Humor

I know this letter is long and that's now how you're supposed to do protest letters, but I'm long-winded, people.

Dear Jon Stewart,

Your bit with the fat suit on Monday’s show (September 14^th, 2009) was distasteful, less than amusing, lazy, and sorely problematic. I know what you were trying to do. People called you all lazy for taking three weeks off; and since fatness is the ultimate symbol of being lazy, you got in a fat suit. And since Jon Oliver had joked on his radio show about eating two whole cheese steaks (or so I hear), you threw that in. Since you have a playful relationship with Brian Williams, you took the opportunity to incorporate him. I get that you were taunting your naysayers.  

I also get that for you it (likely) wasn’t about fat people at all—but that’s part of the problem because it was on our backs. I know it seems initially an outlandish notion, but you being in a fat suit and TDS using stereotypes and images of fat people the way you did affects my every day life. I’m not saying you hate fat people or that you are responsible for all of the derision and discrimination fat people face—certainly not. But you are responsible for what you do, the messages you spread, and your complicity, especially when so many people regard you as someone well-reasoned, critically-minded, and progressive, someone who engages in smart, sharp (if silly) comedy. Hang with me a second.

See, I am a fat person, and every day I deal with people judging me as just some lazy fatass who doesn’t deserve a god-damn thing (aside from a good fat-shaming, for my own good). Fat discrimination, according to a recent study[1], is as prevalent as race and gender discrimination in this country. I’m not just talking about how people judge me on the street or how there is no room for bodies like mine on TV. Fat discrimination and weight bias are prevalent in health care, education, and employment. It affects real living, breathing people. For instance, it affects the quality and thoroughness of care we receive from medical professionals, and we suffer and some of us die because of that.[2]

But what does this have to do with you in a fat suit? Fat suits have been compared to blackface. Now, that’s not a historically equivalent comparison in any way, but the the function is similar. You can put on a fat suit and laugh with everyone else at the fat representation of you and how gross and disgusting and wrong it is. TDS can further dehumanize fat people by using a picture of a (faceless) bed-ridden fat person with Williams face Photoshopped on—participating in what Charlotte Cooper calls the parade of headless fatties—to drive home how disgusting it is to be fat. [3] And in the process you and TDS can metaphorically masturbate stereotypes that perpetuate the bias and discrimination we face in our every day lives—all for your joke that really isn’t about fat people, which just means you have no regard for us in the process. And then you can take that suit off and you don’t have to deal with the consequences.

Your promotion of fat stereotypes and dehumanization of fat people is part of a greater system of bias, discrimination, and dehumanization which directly affects my quality of life. It helps give people the idea that it's perfectly okay not to have any regard for us. After all, if we didn't like it, and if we had any dignity, we'd just put down the sandwich, right? If you had any sense, you might not assume fat people give up their dignity by virtue of being fat. For more a more nuanced critique of “Fat on Film” you can visit the recent Newsweek slideshow of the same name: http://www.newsweek.com/id/213419.

This is why I’m disappointed in you and the TDS writers. I expect better. And frankly, the best way to show your audience you haven’t gotten lazy isn’t by telling lazy jokes.

There are three things you can do to help fat people and our work toward social justice. First, educate yourself on this issue. Do not take what you think you know about fat people for granted. Put some critical thinking into it and be willing to challenge your own assumptions. Second, bring critical fat studies scholars or fat activists onto your show. Open a conversation. Linda Bacon (yes, bacon, haha) is a preeminent scholar of Health at Every Size, who has found that fat people who don’t diet and don’t lose weight can be healthier than ones who do.[4] She has just published a book on the subject. Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby also have a book out called “Lessons from the Fat-o-Sphere.” Recently, scholars in the UK have published a book called “Fat Studies in the UK” and soon the long-awaited “Fat Studies Reader” will be out. Finally, we don’t care if you make fat jokes, just make them funny. Make sure that you aren’t merely reinscribing harmful stereotypes, and make sure they are the same critical quality as the rest of your bits.

Sincerely,

Withoutscene

Fat Human Being, Fat Activist, and Doctoral Student in Sociology and Women's Studies

If you loved Joy Nash's Fat Rant II and the now apparently defunct *very sad face* Health Institute for Nutrition, you will love this article over at The Onion debating the pros and cons of abstinence-only lunch programs.

Here are some gems:

"There's no evidence to suggest that instructing teens not to chew, swallow, or even think about food is actually going to stop them from eating," Sebelius told reporters. "Let's face it: Kids are already eating. And not only during lunchtime. They're eating after school, at the mall, in their parents' basements. Pretending like it's not happening isn't going to make it go away."

"After all, they're teenagers," Sebelius continued. "Eating is practically the only thing on their minds."

An interesting commentary on how making natural things taboo (like sex and eating) only fosters obsession. Not to mention how urges for food and sex are conflated and treated as sinful.

Also, the key to not getting fat:

"I'm never ever going to eat, because eating is wrong, and I'm worth more than a chicken sandwich with asparagus and rice pilaf," Woodbridge seventh-grader Tracey Holmes said. "I heard Jennifer Hines eats all the time, like 50 times a day. I heard she eats all her ice cream upside-down, though, so she doesn't get fat. That's how it works."

Thanks to GiniLiz for this!