In "Fat and Happy?," the final chapter of historian Hillel Schwartz 's book entitled Never Satisfied, he satirically presents an argument for the acceptance of obesity. After sharing the negative effects of dieting on those of weight, Schwartz continues to offer several circumstances in which they are ostracized or discriminated against. Finally, the author introduces his theoretical "fat society" in which obesity would be accepted and celebrated in every aspect of civilization. While Schwartz effectively uses emotional appeals and confident tone, his argument regarding weight discrimination is incomplete and lacks support; additionally, his claims concerning dieting and the fat society are illogical and flawed.
The author begins his work
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At this point in the work, the author relies almost completely upon hypothetical situations to persuade his audience. In this final section entitled "The Fat Society: A Utopia," Schwartz claims the fat society would solve problems regarding related areas such as food obsession and fashion for those who are overweight. Next, he claims the society would solve clearly unrelated issues, including patriarchy, pornography, and greed (Schwartz 183-185). Oddly, Schwartz does not provide the least bit of evidence or rationale to justify his belief that his hypothetical society would eradicate these problems. Even more puzzling than this lack of justification, though, is the clear contradiction introduced along with the fat society. Throughout the piece, Schwartz argues for the acceptance and equality of obese and overweight people, even stating that "fat people and thin people would be on equal terms" in the fat society; however, the tone and content of the section about the fat society suggest supremacy rather than equality. From the onset of the section, when Schwartz asserts that the fat society would be one that "admired and rewarded fatness," he continually implies that those who are overweight and obese would not only be seen as equals, but as superiors (Schwartz 183). A contradiction of this nature detracts from Schwartz 's overall
However, with this transition, some questions come up: What is the difference between being ridiculed and being pitied for? Is it really that much better to be pitied for? Answers to these questions would have made the transformation process of the term “fat” clearer. Though there is no doubt that Carver is making a statement here with the waitress’s pity, it is more than just pity for the fat man and more than just the presence of “the grotesque” (Kurkjian 2). It is seeing the fat man beyond his fat, someone who is mannerly and also shameful of his weight. When the waitress interacts with him, he thanks her for the food, forgives her for spilling his water, and frequently says that “they” (himself) do not eat so much all the time (Carver 67). The waitress realizes the kind-hearted and self-critical man he truly is and stands up for him when her fellow employees mock him. Carver does not change the term “fat.” In reality, he emphasizes the perception of what is beyond being fat, that there is more under the surface of what he or she looks like. Here, Carver is, in fact, using the Freudian idea of superego, which “concentrates on the mind of morals and ethics” (Abrams
In “Cruelty, Civility, and Other Weighty Matters” by Ann Marie Paulin, she was trying to get across a very important message: skinny doesn’t mean happy. The main idea was about how our culture in America encourages obesity because of the food choices they offer, how expensive weight loss pills and exercise bikes is, and etc., yet the culture also is prejudice against these same fat people that they encourage. It’s a constant back and forth in America between what is convenient with the little time we have in between everything we have to do each day and working out to be skinny enough for everyone to not judge you. Ms. Paulin wrote this article for literally everyone, this article was for skinny people to show them like hey, you’re not all
The article “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance” is written by Mary Ray Worley, a member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. She writes of her firsthand experience as a “fat person” in society. Throughout the article, Worley explains what it is like to be obese and describes the way society treats those who have a weight problem. She attacks the idea of dieting, criticizes medical professionals for displaying an obscured view of health risks, and defends the idea of exercising to feel good rather than exercising to lose weight. Unfortunately, her article seems to reflect only own opinions and emotions rather than actual facts and statistics.
Geissler continually argues that one should make their own choices and others should worry about themselves (Geissler). She also makes the point that dieting is without positive results, supported by her quote from Allison which states, “suffering does not enable; it destroys” (Geissler). While in extreme cases dieting can be dangerous due to the risk of starvation that extremists may put themselves at, healthy eating of smaller portion sizes a proven way to care for our bodies. Although dieting is not guaranteed to give remarkable results, it is the stepping stone for many to climb out of obesity. The viewpoint used by the author in her argument tends to constantly turn a blind eye to normal circumstances, and it instead looks for the negatives that support her. Geissler goes as far to say “[what you] put in your body is your own business…” (Geissler) which is actually quite a dangerous way of viewing things. Without outside reinforcement many would not strive to be healthy, nor have the wakeup call they need to focus on being healthier. The vantage point the author uses in pushing the argument of ‘Fat Acceptance’ is one of poor
The article “Rethinking Weight” was written by Amanda Spake, and is about the hardships of losing weight and keeping it off. She makes note of the fact that healthy weight loss (medically supervised, slow and gradual weight loss) is a completely unfair playing field against fast weight loss. She also talks about whether obesity should be classified as a disease so that it gets better treatment in the medical field. The article “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance” was written by Mary Ray Worley, and is about learning to live in a “new world” as the author, Worley, describes it. This new world is one she experienced while at a NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) convention.
Obesity and opposition are the two main issues of this film. The issue of obesity, treated lightly in the beginning of the film and then severely by the end, reflects society’s approach to weight loss. To ...
