1 February, 2010 | Leave a Comment

I’m still feeling a little wobbly, but January is over now, which always makes me happy.  A few news items have caught my attention today:

In the Daily Beast, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka calls England a “cesspit” for allowing Islamic radicalism to flourish within its borders.

In the Times, I was absolutely aghast to read that both Michelle and Barack Obama have publicly discussed their daughters’ weight.  Apparently, Michelle Obama fancies herself to be a new crusader against “childhood obesity” (the “obesity epidemic” brought to you by its proud sponsors, The American Health Industrial Complex).  To launch the campaign this week, Michelle Obama discussed that her children’s doctor told her the girls were becoming fat; back in 2008, Barack Obama is reported to have said Malia was “a little chubby.” I am just astounded by this.  We live in a culture where the female body is public property, where as females our bodies are critiqued, scrutinized and evaluated by everyone, beginning when we are children.  To have the President and First Lady of the United States discuss their young daughters’ bodies in front of the world is sickening to me.  This is unbelievably reckless and irresponsible for two people who act like they are such perfect parents (but then perhaps that’s the issue here – two body-obsessed overachievers are terrified of having fat kids).  I fear these comments will do great damage to these girls, who could very well develop eating disorders because of this.  They didn’t ask to be public figures and going through puberty is difficult enough – they don’t need every journalist writing about their body size and monitoring it.  Can you imagine how mortifying that would be?  And if the Obamas say such things publicly, I wonder what they say privately?  You do not instill healthy attitudes about eating in children through this kind of behavior.  It will have the opposite effect from what it’s intended to do.

I guess if the Obama girls become desperate to lose weight (and with parents like this, they will), they can always follow their father’s lead – I hear that nicotine is a great appetite suppressant.  And so healthy too!

1. Comments RSS

1. Caroline Says:

   February 2nd, 2010 at 9:04 pm

   Have read your references to this topic several times Anglofille. Do you think the attention to obesity is just hype alone? There are statistics — seemingly from reliable sources — that Americans have put on weight in the last twenty years. Anecdotally, Americans look heavier to me than they used to, especially after living away. Believe there is some hype about obesity involved but I also think alerting people to be mindful of steady weight gain is not a bad idea, especially when they are surrounded by lots of processed fast food in huge portions 24/7.

   If kids get off to a tubby start it gets harder to lose the weight later in life, so it seems prudent to watch early.

   Now maybe Michelle Obama is wrong to draw public attention to her daughter’s weight. You write: “You do not instill healthy attitudes about eating in children through this kind of behavior. It will have the opposite effect from what it’s intended to do.” We’ll see. My mom warned me about overeating when I was a teen and it actually helped me manage my weight later on in life…but every family plays out differently. The Obamas are public figures and that does make matters more complicated. Hopefully things will turn out OK for young Malia and she’ll be healthy.

2. Luke Says:

   February 3rd, 2010 at 7:14 pm

   Made me think of this article I read yesterday on a local news station. I wish I was making this up, it’s that unbelievable.

   http://www.king5.com/news/local/Bellevue-couple-accused-of-starving-baby-daughter-82814757.html

3. Anglofille Says:

   February 3rd, 2010 at 9:14 pm

   Caroline: I think there are two issues. The first is the Obamas commenting on their daughters’ weight in public, which crosses every line I can think of and I do believe it will cause harm to those girls. But as for the general issue of “obesity,” American eating habits are not great. I’m not arguing about that. A focus on healthy eating and exercise is fine. That’s different from focusing on weight. Health comes at every size. There are plenty of unhealthy thin people. There are also plenty of larger people who eat healthy but do not lose weight. The focus on weight becomes more about looks than health, regardless of what anyone says. It leads to demonization of fat people. When people feel under attack, they are more likely to develop an unhealthy relationship with food, develop low self-esteem and depression. People enter cycles of dieting and then bingeing, which makes the problem even worse. Underlying all of this is the pharmaceutical companies, medical industry and other corporate entities that want to cash in on this and the best way to do it is by creating hysteria about an “obesity epidemic,” which besides being a blatant way to make money also plays on existing hatred of fat people. America’s relationship with food is completely effed up and I don’t know how it can be fixed, but this “obesity epidemic” stuff just makes it worse.

   Luke: I can’t believe it! I really think the “obesity epidemic” plays into this. People become even more paranoid about fat, fat people become scum, and it becomes fine to abuse your children so they don’t become fat – which is the worst fate a person can suffer, apparently. These two parents are sick – I’m glad their kids were taken away, but I wouldn’t doubt that they will get them back.

4. Kates Says:

   February 6th, 2010 at 11:14 pm

   I’d love to add on to what you said, but you seem to have hit the nail on the head. (Rhyme not intended.) I spent my summer working in an eating disorder clinic, and the level of insecurity and distortion when it came to body image was horrible. Every single girl (as well as the three or four boys) in there was BEAUTIFUL, but because society has told them that the definition of beauty is narrower than Nicole Richie’s waist line, they all seriously believed they were ugly, undesirable, etc.

   Do I think it would be a good thing for children (American, Mexican, Japanese, Thai, etc) to put down the Wiis and get outside? Absolutely. Do I also think that the problem of obesity is far, far, outweighed by the problem of objectivization of females and the resulting health problems (eating disorders, suicide attempts, self-harm) for young girls? ABSOLUTELY.

   I don’t particularly have a problem with Michelle Obama starting a campaign to get American children eating healthier, but mentioning her daughter was grossly inappropriate. Forget the supposed obesity problem–if you want to take on a major problem in the world, take on the treatment of women world wide. As it so happens, this Thursday (the 11th of February) has been designated as “Tell Her She’s Beautiful Day.” It’s a group that was started on facebook for the purpose of telling women–mothers, sister, daughters, girlfriends, random strangers (although in a non-creepy way, hopefully) that they’re beautiful just the way they are. I’d recommend checking it out, even if you’re not a fan of facebook.

   Also, take a look at the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty–they have some amazing videos posted on YouTube that really capture the problem and the potential solutions.

5. Anglofille Says:

   February 7th, 2010 at 2:05 pm

   Do I also think that the problem of obesity is far, far, outweighed by the problem of objectivization of females and the resulting health problems (eating disorders, suicide attempts, self-harm) for young girls? ABSOLUTELY.

   I agree. And this objectification leads to women and girls having a disordered relationship with food, which can lead to both weight gain and weight loss that is unhealthy. Anorexia and bulimia may affect a small number of girls, but there are plenty of other patterns of disordered eating – such as cycles of dieting and binging, yo-yo dieting, etc., which can cause serious health problems.

   Part of the problem is that fat is considered ugly and unattractive, instead of accepting that people come in all shapes and sizes. And the “obesity epidemic” witch hunt that we currently have just further endorses this stigma and as a result, increases the disordered eating, depression, self-harm, etc.