Feb 27: Policing the National Body: Medical Discourse, Citizenship and
Nation
(intersectionality) Neoliberalism, medical discourse 23/02/2014 05:09:00
← Collateral Damage from Friendly Fire?: Racism Nation, Class and the "War
Against Obesity" by author April Michelle Herndon
← - the institutionalized oppression of fat people
← - Americans are a nation that celebrate their birthday with "quintessential foods" 127 -
hot dogs and hamburgers yet go against those foods in its government -sanctioned dietary advice
← - as the public health campaign against obesity intensifies, being slim and "healthy" are
treated as the patriotic duty of each inhabitant
← - there is a central tension and contradiction of our nation's moralized war against obesity
← - surgeon have reported that the direct health care costs of obesity were said to be
widespread accounting a large chunk of the nation's healthcare costs
← - Shape Up America in addition to the economic burden the organizers listed a long list of
health problems they believe are obesity related
← - health and human secretary launched a campaign - all Americans as their patriotic duty
should lose 10pounds
← - Thompson says that "fitness can also signify who is not a worthy American like the
same way of saying a person is fit for marriage or not or being a mom
← - the state-sanctioned mandate to be patriotic by losing weight suggest that by being fit to
be an American means watching one's weight - Americans must meet a corporeal standard and
rake the moral responsibility to be patriotic citizen
← (neoliberalism- individual approach)
← - intersectionality - for those marginalized within the US culture - including women ,
people of colour, immigrants, working-class and poor people - being fat can yet be one more
stigma
← - it is like many scholars have argued that being the ideal citizen is being white , male,
and middle class and the notion of the ideal citizen is further complex as Thompson states that
responsible citizens are those who diet and are thin and US has a growing number of people
outside the ideal citizen
← - news report continue to suggest that the fattest people in the US are people of colour,
immigrants and members of the lower class
← so the war against obesity begins to target a specific group of people who are already in
some sense inferior citizens ← - this paper examines the movement of classifying obesity as a problem of class, race,
and nationality with economic repercussions for the US posing a serious threat to the health of
our nation
← - the author argues that that our nation's war on obesity negatively affects a growing
number of people due to the moral imperatives involved in narratives about race, food, bodies,
belonging in and assimilation
← - the author argues that the politics of fatness and fat bodies operate as a linkage to power
where we can see national anxiety and new forms of racism sexism
← - author sees the rhetoric like war against obesity as a value discourse with unintended
but negative consequence for overweight and obese people and suggest that the benefits of the
war may not offset the costs
← - the use of the language e war Sherry points out indicates a enemy and in this case
locates the disease within and on the bodies of the victims
← - those advocating for the war against obesity see themselves engaged in a battle for our
nation's health because they believe obesity poses a public health threat to the US
← - doc, public health officials and concerned journalists writing in support of war against
obesity fail to see that war against obesity also means war against fat people
← - to have a war against aids , poverty without involving the people at the intersections of
these identities and social location seems impossible
← - the association of the disease is understood as immoral behaviour
← - those attacked are pathologized on the basis of culture /behaviour even if these
pathogens are flowing like for instance sever acute respiratory syndrome and AIDS call to mind
dirty Asians and infectious gays who voluntarily act irresponsible
← - this goes back to the article on FASDS aboriginal women and drinking too
← - - obesity not a pathogen , or virus attacking victims instead it is always a condition
brought on oneself thus a war on obesity cannot be a war on a faceless pathogen
← - obesity is a condition of human causation and thus a creates a war against the group of
people involved in the behaviours that cause it
← - David Satcher dec 2001 brought the two and this time US was reeling from 9/11 attacks
and bush was on verge of tracking those responsible and Satcher's war on obesity began to be a
reference to war on fatwa (Arabic word) religious implications
← - the fatwa a legal decree issues by Islamic fundamentalists and associated with western
media with death sentences - provided new means of discussing war on obesity
← - a survey shows that this war on obesity is a fatwa like thing but for fat as health
advocates suggest taxes on junk food
← - seavey's article other journalists adopt "fatwa" 130 to discuss war on obesity ← - where do religious implications of fatwa lie and why do journalists use this to describe
the campaign?
