Philosopher Claims ‘Fatphobia’ is a Form of Oppression
“The message of this book is basically that dieting is a really bad idea.”
It’s amazing what passes for scholarship these days.
The Cornell Chronicle reports:
‘Fatphobia’ a form of oppression, says philosopher Kate Manne
Fatphobia, says philosopher Kate Manne, has become a vital social justice issue. In her new book, “Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia,” Manne draws on personal experience as well as scientific research. Fatphobia is a social system that unfairly ranks bodies according to thinness, “in terms of not only our health but also our moral, sexual and intellectual status,” writes Manne, associate professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences.
After her widely cited first book was published – “Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny” – Manne was often asked to explain her interest in misogyny. That answer led to “Unshrinking,” which includes descriptions of her childhood experience at a boys’ school, where misogyny took the form of fatphobic attacks on her body.
Manne spoke with the Chronicle about the book.
Question: In addition to describing the intersection of fatphobia with misogyny, you also connect it with anti-Black racism. Can you explain?
Answer: Fatphobia is a historically recent systemic form of prejudice. In the past, fatness was often celebrated and seen as a sign of wealth and luxury and prosperity. As the sociologist Sabrina Strings has shown, it was in the mid-18th century that anti-fatness was born out of a need to differentiate white bodies in France and Britain from the Black bodies who were being so brutally enslaved. It’s not that fatness was first derogated, and then Black bodies were associated with fatness. It went the other way. Fat bodies and Black bodies were associated, and that was used to impugn fat bodies and fat Black bodies specifically shortly thereafter. That history is important to grapple with, both to see how contingent and historically recent fatphobia in its systemic form is, and also to see that it is really a powerful tool of anti-Black racism even today.
Q: Fatphobia is often justified by health concerns; why do you contend instead that “it is fitness, not fatness, that matters most”?
A: The message of this book is basically that dieting is a really bad idea. And unfortunately for me, because I happen to hate exercise, exercise is a really good idea. We see many promising longitudinal studies of people who were really fit even if they were also fat, and who have excellent health outcomes on average.
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Comments
Does she understand the definition of phobia?
Why would I be *fearful* of fat people?
They might eat you.
Or sit on you.
Stacey Abrams scares the everlovin’ shit out of me.
To this “philosopher”, I raise you another philosopher, the great Al Bundy.
“One, two, three, and four! You’re gonna fall through the floor!”
So doctors who advise patients to be height and weight proportional for better health outcome are fatphobic bigots who should lose their license?
“After her widely cited first book was published – “Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny” – Manne was often asked to explain her interest in misogyny. That answer led to “Unshrinking,” which includes descriptions of her childhood experience at a boys’ school, where misogyny took the form of fatphobic attacks on her body.”
If I wanted to read whining, I’d read Prince Harry’s Spare,.
Evidently, when this woman speaks, there are colleagues who maintain a straight face.
When people speak of “the rot” in American colleges, this is what they’re talking about.
She and her colleagues are but the times of a ginormous iceberg
tip of a ginormous iceberg
Decades of medical research confirm that obesity is a huge risk factor for a number of deadly illnesses ranging from the usual suspects of cardiovascular and metabolic (e.g. diabetes), to cancer (different forms). These findings are replicable across thousands of studies and methodologies, yet somehow medicine is now being called “racist” and “fatphobic” for advocating healthy lifestyles and practices known to decrease the likelihood of morbidities and mortalities from this vast range of disease states in that work? Uhm, no. I have two siblings and seven first cousins who all practice medicine. Not one of us would even consider saying “obesity is just fine”.
after a brief reading / review of some of her “works” am left wondering what this woman could ” teach ” anyone that would be worth their knowing–despite all her lofty musings / opinions, she is obviously possessed / ruled by her screaming inferiority complex–another papered fraud, desperate for attention /approval