Brenda Oelbaum Goes National with the Goddess at Her Back

Feminist artist Brenda Oelbaum’s use of the Venus of Willendorf as the sculpture made from diet books strikes at the very heart of fear and prejudice toward larger bodies. Now she is bringing her work turning diet books into Venus of Willendorf sculptures onto the larger stage with “a national ad campaign to take down $66 BILLION Diet Industry.” I just posted about it on Body Impolitic. She calls her project “DUMP THE DIETS! a Fight for Freedom from self-loathing.” Brenda’s work shows bravery worthy of a goddess–I adore the picture of her, resolute, nude, surrounded by towering walls of diet books.

1984, 1954 and 2013....the more it changes, the more it stays the same--can we change it?

In a new Body Impolitic post, on hate speech as popular group activity, am I the first to quote George Orwell, Charlotte Cooper and a couple of FBI criminal profilers all in one place? I think so. Also there's a healing reimagining by Rebecca Weinberger of what Charlotte Cooper calls LIFE Magazine's 1954 "vintage fataphobia."

Turning the Princess Narrative Sideways

At Body Impolitic Debbie Notkin and I consider the marketing of Princesses and Girlz to little girls, where it came from, who profits, how it affects girls and some thoughts from mothers trying to keep daughters from getting swept away.

Who's Afraid of the Swedish Plus-Sized Mannequins?

From the country that brought us Ikea and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, department store mannequins that look more like real women. And that's scary because....? At Body Impolitic, some thoughts on the controversy and the history and politics of mannequins from King Tut's tomb till now,The Meaning Behind the Mannequins.

Junk Food Addiction and Diet Deprivation: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Two different ways of manipulating people that both end in binge eating. I’ve recently come across articles about the seemingly unrelated topics of engineering food to be addictive and conditioning teenagers to be lifelong dieters. The first common element that struck me was disconnecting the body’s natural relationship with food and turning it into a marketable commodity. More at my Body Impolitic post.

Looking at "literary" novels and wondering, if I'm not "against fat" am I "pro-fat"?

I posted on Body Impolitic just now about some so-called "literary" novels that portray fat characters through the lens of prejudice. They wish to accept praise for accurate observation, yet their views on fatness owe more to myths than to keen insight, and their solutions for their characters' problems use what I have dubbed the Diet Ex-Machina. So does my view make me "pro-fat"?

Huge, a TV series that transcends the book

Some thoughts on Body Impolitic on the ABC Family TV series Huge

Usually a book contains subtle layers and little touches that are missing from the more streamlined film version. But Huge is that rare video that adds depth and nuance. Some thoughts on Body Impolitic on how the TV series transcends the book. (also that cool Nikki Blonsky strip tease confrontation at the fat camp weigh-in.