Saturday, September 12, 2009

Whatever Happened to the Beauty in Being Overweight? (Solo Branch-Off from Group 7)

As my post's title suggests, there was once a day in which large people—women in particular—were beautiful. A look at any Renaissance nude, such as Agnolo Bronzino's An Allegory with Venus and Cupid., and you'll see a little flab and small breasts. However, today's standard seems to be a slim waistline, no cellulite, and an ample bosom.

To address this change in our culture, Paul Campos argues that there's nothing wrong with being fat. He suggests that the diet industry is in bed with the national government, conning Americans into thinking that fat is bad (par. 3). He goes on to report that no scientific evidence exists to support such thinking (par. 4). Citing from the reputable New England Journal of Medicine, Campos demolishes the idea that to be fat is to be unhealthy and to be thin is not (pars. 5,7).

Contrast this with an article from Eric Schlosser and another by Yves Engler, who both ignore even the possibility that extra weight isn't bad at all. In the latter, Engler claims that obesity is a "health crisis" (par. 1) and that, to combat it, "we need a movement that effectively challenges the capitalist entities that push their interests no matter the weight of health effects" (par. 29), putting the blame on junk- and fast-food corporations. Schlosser, also advocating a "crisis," identifies stong similarities between two major corporations—McDonald's and the Walt Disney Company—notably between the two organization's founders, Ray Kroc and Walt Disney, respectively (par. 4), and implies that the relationship has caused the recent rise in obesity in our country. However, their cases fall short because they merely join the mob mentality that has propagated the thinner-is-better mentality.

If you ask me, I'm much inclined to listen to the apparent minority that Campos has joined. The "year 2000 problem" a decade ago didn't scare me ("Year 2000 problem"), nor do current fears about the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 ("2012 phenomenon"). Hype, in my experience, holds no truth.


Works Cited

"2012 phenomenon." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Sept 12, 2009. Web. Sept 12, 2009.

Bronzino, Agnolo. An Allegory with Venus and Cupid. ca. 1540-50. National Gallery, London. The National Gallery, London. Web. Sept 12, 2009.

Campos, Paul. "Being Fat is OK." Jewish World Review, April 23, 2001. Rpt. in They Say / I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Engler, Yves. "Much of the Responsibility for Obesity Lies with Corporations." Z Magazine, Vol. 16, Dec 2003. Rpt. in They Say / I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Schlosser, Eric. "Your Trusted Friends." Excerpt from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Rpt. in They Say / I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

"Year 2000 problem." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Sept 7, 2009. Web. Sept 12, 2009.

2 comments:

  1. I must say, I ADORE your first paragraph. That is an excellent point to mention. However, I don't feel that was the point of Campos' essay.. he focused more on how being overweight is okay instead of how being overweight is currently seen as opposed to how it used to be.

    I feel that the last paragraph isn't relevent.. I realize that those fears were 'fads' as well, but that was much different. Being overweight is a clinical issue, the year 2000 and the Mayan calander fears are purely hypothetical. For that reason, I felt that the last paragraph didn't conclude your blog post very well.

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  2. I can’t change what you believe but I can bring to your attention that maybe having a little extra weight is okay. But I think what the point is here or what should be talked about is the obesity rates in America. Its very dangerous for someone to be obese and what I’m getting from his article is that he says just relax its okay to be fat. I don’t think people should be so darn worried what others look like but be concerned about health issues here. Besides that I think your first paragraph was great in bringing up the renaissance nude. That’s the way women used to be sexy in men’s eyes. Now that image is portrayed as she doesn’t take care of her self and must eat fast food all day and never exercise. Not every woman is blessed with a skinny beautiful body. Good essay I really liked it.

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