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So this morning I see that professional fat-hater Jamie Oliver has posted a petition which he’s asking people to sign in support of his “Food Revolution,” and in which he’s included the bullshit stat that “obesity in the US costs $10,273,973 per hour” (sure) and notes, in all-caps, “OBESITY IS PREVENTABLE.”
Celebrities who have signed the petition are posted in rotation: Jennifer Aniston, Eva Longoria, P. Diddy, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Ellen Degeneres.
It’s always nice to see wealthy people with access to the best food, comprehensive healthcare, personal trainers, private chefs, and individual nutritional plans put their names to a petition admonishing the fatties that OBESITY IS PREVENTABLE.
When there are people for whom that is not true, people for whom obesity is not preventable, for myriad reasons, to bray about how their bodies (our bodies; ourselves) are “preventable” is to engage in eliminationist rhetoric.
I will never not be fat.
This is what I (Raphael) have to say about this: I think there are two different issues here that are being conflated.
If the issue is about body image, then yes, no one should ever be made to feel bad about the way he or she looks. This is a huge issue that absolutely deserves to be taken seriously, and Jamie Oliver is an ass for stunts like parading around in a fat suit to make some broader point about “health.”
But if the issue is that lower-class people don’t have the time/money to get healthy, then that’s a real problem and shouldn’t be dismissed with a “Well, that’s the way it is and you’re insensitive for not understanding that.” Jamie Oliver isn’t just trying to make people feel bad about themselves, he’s actually trying to educate people on how to live healthier lives, teaching people how to cook better meals, and (primarily) advocating for healthier school lunches.
Did you think it was ridiculous when last week congress decided that pizza was a vegetable just so cafeterias didn’t have to spend more money on healthier food for their students? If so, believe it or not, you are actually on the same side as Jamie Oliver. Adam Conover wrote a very good blog post about this very subject about a month ago.
I’m aware this is a sticky issue, and a lot of times judgmental ideas about appearance are dressed up in false concerns about “your health,” and Jamie Oliver can be kind of obnoxious in the way that anyone who marries a supermodel and then criticizes others for not eating right is going to be obnoxious, and nothing was ever taken more seriously by putting Kim Kardashian’s name on it, but I guarantee you Jamie Oliver is not trying to tell you you can’t be fat. “OBESITY” doesn’t mean “fat,” and “PREVENTABLE” doesn’t mean “shameful.” Jamie Oliver doesn’t want everyone to look the same, he wants everyone to be healthy. He’s not trying to shame individuals, he’s trying to raise awareness about the unhealthiness of the food industry and pushing those with money and influence (your Jennifer Anistons and what have you) to use their money and influence to make a difference, rather than just focus on their own personally-tailored diets and four-hour work-out regimens.
I agree it’s problematic to have a rich skinny man at the forefront of this movement. It would be much easier to take seriously if it were a working-class fat woman who loved her body and wanted other people to feel as good about themselves. (Maybe this would never happen? Maybe I am blinded by my rich skinny man privilege?) Maybe it’s impossible to separate issues of health from issues of body image and self-esteem, but I think that framing the conversation around not just personal but systemic change and real actionable solutions is a step in the right direction, even if “You need to be healthy” can undeniably be used as a tool to make fat women feel bad about themselves.
Loving Your Body should go hand in hand with Taking Care Of Your Body, but all too often people on both sides try to frame them as opposites.
(via amaliadahlia)
