I consider myself a feminist; I value issues regarding gender equality in society.
I have not read the book Fat is a Feminist Issue, but I agree with the title statement. The suggestion that when people are thinking about personal issues, such as how to manage their weight, it will distract them from working collectively towards finding ways of redressing unequal treatment in society is an interesting theory.
Its undeniable that our presence on earth causes reactions from others; its harder for me to judge whether we are treated fairly or not based on the circumstances of our presence. But I believe that a struggle for influence is what's behind the desire to be considered beautiful. In America women want to lose fat weight and men want to gain muscle weight; in order to have glamour influence over people.
In Britain I learned it is just as important to men to be slim as it is for women. Men bragged when they moved to a smaller notch on their belt. Even more bragging when they had to make a new hole through the belt for the smaller waistline. Someone once explained to me that men in Britain aren't the same as in America, they like to be slim in Britain I was told. That's when I realized fat isn't a feminist issue, Fat is a Class Issue.
When it comes right down to it, I might not ever want to be as slim as I'd need to be to consider myself very attractive.
When I'm researching on-line the really slim girls who blog about weight control, they really do eat between 500-1200 calories a day and still have to exercise a lot too, and they have bowel movements (sorry for being so crude) once every five days or so - that's uncomfortable.
Since high school I felt most comfortable when I was 130 lbs, but right on that edge because when I'd weigh less than that I'd be hungry all the time and cold all the time. I hated being cold all the time. If I weighed more then I felt too fat.
So when I get closer to that weight I'll be able to judge better but that's what I'm thinking about. It might be that I was simply dehydrated back then, I learned only in recent years how important water is to a person to function well. I do know that the less I weigh, the more careful I'll have to be to keep all the balances in check.
Fat on a body, not excessive fat, but a little fat provides a cushion of grace. The body doesn't react so immediately and strongly to every little thing I do or don't put into it.
So when I get closer to 130 pounds, I'll keep reassessing what I'd like my goal weight to be.
Regarding issues of equality, whether gender or class, I'll discuss that more in future posts also.
I have not read the book Fat is a Feminist Issue, but I agree with the title statement. The suggestion that when people are thinking about personal issues, such as how to manage their weight, it will distract them from working collectively towards finding ways of redressing unequal treatment in society is an interesting theory.
Its undeniable that our presence on earth causes reactions from others; its harder for me to judge whether we are treated fairly or not based on the circumstances of our presence. But I believe that a struggle for influence is what's behind the desire to be considered beautiful. In America women want to lose fat weight and men want to gain muscle weight; in order to have glamour influence over people.
In Britain I learned it is just as important to men to be slim as it is for women. Men bragged when they moved to a smaller notch on their belt. Even more bragging when they had to make a new hole through the belt for the smaller waistline. Someone once explained to me that men in Britain aren't the same as in America, they like to be slim in Britain I was told. That's when I realized fat isn't a feminist issue, Fat is a Class Issue.
When it comes right down to it, I might not ever want to be as slim as I'd need to be to consider myself very attractive.
When I'm researching on-line the really slim girls who blog about weight control, they really do eat between 500-1200 calories a day and still have to exercise a lot too, and they have bowel movements (sorry for being so crude) once every five days or so - that's uncomfortable.
Since high school I felt most comfortable when I was 130 lbs, but right on that edge because when I'd weigh less than that I'd be hungry all the time and cold all the time. I hated being cold all the time. If I weighed more then I felt too fat.
So when I get closer to that weight I'll be able to judge better but that's what I'm thinking about. It might be that I was simply dehydrated back then, I learned only in recent years how important water is to a person to function well. I do know that the less I weigh, the more careful I'll have to be to keep all the balances in check.
Fat on a body, not excessive fat, but a little fat provides a cushion of grace. The body doesn't react so immediately and strongly to every little thing I do or don't put into it.
So when I get closer to 130 pounds, I'll keep reassessing what I'd like my goal weight to be.
Regarding issues of equality, whether gender or class, I'll discuss that more in future posts also.
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