Fat and Proud: The Politics of Size by Charlotte Cooper

Fat and Proud: The Politics of Size Reviews

• 
  Jo

  A thought-provoking read. I read this as part of a feminist book club I have with a friend. It certainly generated some strong feelings!
  
  This isn't the first thing I've read about fat activism or size acceptance, etc. I personally subscribe to the theory of health at any size and believe that fat people are fat for lots of different reasons. I also believe that we live in a deeply fat-phobic culture and that fat people suffer a great deal because of society's discriminatory attitudes. For me, this is wrong.
  
  

  Being different in some way from an assumed norm makes fat people super-visible and vulnerable as targets. We find that people consistently invade our space without our consent with comments or non-verbal messages. We are seen as objects of disgust, suspicion or scorn; we are patronised as pathetic victims; or as one-dimensional super-positive role models. We are expected to react, to apologise, to have comebacks, to be 'strong', to assimilate the invasion.

  
  
  I liked how frank Cooper was about the often conflicting views of some fat people who identify as fat activists, but who may also secretly (or not) wish to be thinner or smaller. She acknowledges how, "we live in cultures that are saturated with negative messages about fatness, which are internalised to some degree." However, both my friend and I agreed that the book seemed to be an attempt to justify fatness, rather than addressing some of the difficult questions that relate to fat that I was looking for answers to. One could argue that such an objective is no bad thing, considering the extent to which we rarely hear these voices, and I would agree - to a point.
  
  "The real risk to fat people's health is in our attempts to lose weight"
  
  The book was written in 1988 - and you can tell. It was interesting as a historical document, although much of the book was still relevant. I wondered to what extent scientific and medical thought had developed (or not) in this area. Cooper is very critical of scientific and medical research into fatness, stating it is often contradictory and its research contexts questionable. We are frequently told in the media that the UK is on the brink of an "obesity epidemic", that being fat can increase risks of cancer, heart disease, cholesterol, etc. and I'm interested in reading a critical assessment of how accurate these reports actually are, by someone who believes in fat acceptance, but who also wants to look at the evidence in order to make informed decisions about their wellbeing. I would question the above quotation, for example, and her later statement that, “in order to be healthy and functional, fat people do not need to lose weight.” What, never? I would disagree.
  
  “To me…being fat is more to do with being socially marginalised, with finding out why we as a group are scapegoats, what that implies about social values and how these beliefs and myths impact upon us all.”
  
  We know that diets don’t work and Cooper argues that self-help weight loss groups, “can be places where negative beliefs about fat people and fatness can germinate, and therefore self-hatred is surreptitiously encouraged and exacerbated by the pressure of a number of people believing the same thing”. She continues,
  
  

  “…what is distasteful is that commercial self-help weight loss groups profit from services which don’t fulfil their promises, by perpetuating myths and stereotyped ideas about how dreadful and unhealthy it is to be fat. In doing this, they are disempowering their clients, rather than helping them. They market themselves as community groups and are never upfront about their profit motive. They promote a system of authority and deference: leadership as opposed to collective action, rewards for weight loss and punishment by shame when there is no loss. These groups embody deeply conservative values, where the preservation of authority and the status quo is paramount and not to be challenged.”

  
  
  Preach! She goes on to say that “weight loss treatments are basically ineffectual and compromise rather than enhance our health.” Again, I would agree.
  
  At one point, Cooper states that Twiggy [the very thin model from the 1960s] is “responsible for an epidemic of anorexia”. This seemed a bit unfair and at odds with the ‘all bodies are different, diverse and valuable’ message. She then goes on to say, “fatness is a body size, anorexia is a dysfunctional coping strategy”. There is no mention of how overeating or compulsive eating can also be a “dysfunctional coping strategy” and I really feel she missed an opportunity to discuss this difficult subject, despite how uncomfortable this might feel in a fat positive book. It was an issue I and, I suspect, many other readers would have been interested in.
  
  In concluding, Cooper states that, “what motivates fat people and the fat rights movement is a righteous anger at injustice and abuse”. As someone with a developed righteous anger at injustice and abuse, I would argue that this is a motivating factor of my support and solidarity with the fat positive movement. When I hear fat-phobic words or comments, I’m always shocked by the lack of compassion shown towards people who experience abuse and discrimination. For me, it’s a real red flag, particularly when coming from folk who consider themselves to be politically active and informed. On the counter of this, fat-phobia is embedded in every aspect of life in the west – and sometimes it can be hard to challenge the status quo. We have to try, however! We all have a role – particularly those with thin privilege – to challenge fat prejudice and discrimination when we witness it, if we want to think of ourselves as allies and advocates for marginalised voices. We all have a role to play.
  
  Finally, Cooper talks about having hope for the future of fat activism. This made me sad. I feel that the obsession with very skinny bodies as the ideal body shape has only increased to a worrying degree. I’d be interested to read a more current version of this book and I know that Cooper has recently published a huge tome (Fat Activism), which I was keen to check out, but at first glance it struck me as quite hefty and academic, which is a massive turn-off. End.
• 
  Emily

  Only read the first half but it didn't seem like there was enough to be worthwhile. Evidence is thrown around but without a clear argument moving it along, other than that the author is anti fat-shaming culture. If anything, the case weakens as the book goes on because there are contradictions and a mix of poorly connected citations.
• 
  Kristen

  This book was published in the 90's and it definitely feels dated throughout. I would recommend it as a decent overview of sizeism, fatphobia and the fat rights movement (in the US and Britain). My biggest issue was the author's inclusion of interviews and interviewees. Cooper weaves women's words and voices throughout the book but without giving proper context to the women or the discussions that lead to their quotes. Often it felt like Cooper talked with the women, then wrote the majority of the book and plugged in "appropriate" quotes from the interviewees that bolstered her arguments. It made me worry the women might have been taken out of context at times.
• 
  Kazza

  Really good overall; however, a little dated & tries to equate fat oppression with racial oppression at times.