The Real Obesity Problem
While we (perhaps) wait for an Official Response to MeMe Roth and her ilk, here's Kelly Bliss and Joy Nash taking her on in a recent episode of The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet.
Roth's coded language is interesting; she definitely treats fat as a disease, and it oozes into her word choices. "Weight problem". "Normalizing obesity". She harps a lot on junk food stuff - that seems to be her main angle here - and one can extrapolate that when Roth talks about self-care, she means weight loss. ("Love your curves, but take care of yourself.")
And that, that right there, is the reason fat acceptance can't be in bed with dieting for weight loss. She's implying that if you're fat you're not "taking care" of yourself. Taking care of yourself = losing weight = "healthy lifestyle". Yet, as we know, one can be fat and taking care of one's self and for some people being fat may be a direct result of taking care of one's self. These two messages are incongruous: we're saying yes, you can be fat and healthy or unhealthy; she is saying that you can't be fat and healthy. And insofar as "normalizing" fat goes, don't make me laugh. Canada has one ambulance for fat people. One! And yet, it's normalized? I don't think so.
Kelly Bliss really brought it home in the clip, particularly on the Jordin Sparks non-issue.
The two big elephants in the room that weren't tackled, sadly, are the "what about the kids?!?" argument and the lack of an advocacy for anyone who is fat and unhealthy. The issue with kids has been dealt with superbly at Junkfood Science in the past:
The average weight of a 10-year old boy surveyed in 1963, for instance, was 74.2 pounds; and less than 85 pounds in 2002 — an increase of around 10 3/4 pounds over the past 40 years. Similarly, the average 10-year old girl today weighs about 10 1/2 pounds more than girls surveyed 40 years ago. The figures for teens over the past 36 years show nearly identical differences. Meanwhile, over the past 4 decades, the average 10-year old girl is about 1 inch taller, as is the average teenage boy.
SHOCKING RAMPANT CHILDHOOD OBESITY EPIDEMIC OMG.
Insofar as the fat and unhealthy go - setting aside a semantic argument over what constitutes health - it is very, very important for us to remember that the fat health issue runs parallel to the fat rights issue, but the two are not the same. All fat people deserve dignity, respect, and equality, lifestyle notwithstanding. Moving the argument over to "But it's unhealthy!" or "Adopt a healthy lifestyle!" simply moves the judgment marker from "fat" to "healthy".
Because, really, if you "take care of yourself" and are fat or eat "junk" food and are fat, you can still get fired just for being fat. That's the fucking obesity problem right there.
Edited to add: Kelly Bliss posted the full 20-minute segment on Google Video.
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Broad spectrum of healthy weights, my big fat ASS.
MeMe Roth claims she isn't thin because she has a "normal" BMI. *SNORT*
I'm really feeling Kelly Bliss's statement that we only need to do the best that we can for ourselves on any given day. I think that, in part, tackles the issue of fat and unhealthy as well - because doing the best that we can for ourselves may not include maniacally pursuing health as a moral imperative.
I DO wish Joy had spoken up more, but I sympathize. What do you say when actually faced with someone like MeMe Roth who spouts things that are just flabbergasting?
I don't own a television for this reason. Recently, while in the states, I was horrified by the amount of "war on obesity" "obesity epidemic" propaganda was being talked about on mainstream news. So and so was killed, there was a hurricane, fat people are going to die.
When I watched this episode all i see is MeMe exhibiting privilege. She does not "see" her own status and the privilege she gets from being a thin white educated woman and therefor can not see the ways her words are oppressive. Mumbo jumbo? I am so glad Kelly Bliss was able to be the outspoken educated woman she is. It is clear that MeMe (ME ME) wasn't listening but hopefully others, who are used to the internal feedback that people like MeMe provide, will have gained inspiration.
It is disgusting that shows like this can take place where people are allowed to make blatant judgmental statements and it be considered not only acceptable but agreeable. I can imagine in years from now how shows like this are going to be seen as prejudicial and distasteful...or at least I hope.
I found this really hard to watch, even though they at least put two fat-positive people up against MeMe. I just wanted to jump on every word out of her mouth, and I was disappointed that she wasn't called out more on specific statements. Like, it's been proven that being 10 or 20 lbs. overweight causes serious health problems?? Boy, I'd like to see that study. And, uh, how does that square with your later assertion that a broad range of sizes is just fine? That "broad range" is what, 5 lbs.?