This poem, like most good poems, does not blatantly and clearly state its intended thesis. In no line or stanza of this poem will the reader read “prejudice toward the obese is bad.” The message of this work is enwrapped in an accurate representation of reality and an appeal to the reader’s emotion. By employing literary techniques of profanity, alternating pronouns, and stanza arrangement, the writer is able to reach a receptive audience and open a discussion that is beneficial and currently lacking from Berry’s
What comes to your mind when you hear someone is overweight. In most american’s eyes, it is someone who anyone who is not a model. This creates a huge predicadment counting that America is known to be fat. In the past few decades, lifestyle has changed our habits, but we did not think about the consequences. If we eat more then we must be doing some kind of exercise to counteract what we put inside of us. In the article “America’s War on the Overnight” by Kate Dailey and Abby Ellin, they successfully persuade the reader to tackle obesity, we need to focus more on the subject of obesity and not attack the obese using the rhetorical triangle.
However, one day Tony Robbins, understanding Hal’s situation, hypnotizes him into seeing people’s inner beauty and not their external selves. And after that incident, he fell in love with Rosemary, woman who appears to him to look beautiful due to her kind, generous nature, but is, in actuality, morbidly obese. This proved people should not be judged by their looks because every person is unique and everyone possesses special qualities. Furthermore, obese people aren’t always happy and they remain melancholic to feel normal and this can also be related to what Jennifer A. Coleman said in her article Discrimination at Large “Fat people aren’t jolly. Sometimes we act that way so you will leave us alone.” Everyone can be changed through consistency so there is no point in mocking a fat person. A strict regimen of exercise can change the shape of a person and he can become the next model. However, Americans think fat people will always remain fat despite their hard work. Neil Steinberg stated in the article O.K., So I’m Fat “Others assume that thinness is forever beyond my grasp.” Maybe, it will be hard for the obese people to get into the right shape but with time he/she can get the body he
Not everyone thinks there is much more to obesity that poor diet and lack of exercise. By being so straight forward with her thesis, she has done a great job at gearing her argument towards individuals with obesity. She hits a sensitive spot for overweight people by saying, “obesity may not be cured with a healthy diet and physical activity alone.” For people that are in a range of normal weight, this statement would make them have some kind of sympathy for obese individuals. Later on in her article, Whiteman gets a quote from an expert Dr. Christopher Ochner, “few individuals ever truly recover from obesity; rather than suffer from ‘obesity in remission.’ They are biologically very different from individuals of the same age, sex, and body weight who never had obesity.” Although this can fall into the category of ethos, this remark leaves a scar on someone trying to overcome this disease. For me, this description sounds almost the cancer because of the word ‘remission.’ It seems that it’s just a disease that can constantly be treated but never fully out of your system. Nobody wants to believe that something cannot be
I do believe that the media really depicts what beauty is “supposed to look like,” which is being thin or muscular, but to some people being “fat,” as Smith would put it, is just as beautiful. Personally, I really do not like the word "fat," I prefer the term overweight or the politically correct term “people of size.” Throughout Smith’s article, she refers to “people of size” as “big,” “heavy,” or “fat” people (86-88). She uses all of these snarl words to bring a negative connotation and generalize that people view overweight people this way.
Interest in the social aspects of obesity is nothing new. Jeffrey Sobal has written extensively about the social and psychological consequences of obesity , including the stigmatisation and discrimination of obese and even overweight individuals (Sobal 2004).
“Fat Land”, a book by Greg Cristler, a health journalist who was formerly considered overweight, explains how America became the fattest people in the world. Before writing this book, Cristler was told that he needed to lose forty pounds and so to do so he enlisted a competent doctor, the prescription weight-loss medication Meridia, jogs in a congenial neighborhood park, a wife who cooked him healthy food, and access to plenty of information. Cristler is quick to add that those weren’t the only factors that led to his weight loss, but money and time were a big part of it. Cristler lost the weight, but he states “the more I contemplated my success, the more I came to see it not as a triumph of the will, but as a triumph of my economic and social
He completely changes his tone from to more of a lighthearted attitude, which is the opposite of his attack towards Americans in the previous paragraphs. He describes a utopian society where no one is discriminated against solely because of their weight and, in fact, claims that it would be “a society that admired and rewarded fatness” (183). The author wants his audience to imagine a society where all are equal and no one suffers because of weight. Moreover, there would not be a focus on looking thin, and people could enjoy living a full life. Despite Schwartz’s attempt at being positive, his tone becomes exaggerated when he asserts that “dieting is cannibalism” and claims that people “eat off their own bodies when they diet” (185). This evidence does not contribute to the author’s overall main claim that society discriminates against the obese. Even though he includes this ideal utopian society so people might imagine a judgement free world, it serves as a distraction and shifts attention to the dangers of dieting, which isn’t Schwartz’s main
Society should consider the physical and emotional problems of obesity in our nation. “Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat (Mayo Clinic).” American society has become increasingly obese, “characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and physical inactivity (cdcinfo@cdc.gov).” Our nation increasingly has become consumers of a fast food diet. It is so simple to just pick up food on the go and not deal with the hassle of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. What are nation needs to acknowledge is the health risks they will obtain if they do not acquire a healthy life style.