“The Fat Girl” In American culture, the obese body is represented very negatively. One factor that contributes to this negative representation is the abundance of negative reactions that people display towards overweight people. It is a stigma that often taints and belittles the person, leading others to judge the individual negatively, rejecting, hating, or ridiculing him or her. That can often lead the obese person to develop sever psychological problems. In the story "The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus, we meet Louise who has been struggling with her weight since the age of nine. Her mother is extremely outspoken and tells her that she has a problem. She would say “You must watch what you eat”(Dubus 158).Her mother was …show more content…
Carrie hugged her and Louise said “The candy are in the top drawer, help yourself whenever you want”(Dubus 163). Louise finally felt free and accepted. Later, Carrie encouraged Louise to lose weight. Louise agreed. During her weight-loss diet, Louise felt miserable and wished she could be herself again as she was happier then. Louise lost weight and is treated differently because of her weight loss. When Louise returned home after her weight loss, she is received much more positively. Her father no longer looked at her with pity and her mother and relatives reacted approvingly towards her.:...at the airport her mother cried and hugged her and said again and again: You're so beautiful...For days her relatives and acquaintances congratulated her, and the applause in their eyes lasted the entire summer...(DuBus166-169). Louise started to see a young man named Richard who worked in her father’s firm. Eventually they got married and Louise became pregnant and started to gain weight during her pregnancy; and continued to gain weight after she gives birth. Her mother and husband begin to disapprove of her. Louise's husband, Richard, begins to draw away from her emotionally and argued with her about her weight gain. He would say things like “You’re gaining weight, it’s not all water either is fat”(Dubas 170).Louis, begins to remember the satisfaction she got while eating in secret. She felt in her heart that her husband only loved her for her appearance but she didn’t care
Prejudice against fat people is a common thing today because the media tend to advocate incorrect ideas about them. Fat people are seen as losers throughout movies and tv shows. As stated by Ann Marie Paulin, “Fat people are assumed to be lazy, stupid, ugly, lacking in self esteem and pride, devoid of self control...” (245). These assumptions are cultivated by the media to make fat people feel ashamed of themselves. Some people might argue that this is
How do you choose between the love of your best friend, and their safety? In Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher, Eric Calhoune, a high school student, must decide how to help his best friend Sarah Byrnes, who was badly burned by her father when she was a toddler. When Sarah Byrnes stops talking to get away from her dad who was never caught for hurting her, Eric decides that he must find a way to keep Sarah’s dad permanently away from her. Eric makes hard decisions in order to help Sarah and himself such as telling his coach about her burns, telling Sarah’s father where Sarah went, and also keeping Sarah from running away to a special school in Colorado.
The media has distorted people’s views on the way they look at their own body image. The media has shown what their ideal body type is, while leaving people to feel as if the average weight is not good enough. (Cardosi, 2006) We live in a world where people feel as if having zero body fat is the idea body type to have. Pictures of models for clothing stores, bathing suits, lingerie etc. all exhibit to this to be true. Body image is perceived to be negatively influenced by the media and the way that the media displays their models. Parents, teachers, adolescence and even children all find themselves to be comparing themselves based on what the media exposes. (Levine & Murnen, 2009)
Whether it be in media or only in people’s perceptions, Obese individuals are portrayed as gluttonous, dangerously overeating or otherwise always thinking of food.Commonly because of all the food they eat, obese people also must be well off, living stable enough incomes to support their “food-addiction” and probably sit around all day. But if they don’t understand the basics of how food works, they must be stupid too, right? Basically the American view on obesity is anyone that appears or is obese must be dumb, sloth like with enough money to support the expense of gallons of ice cream a week.
