In Farrell's text, she has provided us with a social definition of what it means to be considered a citizen and a civil person in regards to body size. She explains that citizenship has relied on a particular body standard; thinness. If you are therefore, over weight, obese or viewed as being a "fat person" then you are not considered a civil person, because you have visibly proven that you have no self control over what you eat. From this definition I have realized the difference in shaming a woman for her inability to have self-control versus shaming a man for not having self control.
Before class ended today Professor Shaw asked us to think about how Farrell's brief discussion of masculinity and fat shame interjects her text, and what particularly does it offer in her writing. In response, I think it provides a space where fat shame amongst women can be compared to that of a man.In Farrell's text, she includes the brief story of Greg Critser who says that his humiliation and shamefulness of his body size was that it threatened his masculinity. This suggest that men who are being taunted for being fat are being attacks through the spectacle of their manhood; and their strength and robust body that they are suppose to have. But for women I think it more so attacks their humanity or sense of morals and how they embrace those morals. In being a fat woman, you are condemned for not controlling your eating habits; and then being a fat man you are taunted for being fat rather than strong. There's a difference here. I think this suggest that as a man you may still hold your civility even though you may feel humiliated by your fatness, but as a woman your civility is something which is immediately taken away from you if you look fat.
To better profess my argument, I attached a clip from the show Man vs. Food. On this show Adam Richman travels to many different states to take on food challenges of the areas most largest entrees. This show I believe endorses uncontrollable tendencies of bad eating habits; ones which women are thereby shamed for.
In this clip, pay attention to the way Adam Richman is cheered on,it makes a particular commentary of the ways men can step outside of the standards of self-control when it comes to eating.
In contrast, I believe Nancy Upton's story is significantly different from the way Adam is portrayed in this show. Essentially, Adam is being encouraged to stuff his body with all kind of "fatty" foods and unhealthy foods, but no one seems to fault him for it, and are rather entertained by it. Nancy, although intends to create a mockery with her images of her stuffing her face with food, was negatively criticized for her images. She was basically told that there's no way she could have inner beauty if she would take images such as the ones that she submitted to the company. Both her images and Adam Richman's show, I believe, propagate the same things. The self desire to feed your body whatever you want, and stuff your body with whatever foods you want. The social and public condemnation is just different. While Nancy is attacked for her choice of eating what she wants, Adam is cheered and encouraged for it. Do you See this difference in how women and men are being labeled of human civility? Do you agree with my argument in part or in full? Because to me it seems as if men can step outside of the standards of self-control and still be congratulated for it, but women can't. What do you think?
My parents watch Man Vs. Food very often and recently Adam has stopped making new episodes of the show for the criticism he was receiving about his weight. So now he hosts the show Man Vs. Food Nation where he watches other people stuff their faces. If you watch a clip of this new show compared to his original show, you will notice that his style has gone from laid back to well put together and his weight has changed greatly. So even a show where a man was eating a lot of food, the intensity of the media focusing on his weight forced him to retire his eating habits and focus on watching other people consume food until they were about to burst. I think this shows that no one is safe from the intensity of the media and the incredible focus on weight (man or woman).
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