← - savey being hesitant on war against obesity because violates individual rights by too
much government intervention at the same time he says fat is a side effect of American wealth
and free market - we must remember to hate fat and not those embodying it - so seavey's belief o
fact he sees fatness a physical and fiscal economy of excess that should be managed by the
individual
← however this campaign is not new as history shows
← - Hill Schwartz shows how there is evidence of history to show fat occupies our national
imagination and is poignant in times of war like ww1 was not about fatness but the start was
about food and soon fats as ppl began to see it criminal to waste rational foods like fats, meats
and sugar and fat ppl were targeted because it was assumed they were excessively consuming
rationaed" 131 goods
← - so Thompson asking Americans lose 10 pounds follows historical trends of national fear
about excess and the assumption that those overweight are most wasteful is -historical trend of
national trepidations" 131
← - now Satcher's new war against obesity the fatwa- -this takes on international and
nationalists meanings that exceed those associated wit simple campaign for better health
← - the supports reason is the cost of obesity like direct cost (hospital, medicine, doc visits
-45.8 billion 1990) and indirect (23 million reduced productivity, missed work, disability
pensions) of obesity in the us 118 billion annually
← - these shock Americans especially since these exceed costs of tobacco related expenses
← - the discussion has taken the word "crisis"132 - and US and other countries face shortage
of health care resources, but the lang of fat rises and emphasis on the figures that seem
outrageous amplifies action and target of fat people as the responsible group
← - the social costs of fat people (being disabled from working due to fear of low
productivity and rise in healthcare insurance) go unexamined because US population are seen as
beneficiaries of public and government charity rather than productive citizens
←
← - JIll O HILL scholar- the notion that fat Americans eat too much food, the figures
suggest they are also unproductive at work and the supposed health care costs that are taken by
ppl that do care for themselves cause a justification over fat oppression
← - author stating that we have empirical proof that fat ppl are costing our nation money -
dangering our national health care budget and not fair for those who are not brining this so
should action not be taken? ← - solutions? cultural critics and public policy officials have casted a solution for curbing
the obesity related expenses like the one Kelly Brownell did called "tax on junk food"(132) -
hoping to create extra government revenue for the healthcare of people who are overweight or
obese while simultaneously encouraging some currently overweight and obese to diet and thin
ppl to stay that way
← - the difficult part of such policies that are overlooked is the assumption behind what it
means to lose weight - the IRS policy allowing deductions when a doc recommended a program
for weight loss makes it clear that the ideas surrounded this government policy are that weight
loss necessarily promotes health - a true health campaign might supplement gym memberships
for everyone rather than weight loss for a few
← - thus it looks like the "public health campaign" 133- is really a battle against obesity
which the author argues obese people rather than a battle for the nations health
← - feminist scholars, cultural critics have reported that people of color and women of
colour are immune to fat discrimination - they argue that black women have even more at stake
in the achievement of the ideal body image
← - Thompson says that the ideal western representation of womanhood and beauty is white
skin, long blond hair, blue eyes and most black women are thin or heavy falling outside the
traditional notions of beauty so Thompson stakes a counter argument to the stereotypes and
states that black women are concentered about weight because they understand that being heavy
removes them even further from the ideal of western beauty
← - main actors in the way against obesity make a point that people of colour and the
working class are mores at risk for obesity adding that "modern obesity like cholera" is more
common among the poor
← - stats about fatness do support this fact - 33% obese were blacks, 26 Hispanics and 19
whites
← - poverty, class and income emerge as the key determinant of obesity and weight related
disease
← - however to refute this Mark Kennedy states that articles use stats to justify the war on
obesity and classifying overweight as a health problem for people of colour or poor people - they
bear out politically incorrect stereotypes , while we are at risk of getting fat , its the poor and
educated who are most at risk to be obese and articles like Critser leads us to think that its more
about class and race than anything else ← - critser knows that economic disparities in the US but still stays that by working hard
one can be both rich and thin - but the author does not agree with these stats he gives and author
does not believe that ppl should not avoid inequities that guarantee some rich ppl access to a
wider range of healthier foods , opportunities, and time to exercise and better health care , but the
assumption here is that a wide variety of foods, exercise and better health care cause thinness
which is what Critser and other supporters of war against obesity suggest
← - Critser's argument rests on the belief that thinness like obesity is always controllable
← - look at how Critser follow inequalities through the issue of a young black women, their
rising obesity rates and body image , although he argues that many poor blacks are forced to eat
MCD he is still troubles by the notion that anyone be exempt from weight based discrimination ,
as Cristser maintains that the obesity epidemic is driven by fast food industry that traded in its
desire to be associated with a white, family atmosphere for a growing inner city , poverty . so he
argues that fast food industries exploit populations who are hungry , need food, short on cash and