Ms. Bliss is absolutely correct in her assertion that there is a movement to normalize extreme thinness. I have a favorite store that I have exclusively patronized for almost six years now. This store only carries up to a size 12 and has always shown models that were emaciated, to say the least. However, their clothes were extremely well made (I have numerous pairs of pants that are over 3 yrs old and look brand new) and stylish and I could almost purchase everything without having to try it on because the sizing was so consistent.
That came to an end this spring.
I went to this store to purchase several pairs of jeans, and proceeded to try them on to find the pairs with the longest inseams. Imagine my shock when NONE of the size 8 jeans (which I have worn in excess of 5 years) fit me. I asked if they had resized and was informed they had not. I purchased the size 10 pants and assumed that despite my weight being stable, I must have lost some muscle mass, which had been replaced with fat.
A few weeks later, I went into the same store and heard one of the salesgirls remark that the mannequins in the window were no longer fitting into a size2, they now wore a size 4. The other girl remarked that the corporation noticed their clothing on several "bigger" girls and had decided to adjust their sizing down so that this undesirable demographic would stop parading their exclusive brand on their too wide midriffs.
Amazing
Gaaa! "We're normalizing obesity." Quick, call the size police. Oh, wait. Memememememe IS the size police. What I noticed is her first response is to say self love involves self-care....because, ya know, fat people just don't work out or eat "right." If they did, they wouldn't be fat, ergo, if they are fat, they're not taking care of themselves, so they don't love themselves...Bleh.
Wish someone would've countered Memememememeeee's assertion that an "extra 10 to 20 pounds" is "not OK." Then she attacks Jordin Sparks for admitting what she eats AND admitting that she likes it. The horror! A woman who's not behaving herself by being sorry for having an appetite! Oh, yes, there's no doubt the likes of Mememememeeee wants to control the message. It's not that she has a problem with Jordin! It's that she wants Jordin to talk about it less. (Shut up, confident young woman! Shut up!)
And, why should it be alarming that clothing manufacturers are making clothes that will fit all kids? Should fat kids have to wear bags? Oh, that's right. Making real clothes for real kids sends the wrong message. (Translation: not Mememememeee's message).
Thankfully Kelly steps in: "We have an issue of needing better nutrition and a more active lifestyle There is a basic assumption MeMe in what you're saying...that anybody who eats helathy and exercises daily is going to be lean."
Then MeMemememeee backpedals, claiming she wasn't saying what she said. And she still does not realize that you can BE obese, but active and healthy. Grrr.
The fact that she's being called "skeletal" when she has a BMI of 20 PERHAPS ought to indicate how meaningless the BMI is...not that we've "normalized" obesity.
Kelly again saves the day: "The goal of focusing on weight-- small, medium or large--is a fallacy."
Yeah!!!! Finally, someone is being given the opportunity to say it in a public setting. And people applauded.
Props to Mike and Juliet, too, for having this topic on their show.
What an annoying human being this Meme Roth is. So this is her life's work, making sure fat isn't considered normal? I actually looked at the website associated with her (she sells t-shirts on this topic, can you freaking believe it) and I see no bio, no credentials, no anything other than her screeching comments about how "normalizing obesity" is apparently as big a problem as fatness itself (to her that is).
Does anyone know what her background is? Why is she spending all her energy on this supposed cause?
Thank God people are talking back to her. I'm really proud of both Kelly and Joy for being as articulate as they are, and for having the self control to look at her politely while she was talking. I don't know that I'd have been so restrained.
Ugh, Ok, apparently I have no patience, or a bad connection or my computer is just against me, all three of which are strong possibilities. I had this nice little blurb written out that honestly I was pretty proud of, but it never posted! *whine* Ok. Here it goes again, although I don't think it will have as much impact now.
After finally bracing myself and watching the video, I just about fell out of my chair laughing hysterically. Why, you may ask? Because I have this tendency to not always look at the person talking, but instead try to read the reactions on the other's faces. While they managed to hide Meme's face while Joy was talking, they had her in the shot almost every time Kelly was talking. If you watch carefully towards the end of the clip when Kelly is talking, you will most notably see the blankest expression a person could possibly have on one Ms. Meme Roth's face. At first I thought that perhaps it was just out of plain ol' disrespect, but then I looked a bit more carefully. Her expression reminded me greatly of many an actor/actress that I have worked with that simply memorize their special set of lines and instead of reacting to the scene and other actors on set (or stage) they simply wait for their cue to come and then suddenly once more come to life for the length of their lines. It was as if Meme didn't have a single individualized thought in her head, but instead was simply waiting for whomever was talking to be quiet so that she could once again spout her nonsense and show her total disreguard for the truth about "obesity".