Society today has distorted what a healthy physique actually looks like. It tells you, if you don’t have muscles bulging from under your skin then you are out of shape. And that if you are overweight you are just ugly. Another false concept is that if you are overweight you’re lazy or not self disciplined (Bordo 2). There are so many factors that have to be accounted for when evaluating someone’s weight. To assume that someone is lazy or weak because they are overweight, is ignorant. Many people are deceived into thinking that obesity is terrible like a sin. In her article Susan Bordo gives an example of a study taken where children chose obesity to be more uncomfortable or embarrassing than dismembered hands or facial deformities when shown
“America’s War on the Overweight” by Kate Dailey and Abby Ellin talks about the issues facing obese and overweight individuals. There have been countless examples of hate towards obese/overweight individuals in America which the article describes in detail. For example, when Regina M. Benjamin was nominated for a MacArthur and got criticism for her weight publicly. Some of the individuals who were criticized are not even overweight, but just normal sized with a bit of belly fat. So why is there animosity towards obese individuals? The article states it is due to self-loathing of a nation which prides itself in Puritanical beliefs. As well as psychological phenomenon known as the fundamental attribution error which makes you underestimate others
The short story “The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus teaches readers about a real life struggle that is commonly faced by others. The main character of the story is Louise, a young teenage girl who deals with the issues of being overweight. Her mother worries about her weight and tries to control it by feeding her on a diet. While Louise is around others she tries to eat salads and healthy food so it does not appear as if she has a problem. When no one is watching, Louise binge eats and sneaks sandwiches, candy, and other unhealthy snacks that her mother would not approve of. One of the main struggles she faces from being overweight is the fact that no boys are interested in her. She starts going to an all-girl college and befriends her roommate, Carrie. Louise and Carrie help get Louise on the right
The pressure to lose weight in today’s society inhibits the personality and health of overweight people while essentially increasing the weight of the people who experience these pressures (Worley 163-167). So reasons Mary Ray Worley in her article, “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance.” Worley uses her personal experience as well as a small number of facts to dispute why overweight people struggle as they attempt to contribute to society (163-167). In the beginning of her article she references an association of which she is a member, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, to convey the possibilities to advance society when judgement based on size is abandoned (163-164). The association holds a conference every year, and Worley continually refers to the atmosphere at the convention as “another planet,” suggesting that the scarcity of judgment during the convention differed significantly from her everyday experiences (163-164, 167). Applying her encounters to all people of her weight category, she declares that even doctors blame the majority of sicknesses on weight (165). She also proclaims that people should not diet and exercise in order to lose weight, as this triggers loss of motivation without results, but to improve their attitude and mood (166). Referencing Dr. Diane Budd from the convention, she states that attempts to lose weight cause “lasting harmful effects on one’s appetite, metabolism, and self-esteem” (164). While Worley’s unjustifiable
In the American culture, obesity is seen as a bodily abnormality and deviance that should be corrected. Obesity has indeed become one of the most stigmatizing bodily characteristics in our culture (Brink, 1994). In the Western culture, thinness does not just mean the size of the
Atlas also highlights that obesity contributes to poor health in individuals. However, he neglects to mention other difficulties obese individuals face on a functionalist front. As thinness is celebrated by society, negative sanctions are often applied on obese people. They are commonly stigmatized and perceived to be less competent, lazy and lacking in self-discipline, which poses difficulties
Obesity usually results in psychological problems. In a culture where many people desire their physical attractiveness is more likely to be slim and not being obese. Individuals who are obese often suffer disadvantages. One disadvantage is low self-esteem, which causes depression. Persons
There is scientific proof that obesity is linked to many serious health conditions of our time. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis [(National Institutes of Health) (Haslam)] are just some of them and were responsible for almost 400,000 deaths in America in 2004 alone (Goldfarb). These conditions even if they do not cause death, are serious enough to significantly decrease the quality of an individual’s life. The aesthetic effects of obesity, on the other hand, are known to cause depression and low self-esteem. Unfortunately, the criteria that most people are judged and evaluated today are based on the stereotypes created by advertisements and lifestyle in general. A thin, fit person has more chances of being likable and preferable than someone who is overweight, in many aspects of everyday life, including the workplace. All these situations create a very negative impact on the mentality of an overweight person.
In “What’s Wrong with Fat-Shaming?” by Lesley Kinzel and “Solve America’s Obesity Problem with Shame,” by Chris Friend share two different ideas about shaming against obesity. Body-shaming happens to everyone at some point in their lifetime, it sometimes includes inappropriate negative statements and attitudes towards a person weight or size. Fat-shaming is a term made by obese people to avoid their responsibility in taking care of their body. These people make themselves victims in society by pretending they are being discriminating like an ethnic group.
Weight discrimination “generally refers to negative weight-related attitudes toward an overweight or obese individual” (Puhl 1). Obesity numbers started to skyrocket in the 1990s and weight discrimination started to become a problem about five years later. Obese individuals are susceptible to weight discrimination at health care facilities, school, work, and even in personal relationships. Studies have found that the chances of experiencing weight discrimination increase the more an individual weighs. “In our study, 10 percent of overweight women reported weight discrimination, 20 percent of obese women reported weight discrimination and 45 percent of very obese women reported weight discrimination. men were lower, with 3 percent of overweight, 6 percent of obese and 28 percent of very obese men reporting weight discrimination. This finding also tells us that women begin experiencing weight discrimination at lower levels of body weight than men” (Puhl 2). For women weight discrimination is more common than race discrimination.
Obesity can lead to diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, even some cancers and potentially death. These are all very serious medical issues that need to be addressed. The psychological change would be effects on self-esteem, depression and even face professional and social discrimination. Overweight people may not be hired just based on their weight. If an employer has another candidate for the position that isn’t overweight, that person is more likely to be chosen over an obese person. Obese people can meet the requirements, but due to weight, the individual may not be chosen because the potential employer may think if they can’t control their eating, then they can’t control other behaviors. Society may judge an obese person as messy or not organized but anyone could be messy and disorganized. There are many stereotypes of obese individuals which is part of why depression is common among obese people. Depression is much more than just sadness. A depressed individual may feel tired, worthless, hopeless, and unimportant. Obese people may suffer from insomnia or excessive sleep, and can have recurrent thoughts of suicide or death. Depression greatly affects the individual’s self-esteem and stress levels. Fortunately depression is treatable with antidepressants and therapy. Children may have bullies at school, or even at home, that pick on