the women work the garden and the kitchen. Until recent days this has been the status quo. In all it leads back to sex appeal sales. This is what mainstream media is all about.