Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies
Fat is bad, right? Well, no, being fat in and of itself is not bad. However, for the last decade we have been so inundated with messages about fat that it is revolutionary to think otherwise. These messages, this rhetoric, though not succeeding in making our society thinner or healthier, have been a resounding success in making us believe that fat is a Very Bad Thing and that fat people are Very Bad People. The rhetoric of the "war on obesity" has only succeeded in increasing prejudice and decreasing health in the very people targeted for "help" while increasing profits for those perpetuating such rhetoric.

In this book Dr. McMichael examines the rhetorical success of the current "obesity" propaganda while considering its absolute failure to make people thinner or to make a difference in the health of the American people. Considering empirical studies and statistics as well as the actual experience of fat people, McMichael asserts that the "obesity epidemic" is about many things -- prejudice, profit, control, etc. -- but it is not about health. Arguing that our current paradigm is only hurting our society and the individuals within it, McMichael calls for a change in policy and perspective on fat in American society.
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Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies
Fat is bad, right? Well, no, being fat in and of itself is not bad. However, for the last decade we have been so inundated with messages about fat that it is revolutionary to think otherwise. These messages, this rhetoric, though not succeeding in making our society thinner or healthier, have been a resounding success in making us believe that fat is a Very Bad Thing and that fat people are Very Bad People. The rhetoric of the "war on obesity" has only succeeded in increasing prejudice and decreasing health in the very people targeted for "help" while increasing profits for those perpetuating such rhetoric.

In this book Dr. McMichael examines the rhetorical success of the current "obesity" propaganda while considering its absolute failure to make people thinner or to make a difference in the health of the American people. Considering empirical studies and statistics as well as the actual experience of fat people, McMichael asserts that the "obesity epidemic" is about many things -- prejudice, profit, control, etc. -- but it is not about health. Arguing that our current paradigm is only hurting our society and the individuals within it, McMichael calls for a change in policy and perspective on fat in American society.
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Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies

Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies

by Lonie McMichael, Ph.D.
Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies

Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies

by Lonie McMichael, Ph.D.

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Overview

Fat is bad, right? Well, no, being fat in and of itself is not bad. However, for the last decade we have been so inundated with messages about fat that it is revolutionary to think otherwise. These messages, this rhetoric, though not succeeding in making our society thinner or healthier, have been a resounding success in making us believe that fat is a Very Bad Thing and that fat people are Very Bad People. The rhetoric of the "war on obesity" has only succeeded in increasing prejudice and decreasing health in the very people targeted for "help" while increasing profits for those perpetuating such rhetoric.

In this book Dr. McMichael examines the rhetorical success of the current "obesity" propaganda while considering its absolute failure to make people thinner or to make a difference in the health of the American people. Considering empirical studies and statistics as well as the actual experience of fat people, McMichael asserts that the "obesity epidemic" is about many things -- prejudice, profit, control, etc. -- but it is not about health. Arguing that our current paradigm is only hurting our society and the individuals within it, McMichael calls for a change in policy and perspective on fat in American society.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940016207582
Publisher: Pearlsong Press
Publication date: 08/01/2012
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 160
File size: 627 KB

About the Author

After many years as a technical writer in the high tech industry, Lonie McMichael earned a Ph.D. in technical communication and rhetoric. She wrote her dissertation on the medical rhetoric surrounding the "war on obesity" and how such rhetoric legitimizes fat prejudice -- topics which have become two separate books, Talking Fat: Health vs. Persuasion in the War on Our Bodies and Acceptable Prejudice? Fat, Rhetoric & Social Justice (to be published by Pearlsong Press in August 2013). She is currently teaching professional and technical writing at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and working on her third book about things fat.
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