We could all stand to lose a few pounds

AHA!

I love that feeling of epiphany.

It came to me today when I was thinking about something that my dad had said about my blog.

He agreed with me that the media's incessant harping on weight loss is disproportionately targeted at women.  But he also insisted that these are insipid, low-class forms of media, and the fact that people are taken in and swayed by it is a symptom of another problem: the dumbing-down of America.

I may not like it, but I understand the core of his argument.  And yes, it's annoying to scroll down a reputable website showing me an image of an acai berry on the side, or a cartoonish woman in profile with her belly rapidly inflating and deflating, or either of these, really:







And I'm not even going to address tabloids whose survival depends on their depiction of celebrity weight gains and losses.  These blatantly fat-hating, "insipid" forms of media are not worth my time and energy to attack.

And right now, I'm going to leave aside the issue of the fact that fat people with normal personalities are not allowed to exist in TV shows and movies.  Today I'm going to talk about reputable, mainstream media.  They do not singlehandedly shoulder the responsibility for fat hate, or spawning an endless network of feel-better-look-younger-road-to-a-happier-thinner-better-you websites and magazines.

(Don't get me started on articles like this one, which suggest that fat people who are comfortable with their bodies are somehow setting a dangerous example for the rest of us.  But I digress.)

But they are complicit in the "every one can afford to lose a few pounds" (ECATLAFP) phenomenon, folks.  It's particularly scary; now fat people are not the target, I am the target!  Or else I might be fat one day?  Or else I will no longer be beautiful?  Regardless, t's what my friend AJC brilliantly referred to as societal control.  Because the thing is, it's not technically untrue.  So look out!  It's everywhere.

She insists she sleeps better, her allergy symptoms have disappeared, her mood has improved, and -- not her goal but a nice bonus -- she has shaved 10 pounds off her solid 5-foot-5 frame.  - Washington Post, "Paleolithic Diet is So Easy, Even Cavemen Did It", January 2, 2010

Gah!  It's subtle.  And it's every bit as stupid as this:

But it begs the question, which banal rhetoric is fueling the other??

"Two groundbreaking new studies address the irksome question of why so many of us who work out remain so heavy." - New York Times, "Dieting vs. Exercise for Weight Loss", August 1, 2012

 Researching now, I am overwhelmed by the amount of articles devoted to weight loss, exercise, and health.  I will update with more examples as I see them.  Have you read anything like this lately - a casual mention of the fact that your body at its current weight, regardless of its level of health, is not sufficient?