Pliable Metallic Millinery Dept: This one's for kitanzi...

[avevale_intelligencer]

...who was incautious enough to express interest in my tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory on why we are continually told that being obese is immoral.

Well, as Jubal said in the training lecture back there, the world as we know it is effectively run at this point by businesses. They donate huge sums to government in return for concessions and protection from the law, they sponsor media and sporting events, and they all advertise in every conceivable way. And it doesn't take a lot of detective talent to see that the same companies either make and/or sell, or have links to the companies that make and/or sell, (a) the foods that make you fat, (b) the slimming foods that are supposed not to make you fat but either (b(i)) do or (b(ii)) don't satisfy you, (c) the pharmaceuticals that are supposed to help you lose weight, and (d) in short, just about everything you put in your mouth.

There's an old print we found in a shop in Crystal Palace several years ago. It depicts a cow, with one farmer furiously pulling on the horns, another farmer angrily tugging on the tail, and a lawyer in the middle, peacefully milking it. This is the position that the companies I mentioned above are in. The last thing they would want is for a large section of the populace either (a) to attain a body shape with which they are content, or (b) to become content with the body shape they have. They would lose money. More to the point, they would lose a part of their hold over us. So it's in their interest to keep us oscillating between desire, fear, guilt, resentment, resolve to improve, and back to desire. Confusion helps, hence the frequent "exposés" of the hidden dangers of this food or that. Like some poor hypothetical woman who takes Imodium in the morning to stop herself going to the loo, and then takes Senokot at night because she hasn't been all day, on and on till something explodes, it's their job to keep us hooked and paying. Interminably alternating and repeating adverts for luscious indulgent fatty foods, virtuous supposed slimming foods, probiotics to help digestive transit, indigestion remedies, herbal slimming aids, ghastly unattractive clothes for plus sizes (I'm sorry, but they are) being modelled by nearly "normal-sized" women, and everywhere, every day, more and more guilt. And people swallow it, and regurgitate it on command. The Countess was told, to her face, by a work colleague, that fat people shouldn't be allowed on public beaches. There is real hate being fomented here, deliberately and with malice aforethought, and the fact that the intent is to make us hate ourselves does not take away from the suffering experienced by fat people, primarily women, when that hate is projected outwards.

The elephant in the room here, the profit motive, is too obvious to allow us to ascribe any of this to incompetence. It isn't a complex or intricate strategy like the Iran-Contra affair. It doesn't rely on anyone among its instigators being fiendishly cunning or superhumanly efficient. But I think it is a conspiracy, and I think it needs to be stopped.

As I said, the idea that eating nice food is "naughty" or "sinful" is not new. It's been around at least for the whole of the last century: my mother used to talk that way. There is a difference, though, between "naughty" and "evil," and the force with which the equation of fat and evil is now being pushed at us is only going to keep on, and on, increasing in intensity, as long as there is money to be made.

That's what I think, anyway.

Comments

[occams_pyramid]

There are endless new wonderful guaranteed to work slimming methods and diets and gadgets. There must have been many thousands of different ones. And yet there's still lots of people overweight.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

"the idea that eating nice food is "naughty" or "sinful" is not new. It's been around at least for the whole of the last century"

Much much longer. It goes back to the puritan idea that anything enjoyable is evil, we are put here to suffer (because we are intrinsically evil anyway and therefore that's what we deserve). "If the medicine tastes bad then it is good for you." "You have to eat your greens (or whatever other food is unliked) before you can have dessert." "Sex is sinful, and must only be used for procreation." "You must only read 'good' books" (and in a lot of cases that meant the Bible and nothing else, in particular any fiction or humour was bad).

Oh, one thing you missed in your conspiracy idea -- the polemics against overweight children coupled with ever more restrictions on what those children are allowed to do (can't go out to the park to kick a ball around, that might be dangerous and someone might object; can't climb trees because that could result in getting hurt and social services will prosecute the parents; can't cycle most places in case of car traffic; etc.). What's left for exercise is the very non-fun (and lucrative for the owners) "health clubs". Oh look, there's another profit motive...