You see, when you can look at it like that you realize that Ms. Roth is not an "obesity expert" but in fact an "obesity puppet."
There's some really good news about MeMe Roth:
1. She apparently has no credentials other than a background in public relations. If anyone finds evidence to the contrary, please post it. Some blog posts have mentioned she is a housewife from New Jersey, and that her organization is nothing more than her and a website. Again, if y'all know otherwise, please say so.
2. A quick poke around Google (search for her name, see the results) tells me she is generating lots of controversy, but not a lot of support. An informal review of reactions to her criticism of Jordan Sparks make me think she has pissed off 90% of the people who have a reaction one way or another to her statement.
3. In addition to her attack on Jordan Sparks, who is a teenager who is partaking in a SINGING contest, not a weight contest, was the first in a short series of actions. She's also called for an end to the manufacturing and distribution of Girl Scout Cookies, and complained because there were too many fat people at a Y in New Jersey where she stopped to work out one Tuesday. If she's trying to rally people to support her cause, she should not do things like complain that fat people are working out at a gym. But that's just advice from someone who has been in the media and had 90% of people supporting her, instead of vice versa.
I think her name, MeMe, is telling. This really is about her, and not about the health of anyone, fat thin or in between.
So, I can't take her too seriously. She is annoying though, really annoying.
Waaait. She was complaining there were too many fat people at the Y? But she tells Mike and Juliet that fat people need to work out more? Talk about the things that make you go HMMMM. Or, not really. What she said on the TV show was her attempt to seem compassionate; what she said about the Y shines a hard light on her prejudice. She obviously couldn't give a flying you-know-what about whether fat people really "take care of themselves." She just can't stand the sight of us.
Also, don't forget her comment during the Morning show about how appalled she is that a major catalogue (did she say Lands End?) just came out with sizes up to a 4X for kids. Is it really her position that she doesn't think fat children should have clothes? If so, she's going to be thought of as anywhere between uncharitable and cruel, none of which will advance her position. These types of comments really confirm that she is not here to help anyone, but to judge and condemn them.
She comes off as more radical and hysterical than any fat acceptance person I've seen in the media, ever. I hope her fame is short lived, I really do. If it isn't, she will be the one to live with the legacy she is creating, which is just about as ugly as any I've ever seen.
I've heard Roth referred to variously as a "nutritionist" and an "obesity expert," when she has, like you said, Jennifer, absolutely no credentials whatsoever -- other than, perhaps, having slept once with Eddie Van Halen 20 years ago (and even that's unconfirmed). Calling her an "obesity expert" is like calling James Dobson a "homosexuality expert." If you hate it enough, you know everything there is to know? That's what bugs me even more than her being allowed to spew such crap on the air -- that people attribute credentials to her that she absolutely does NOT have. They hate us too.
Yeah, and WTP about fat people at the Y -- I guess we fatties are expected to stay home and do jumping jacks in our bedrooms until we're thin enough to have the temerity to go out in public? And we're supposed to do them naked, too, apparently, since clothing manufacturers are aiding and abetting us even by making us workout clothes. Jeebus.
THANK YOU for posting that!
It was great to see both Kelly and Joy together on the same stage. I have always admired Kelly Bliss and Joy's fat rant made me shout with joy...finally, someone standing up and saying what I have always wanted to say.
It tickled me to see how uncomfortable Meme was positioned between the other two women. I bet she ran off-stage and took a cold shower to remove the fat cooties at the end of the segment! tee-hee-hee.
It WAS great to see MeMe seated between Kelly and Joy, but it was also interesting to me how she kind of dominated the interview, at least as far as speaking went. I haven't yet watched the whole 20 minutes, but while she showed no hesitation to interrupt the others, the others were not so prone to interrupt her. I feel like she got a lot of airtime for her hate speech.
I like how she goes from saying that 10-20 pounds overweight is unacceptable, to saying that we should be between "Anorexic" (When she knows better [At least I hope]
) and obese. 'CUZ all da big people are da same.... 
If I ever go on TV to talk about my Size Activism, and they bring up my Martial Arts practice: I would totally break/hit something with MeMe's picture on it. ^_^