December 26, 2019 — While many of us hit the pause button for the Christmas holiday, others were following a body positivity drama on Twitter. Economist Boyce Watkins offered a theory about the source of fame for a singer known as Lizzo. Obesity caused it. He was dissing her because of her body size. Without missing a beat, Lizzo […]
December 4, 2019 — We feel vindicated. Presently, the price for watching video streams is exposure to a troubling Peloton fitness ad. Over and over again. Sure, it’s an ad. But if you turn off the sound, it looks more like a hostage video than a sales pitch. To our sensibilities, it’s creepy. The Cultural Conversation It turns […]
October 13, 2019 — The fitness industry is booming. But is it promoting fitness and health? Or is it promoting an unhealthy preoccupation with body image? Writing for The Lily, Nicole Chung reflects on this dilemma. Becoming a fitness instructor, she got herself into great shape. However, she found that her body image issues grew worse than ever as […]
September 15, 2019 — In response to Bill Maher’s suggestion for more fat shaming, James Corden has a simple message. “Let’s be honest, fat-shaming is just bullying and bullying only makes the problem worse.” Opening the Floodgates Corden opened the floodgates with his 8-minute response to Maher. Already, his clip has more than a million views on YouTube – […]
September 10, 2019 — Bill Maher has kindly reminded us that we have no time for hateful public figures. Friday he held forth with a hateful diatribe about fat people on his HBO platform. He says we need more fat shaming. According to him, the answer to obesity is to shame people into having smaller bodies. With talk about […]
August 13, 2019 — The o-word has long been a problem. “Obesity” is a medical term that is more than just off-putting. It’s a stigmatizing diagnosis. Even worse is labeling people as “obese.” That’s not OK. Most people with obesity will tell you that they might have some excess weight, but obesity has nothing to do with them. Thus […]
June 13, 2019 — This week the Telegraph published a very touching essay by Tanya Gold, describing her heartfelt concern for the health of mannequins. Specifically, she’s concerned about a Nike mannequin she’s diagnosed with obesity: She is immense, gargantuan, vast. She heaves with fat. She is, in every measure, obese, and she is not readying herself for a […]
April 27, 2019 — For reasons we cannot fathom, Jay Leno decided to deliver a rant about “this disturbing trend of gluttony” that he supposes is the root cause of obesity. Thanks, Jay. But you’re not helping. Food marketers might be pushing a lot of disgusting “innovations,” but gluttony is not the root cause of obesity. And rants about […]
April 10, 2019 — Blue Bloods is a CBS drama series about a family of police officers in New York City. Fans appreciate the show for exploring the reality of complex moral issues. Last week the show explored the issue of fitness – i.e. obesity – and unfortunately failed to live up to its reputation. Bottom line, the show […]
March 25, 2019 — Whatever you do, don’t make the vegans mad at you. Yovana Mendoza Ayres is finding this out the hard way. She’s a social media star, known as Rawvana, who built her brand around a raw vegan lifestyle. She sells meal plans like the Raw Vegan Detox and Yoga Challenge, which goes for $49 on her […]