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I forgot to add to my comment - thanks Keristor for reminding me - it's nigh on impossible for fat women (not so hard for children - #1 gets the xxs adult versions now) to buy exercise clothes. Where is the logic in that, I'd like to know? Everyone tells fat people to exercise, but if you can't get appropriate, comfortable clothing to do it in, and are taunted when you actually get out there to enjoy the fact that you have a body that moves, well, what are you going to do? You need a lot of chutzpah to keep at it...

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

There's money in making people fat; there's money in persuading them your products are the best to make them thin again; there's money in the fact those products and methods don't work - and it's the individual's fault and weakness that is to blame all round.

You're right.

We live in a society that combines over-abundance with left-overs of moral systems that define anything "nice" as "naughty" and thus paint the grass greener. It's a terrible combination for a species programmed to eat when there is food available, because there might not be any tomorrow.

And double, treble, quadruple agreement on the clothes for fat women. Hideous tents in camouflage colours and synthetic fabrics. It's worse here than in the uk, believe me. I was intending, the other day, to scan a photo from the "outsize" catalogue I get, to show what is regarded at "outsize" here. Toether with a lot of nasty tricks like making the sizes very small indeed. In the uk at Christmas, I bought some nice clothes, size 16. In most shops here, I was having to look at the equivalent of 20. How is that supposed to make me feel? It is supposed to send me running for the "produits dietetique", the expensive gym, the nutrition counsellor, racked with guilt that I'm not a size 10...

I think that the only valid issue with regard to body size is health, both physical and mental. But, allowing that extreme overweight is not healthy, it ought to be acknowledged that there are many different body shapes and sizes that are healthy, comfortable, and attractive, if the person is allowed to think of him- or herself as attractive.

Our #1 is a bit on the solid side. She's not a blubbery child, though. She is very fit, does plenty of sport, and is bursting with health. She is seven years old, but to fit not just her height (she's tall) but her width, I have to dress her in at least age 11. She already gets comments from her skinny classmates, and it will only get worse - body fascism is worse here than in England. All we can do is try to instill a sense of her own worth and attractiveness, and encourage her to continue taking pleasure in having a fit, strong body, and hope that will be enough to shield her.

[soren-nyrond.livejournal.com]

{Icon should be a lol-cat]

Can I hav yr eclairz plz ?

[inamac.livejournal.com]

All true.

And it's not just gyms and playgrounds.

Only last week the RSPCA was demanding that riding schools stop allowing 'overweight' kids to ride their ponies.

Now there are animal welfare issues here - but banning kids who need the exercise isn't the answer.

Grrrr.

[cleverthylacine]

There are literally no right choices.

I prefer diet soda because it doesn't make my head swim (I have ADD, all that sugar fucks me up) and actually like the taste but people don't believe me.

[howeird]

The elephant in the room
Hmmm. I think that would be me.

The underlying text of the anti-obesity forces here in the States is health. It is somewhat valid because fat people are more prone to heart troubles. But genetics plays a huge role, as does modern medicine. Both my parents are alive and well at 84. Mom was obese most of her life, Dad was height-weight proportional most of his but smoked 3 packs a day from the time he was 12 till he turned 70. Both have had bypass surgery. I leave conclusions as an exercise for the student. ;-)

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

I think, certainly here (I don't know about America), that health is a pretext rather than a text. See occams_pyramid's comment above for how successful all these things are at doing anything except making money for the suppliers.

The Countess found a statistic somewhere (no idea of source or validity, so very much for what it's worth) to the effect that if you get yourself down to the ideal weight for your height and keep yourself there you live on average six months longer than if you don't bother. Of course, that says nothing about quality of life, and doesn't necessarily work for diabetics and other people with long-term conditions which can be exacerbated by obesity.