Although originally published in 1978, the main theme and sub-theses of Fat is a Feminist Issue, by Susie Orbach, are as timely today as then. In fact, its message is even more relevant and critical to women’s health in an era when bodies “have almost come to define the way our lives can be lived.” We are preoccupied and obsessed with our bodies and, increasingly, “women are not realizing how quickly their lives have become dominated by” concerns about their size and the desire to be a perfect example of what the popular culture, i.e., predominantly the mainstream media, food, fashion, and diet industries, decrees attractive.
“Dieting, as I argue in this book, is a recipe for increasing eating problems.” ~~ Susie Orbach
Orbach posits that our innate appetite control mechanism has been corrupted by these outside influences and led to emotional eating on an epidemic scale. Food has taken on attributes such as “good” or “bad,” leaving us “befuddled” and out of step with our natural ability to monitor our food intake and allow our bodies to regulate themselves. As a result, “for every 100 people that go on a diet, 97% of them will be return customers whose diets have failed and who have already regained whatever weight they lost and then some.”
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~~ Featured in the Sixth Edition of Feminism at its Finest at Menstrual Poetry ~~
I previously mentioned that I would be writing about “Fat is a Feminist Issue” by Susie Orbach. When I read this book nearly 25 years ago, it was a life-changing experience. I have gone back and read parts of it from time to time over the years, but decided that it is time to re-read it in its entirety and write about it here, so I purchased the January 2006 revised edition. Originally, published in 1978, the book has been updated and reissued numerous times.
I invite you to read with me and join in a discussion of the book.
Each Sunday, I will write about successive sections of the book. I am not breaking it into chapters because there are only seven and each is packed with so much information that I think the discussion should be focused upon smaller segments.
This Sunday, I will publish an article based upon Orbach’s Preface and Introduction which explain her thesis, the book’s genesis, and what has transpired in the years since its initial publication during the Women’s Movement.
If you would like to participate, all you need to do is obtain a copy of the book which is inexpensive and readily available in paperback — any edition is fine because the only change is the update offered at the beginning. Then drop by this Sunday, read my introductory article, and join in the discussion. I will write about the first chapter next Sunday, October 21, 2007, which will allow time for those of you who wish to obtain a copy to do so.
It is not necessary that you read the sections of the book that I am going to be writing about by a specific date. My articles will remain here so that you can join the discussion at any time, reading and participating in the conversation as your own time constraints allow.
If you struggle with compulsive eating and have spent years trying to figure out why, this book holds the answers. Orbach writes honestly and with a respect for women that is, in my opinion, missing from cacophonous discussion of dieting taking place every day and from every conceivable media source in this country. If you are serious about understanding why you have found it so hard to break old behavioral and eating patterns, reading this book might be a life-altering experience for you, too.
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That’s me in 1961 at the age of four with my older sister. Note you can see our father’s reflection in the glass as he snaps the photo in front of the living room window of what is now my house. My mother sewed those dresses for us and I still have mine: It is pink with black velvet ribbons and is worn by one of my large dolls who is supposed to be three years old.
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