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New Obesity Prevention Campaign Rife with Fat-Shaming
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) sponsored two new billboards in Albany, NY, warning residents that cheese makes you fat in what is possibly most irresponsible way ever. The...
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The Marilyn Meme
Originally posted at Shameless. Marilyn Monroe is often held up as the antidote to the idea that only thin can be beautiful. “Marilyn was a size 10/12/14,” goes a common refrain (though sizing...
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Exotic Dancers in 1890 and the Plump Body Ideal
I recently had the pleasure of reading Peter Stearns’ Fat History: Bodies and Beauty in the Modern West. The book chronicles the shift in American history from a plump to a thin ideal. The beauty of...
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The Quaker Oats Man Gets a Makeover
Given our collection of toy make-overs, I was curious when I heard that Quaker Oats had re-vamped their mascot, Larry. In the toys we’ve covered, the trend is towards greater feminization and...
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The Story of My Man-Boobs
Cross-posted at My Own Private Guantanamo and Jezebel. Of the many nicknames I’ve acquired over the years, there’s one I’m reminded of today. The name was given to me by a bully shortly after I entered...
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“Sexy” according to Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret has released this year’s list of the sexiest womenin 18 categories. Alongside the obvious, 16 of the 21 women are blond, er “blond.” Maybe 15. Whatever. Have at it in the comments....
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Magic Mike: Old Sexism in a New Package
Cross-posted at Caroline Heldman’s Blog.Magic Mike is “wildly overperforming” at the box office because women and gay men are going to see it in droves. Thank you Hollywood executives for finally...
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Sunday Fun
Shared on Facebook by a friend. If anyone knows the original source, please let me know. Perhaps Behance?, says PDK. ———————— Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can...
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Shame & Pity: Headless Obesity vs. Pitiful Starvation
How about images of complete people in the social contexts of their lives?
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Just For Fun: Kounting Kitty Kalories
Apparently we’ve become such a sedentary/weight-obsessed society that we now have to watch our cat’s calories too. See my kitten’s cute paws and the text in the lower right corner: (View original at...
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Evidence: Fat People Can Be as Healthy as Thin People
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. Cross-posted at The Huffington Post. If you live in the U.S. you are absolutely bombarded with the idea that being...
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Re-Touching the Consequences of Extreme Thinness
I’m bringing this old post back up to the top because I found an additional example. I would like for knowledge of this practice to spread far and wide. Please share! ————————— A former editor at...
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“The Sexy Lie,” a Ted Talk by Dr. Caroline Heldman
The 13-minute video below is a Ted Talk given by SocImages contributor Caroline Heldman. The aim is to define sexual objectification, refute the myth that it’s empowering, and offer strategies for...
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Monterey Jack, Meet Monterey Jill
Dieting is for women. I mean we all know that dieting and women go together like peas and carrots. We know this — collectively and together, even if we don’t agree that it should be this way – not...
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Cultural- and Individual-Level Interventions Against Eating Disorders...
Cross-posted at Inequality by (Interior) Design. The problem: A Brazilian modeling agency, Star Models, recently released a new series of anti-anorexia PSA advertisements. They illustrate one of the...
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The Fat Joke: Power and the Meaning of Words
If this PostSecret confession doesn’t break your heart, you are a bad person. Last week I chatted with the Canadian Broadcasting Company for a segment they’re doing on humor and power. I used hateful...
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The Weird New World of Girl Cheese
In May we featured a block of cheese that inspired quite the response. Riffing off the name “Monterey Jack,” a company was selling “Monterey Jill”: the same old cheese, but reduced fat. It was an...
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An Argument for the Total Irrelevance of Beauty
Enjoy these seven beautiful minutes in which Kara Kamos explains that she is ugly and she couldn’t care less (most of the time): What’s more important than being beautiful? Breathing Living The...
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What’s Causing the Rise in Obesity? Everything.
We all know — because we are being constantly reminded — that we are, collectively, getting fat. Americans are at the forefront of the trend, but it is a transnational one. Apparently, it is also...
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Gender and the Body Language of Power
Philosopher Sandra Lee Bartky once observed that being feminine often means using one’s body to portray powerlessness. Consider: A feminine person keeps her body small and contained; she makes sure...
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