time and lack transportation - but he author says that he does not focus on capitalistic
exploitation as the suggested target of public anger
← - contrasting stats on black and white women's avg weights , Critser thinks that social
stigma may control obesity among white women
← - he says that African American women need to be enforced on ideal body weight and so
they should be teased more and when he was asked that communities need autonomy and
African rights need to hold diverse standards of beauty and body size , he goes to say that this
thinking denies minority girls incentive to lose weight even if unpleasant like stigma - so author
says this asshole open up a another way for discrimination
←
← - physicians like Angell say that medical campaign are against obesity because of
medicalize behaviour we don’t approve of
← - in this age of political correctness, obese ppl can be criticized with no punishment
because the critics are trying to help them thus showing obesity as a issue of class and race gives
new ways for racism and classism (esb using obesity and rise in health)
← - they say that changing conditions allow new forms of racism - competition for resources
in NA generates racial hostility thus promoting new racism
← - its not a coincidence that a time when musicalized or biologically based accounts of
race and poverty have fallen out of fashion
← - Critser- argues that we must see that social and economic causes obesity and affects
poor people of colour more than others and there should be rights for critismi of these obese
people in de-moralizing ways- he sees obesity as a cause of poor parenting skills and misguided
familial and cultural than having an argument on class injustices ← - he says that obesity is a volitional and a problem for weak people of colour who make
their children with fattening foods
← - he goes to say places like MCD , donut stores are the bathhouses of obesity epidemic ,
its the places where high risk pop gather to engage in high risk behaviour
← - the tie of obesity , MCD, bathhouses , HIV establish obesity as a correlate to a disease
many Americans consider to be the punishment of engaging in high risk "137 bathhouses-
suggest these behaviours are volitional since one chooses to go and so is fast food
← - however poor ppl of colour are trapped by their economic situations and this is the root
of obesity then why compare them to and their behaviour with gay men? a group not associated
with economic and lack of choice - well this is done so because lashing obesity to homosexuality
casts obesity as a crime against nature and morality and Critser uses this because AIDS more
recognized on these bodies allows historical example of the effects of moralizing discourse it
will have on obese people
← - in spet 2000 anamarie regino a 4 yr old Mexican American girl was taken away from
her parents because she was obese but her mom adela said that the case was more than health but
her family being treated by the social worker involving citizenship and race and the social
workers assumption of her being born in Mexico - and she wanted them to be ignorant foreigner
so she could write that on her report and it was true , according to Lisa Belkin a reporter for
TNYT investigated and found the social worker hinted that the family does not understand the
threat of their daughters safety and welfare due to language and cultural barriers - so the worker
assumed because of their culture and race could not care fr their child which led to obesity - this
leads to point that government is intervening by changing the consumption patterns and its not
surprise since they have a history involvement of food programs aiming to change food choices
of those seen culturally different and have a interest in the food choices of immigrant and
working class- and although wr on obesity is new the government concern about obesity and
immigrants is not
← - Margaret Mead was to stud the interrelationships of food habits and culture in hopes to
find a way to change diet in non threatening ways but her study showed that patterns of
consumption is too complex and bound to ppl's identities for the government to make any
recommendations regarding nutrition and food
← - unlike mead , Bruch did a study and found immigrant parents refusal to adopt to
nutrition plans come to show obesity because of poor family dynamics and psychological
problems and are problems of assimilation and so studying children and psychological factors
she measure how well immigrant parents were fitting in American society ← - Paula Saukko says that Bruch's study was bout whether or not immigrant families were
living the American ideal and not just a certain weight and living to this ideal means complete
Americanization and weight became a stand in for assimilation and belonging - the regino case
show that these associations are still evident in contemporary America
← - obesity is a tactic used to criticize people already marginalized
← - war on obesity is tangled to discourses on nationalism, citizenship thus re evaluation is
needed for the goals - we must take into account the human costs or else Americans become
victim of fire during the war on obesity Canadians Denied: A Queer Diasporic Analysis of the Canadian Blood
Donor by OmiSoore Dryden 23/02/2014 05:09:00
← Canadians Denied: A Queer Diasporic Analysis of the Canadian Blood Donor by
OmiSoore Dryden
← - donors wanting to donate blood to the Canadian Blood Services are read "it's in you to
gibe" (77) however your blood may not be wanted
← - the eligibility requirements have "indefinite deferrals and have 6 factor leading to it -
geographic deferrals , exposure to CJD, HIV, Diseases, Diabetes and false reactive - all men why
have had sex with another man even once since 1977 are indefinitely differed - deferral to
suggest that a person's blood is postponed when in fact there bodies have been preeminently
banned from this process
← - CBC services' blood donor screening is a significant part of a large system that is
intended to protect the blood supply from deadly infections
← - in particular HIV/AIDS and target particular bodies like bisexual men, gay men and
men who have sex with men are examples of bodies indef
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