not equal overeating; fat does not equal ugly. Fat oppression is something so prevalent in our society, yet Americans refuse to recognize it as a problem or even an issue. After hearing an amazing woman named Nomy Lamm speak this weekend, I could not longer let this issue be ignored. (Lamm is a fat oppression activist and has been published in Ms. magazine). Fat oppression exists in this society and we all must recognize the damage it does to everyone, especially fat people. Fat is not a bad word
The Oppression of Fat People in America Many people see fat activists as a bunch of whiners who can’t keep their hand out of the cookie jar." — Kimberly, fat activist Being fat is one of the most stigmatizing attributes in America. One cannot live through a single day without encountering numerous forms of fat prejudice in magazines, on television, in the streets, and even in homes. Erving Goffman’s Stigma delineates three types of stigma: abominations of the body, blemishes of individual
The animated film “Mulan” came out in 1998 and is based on a Chinese legend of the same name. It tells the story of Mulan, who disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s place in the army (IMDB.com). The main theme of the movie is that girls can do anything boys can do, demonstrated through Mulan holding her own while training with men and going head to head with the Villain, Shan Yu, multiple times. However, while the movie breaks down gender roles and stereotypes for women, it leans heavily
The idea of what a women’s body image should be has changed much throughout history. Our society places a high priority on beauty and body image. Just a century ago “Fat was seen as a silken layer that graced the frames of elegant ladies.” (Fallon et al., 1994,) So what has changed over the years that this idea of what a beautiful woman was is now seen as ugly and unworthy? Why do we allow the media to dictate what the ideal body image is? Body image as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary “a subjective