Winner of the 2010 Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology Winner of the 2010 Susan Koppelman Award for the Best Edited Volume in Women’s Studies from the Popular Culture Association
A milestone anthology of fifty-three voices on the burgeoning scholarly movement—fat studies
We have all seen the segments on television news shows: A fat person walking on the sidewalk, her face out of frame so she can't be identified, as some disconcerting findings about the "obesity epidemic" stalking the nation are read by a disembodied voice. And we have seen the movies—their obvious lack of large leading actors silently speaking volumes. From the government, health industry, diet industry, news media, and popular culture we hear that we should all be focused on our weight. But is this national obsession with weight and thinness good for us? Or is it just another form of prejudice—one with especially dire consequences for many already disenfranchised groups?
For decades a growing cadre of scholars has been examining the role of body weight in society, critiquing the underlying assumptions, prejudices, and effects of how people perceive and relate to fatness. This burgeoning movement, known as fat studies, includes scholars from every field, as well as activists, artists, and intellectuals. The Fat Studies Reader is a milestone achievement, bringing together fifty-three diverse voices to explore a wide range of topics related to body weight. From the historical construction of fatness to public health policy, from job discrimination to social class disparities, from chick-lit to airline seats, this collection covers it all.
Edited by two leaders in the field, The Fat Studies Reader is an invaluable resource that provides a historical overview of fat studies, an in-depth examination of the movement’s fundamental concerns, and an up-to-date look at its innovative research.
Esther D. Rothblum is Professor of Women’s Studies at San Diego State University. She is the editor or co-editor of over twenty books, including Overcoming Fear of Fat. Sondra Solovay is an attorney, adjunct professor of law, content developer, and activist focusing on weight-related issues, diversity, and the law. She runs the Fat Legal Advocacy, Rights, and Education Project and is the author of Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination. She lives in Berkeley, California. Marilyn Wann is Founder of the FAT! SO? 'zine and author of FAT! SO?: Because You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size!
Table of Contents
Foreword: Fat Studies: An Invitation to RevolutionMarilyn WannAcknowledgments Introduction Sondra Solovay and Esther RothblumPart I What Is Fat Studies? The Social and Historical Construction of FatnessPart II Fat Studies in Health and MedicinePart III Fatness as Social InequalityPart IV Size-ism in Popular Culture and LiteraturePart V Embodying and Embracing FatnessPart VI Starting the RevolutionAppendix A: Fat Liberation Manifesto, November 1973 Judy Freespirit and AldebaranAppendix B: Legal Briefs About the ContributorsIndex
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
This book wastes no time getting in the reader's face about its intentions to break critical ground on the emerging field of fat studies and the need to combat inequities limiting the lives of fat people. The tone is strident; the essays will provoke reactions, especially from scholars studying obesity and other weight-related issues within a public health framework... This unapologetic reader, laced throughout with theory, analysis, and research findings, is written in a consistently direct and impassioned style. It is an invaluable map of fat studies, giving voice to its proponents and outlining an agenda for future work. Summing Up: Essential."-CHOICE,
"The publication of The Fat Studies Reader is a watershed in the institutionalization of this new field. The thick volume comprises forty succinct pieces authored by a mix of established researchers and budding new scholars, overwhelmingly women, working in diverse academic fields from within the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences... Readers will find plenty to chew on in this big, fat, juicy volume."-Women's Review of Books,
"An eye-opening, thought-provoking volume that challenges our basic assumptions as well as the 'truths' by which we have lived our lives, and eclares war on the 'War on Obesity'."-Feminism & Psychology,
"The value of this anthology lies not just in the scholarly analyses, and the critical lens applied to traditional assumptions and social practices, but its development of a call to action." -Sex Roles,
"The book...mark[s] a watershed moment in fat studies."-Michael Brown,Townhall.com
