Hello all. I've been absent from these boards for a few weeks, but a recent encounter has pushed me out of the woodwork. I was walking home from class last week when I passed the following flier:
I decided to post this flier because it peaked my interest. This woman is clearly going to be tackling topics we often discuss on the forums. From the sound of it, it would seem that her opinions may differ from the opinions many of us share. "Strategic escape routes being utilized by fat activists"? What is that supposed to mean? On the other hand, she seems to scoff at the term "obesity epidemic" and recognizes the negative effects it has had on society's views of fat people. Either way, I'll be there with bells on. Will I have to I kick up some dust during the Q&A segment? I guess I'll have to wait and see.
What Does It Mean to be FAT?
Thursday, April 5, 2007
5:30pm
Slonim Living Room
5:30pm
Slonim Living Room
What does it mean to be fat in the context of the "obesity epidemic"? Kathleen LeBesco explores the ways in which the medicalization of morality vilifies fat people, as well as the strategic escape routes being utilized by fat activists. She considers how medical information about fatness is framed in a way that promotes panic, fears of contamination, oppression, and examines how people work to resist fat-phobia. LeBesco examines a number of specific strategies utilized in public discourse about fatness and evaluates their usefulness to a revolution of bodies. Kathleen LeBesco, Associate Professor of Communication Arts at Marymount Manhattan College, is author of Revolting Bodies?: The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity and co-editor of Bodies Out of Bounds: Fatness and Transgression and the "Excess" special issue of Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. She is Book Review Editor for the journal Disability Studies Quarterly and Chair of the Disability Issues Caucus of the National Communication Association. LeBesco teaches in the areas of communication theory and media and gender studies.
I decided to post this flier because it peaked my interest. This woman is clearly going to be tackling topics we often discuss on the forums. From the sound of it, it would seem that her opinions may differ from the opinions many of us share. "Strategic escape routes being utilized by fat activists"? What is that supposed to mean? On the other hand, she seems to scoff at the term "obesity epidemic" and recognizes the negative effects it has had on society's views of fat people. Either way, I'll be there with bells on. Will I have to I kick up some dust during the Q&A segment? I guess I'll have to wait and see.
