Hath Jules listened to this? Thoughts?
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/589/tell-me-im-fat
Yes, and I was disgusted. I don't want to go into a full rant but allow me a few bullet points about this:
- Ira says in the opening that the episode is all about this topic and that we will hear from both sides. Fantastic: I look forward to equal time for anti-fat acceptance people on the episode. (SPOILER: not one such person is allowed to speak.)
- The first real segment is with Lindy West telling us how fat shamers are the worst. She is given a one on one interview with Ira and her story is backed with piped in sad violin sounds. When she starts to overcome her feelings of fat shame, triumphant music is played.
- Ira at one point literally says something like "some people say obesity speaks to a lack of self control, like obese people lack willpower to control how much they eat. That thought is just . . . gross." No, Ira, it's absolutely, inarguably true.
- A second segment is with a woman who tried to diet. Having little success, she turns to drug use and surgery. She bemoans the fact that the husband she met while thin might not have liked her fat. She reveals she continues to take speed pills (which she acquires illegally, IIRC) to maintain her weight and wishes she had the confidence to have stayed fat. . . like LINDY WEST, who she calls a hero.
- Third segment is a fat woman talking about how she embraced being fat after reading the inspirational writings of -- guess who! -- LINDY WEST.
- Fourth segment is about Oral Roberts University in the 70s would require overweight students to take physical education classes. Literally this is the closest we come to any discussion of anti-fat acceptance: a program at a religious college 4 decades ago. Don't worry, they make sure to point out, apropos of nothing, that Oral Roberts handled snakes and believed in faith healing multiple times just to reinforce that the idea an overweight person should diet and exercise was the ravings of a loon.
- Final segment: LINDY WEST bonus hour, telling the story of her engagement party. She purrs about how traditionally attractive and fit her husband is and how surprised people are to find out they're married and not brother or sister.
As a long time This American Life listener, I literally unsubscribed the moment I finished the podcast and have never re-subscribed. It was a disgusting shit on the face of journalism. It wasn't an unbiased look at a topic, it was a goddamn shill piece for hambeast infant terrible Lindy West. It hits all the #FatAcceptance talking points: all skinny people are unhappy and likely bordering on a disorder, all fat women are fierce and brave and heroes, and those fat women deserve to date attractive men. (Funny how fat men are never, ever, ever included in this movement ever at any time. I wonder why that is?) Any connection between self-control and weight is dismissed as "gross" and no even worthy of discussion. There is a constant finger pointing at thin people and talking how they have an inappropriate relationship with food, but never the same for an obese person. An hour long recitation of Mein Kamp would be less damaging to society than that hour of propoganda Ira Glass verbally shit on America.
