How can we protest the Thin Quo?

13th June 2008

How can we protest the Thin Quo?

posted in Personal |

I think Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a tool, but I appreciate his recent article in my latest edition of Time magazine, “Taking on the Thin Ideal.” The article is about a team of University of Texas psychologists and a unique method they’ve developed to help foster positive self-image amongst teen girls and to help curb the rise of eating disorders. Their main weapon against superskinny (role) models: a brand of civil disobedience dubbed “body activism.”

The program, which started in 2001 and involves more than 1,000 high school and college students, works by getting girls to understand how they’ve bought into and been sold on the thin ideal. The teens write essays and role-play with their peers and are encouraged to come up with and execute small, nonviolent acts challenging the thin quo like slipping notes saying “Love your body the way it is” into dieting books at local bookstores and writing letters to Mattel, makers of the impossibly proportioned Barbie doll. They also write and post notes in their school bathrooms with messages like “You are beautiful” and “Be yourself.”

The project has seen stunning results. As Gupta writes:

According to a study in the latest issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the risk of developing eating disorders was reduced 61% among Body Project participants. And they continued to exhibit positive body-image attitudes as long as three years after completing the program, which consists of four one-hour sessions. …The study’s lead author, Eric Stice, designed the Body Project betting that a crucial element in preventing eating disorders lay in getting a participant to critique a fashion ad or other negative influence in front of her peers.

The project, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, is now seeing peer-launched versions of it at colleges and by other groups. I also plan on appropriating parts of the program here in a new body-positive initiative I plan to launch shortly of simple ways we can all get involved to protest the thin quo (it’s all part of The Master Site Plan). But I want to hear from you first: What are some ways we can all easily and non-confrontationally protest the media saturation of thinness and weight-loss?

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1 On June 13th, 2008, Epiphany Alone

said:

I’d say by boycotting companies that use the Thin Quo to sell their products, and letting them know this. Money talks.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 8:51 am

2 On June 13th, 2008, MrsDrC

Well, for one it’ll be a cold day before I set foot in a Subway again. Unless the whinning of my 6 year old drives me over the edge.

And in light of “My Beautiful Mommy” we really need to start writting some children’s books of our own.

I’m doing my derndest to teach my sons that their bodies are just FINE the way they are, and so is everyone elses.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 9:12 am

3 On June 13th, 2008, Shelly

I think leaving notes and messages are a great idea. I say this because I can vouch for the fact that it works. I once saw written on a bathroom stall, “You are infinitely beautiful.” I don’t know how, but that small gesture really changed my perception about myself, and I adopted the phrase. I think I will start passing this small gift on.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 11:10 am

4 On June 13th, 2008, BigLiberty

I agree with Shelly. Rachel, I think it would be great to come up with a bulleted list of short messages, with maybe a short website at the end of them (or not). Some that already exist — which I like — are:

* Don’t diet, riot
* So what if you’re fat?

Some others that could be neat:

* Don’t go on another diet, love yourself (in a diet book)
* But the last diet didn’t work, either (again, in a diet book)
* Who says you should be thin? (again)
* It’s not healthy to starve your body.
* Your body is your temple. Feed it.
* Live unairbrushed.

And so forth.

I always thought a college campus flyer campaign would be great, in addition to notes in diet books, in bathroom stalls, on bulletin boards at work, etc.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

5 On June 13th, 2008, sarah

@MrsDrC: I emailed Subway the other day about their stupid commercials, but I haven’t heard anything back from them yet.

I love, love, love this project! What a wonderful way to teach young women about body acceptance: I think actively participating in something like this is much more powerful than just reading a book about self-esteem or whatevs. Plus, it’s subversive, which I think is a big draw for teenagers (and, well, for me, too!). I think I’ll start carrying a Sharpie around.
BigLiberty, I particularly like “live unairbrushed.”

Back in college, I used to have this picture safety-pinned to my backpack — what if she were photcopied and posted around?: http://emmaville.typepad.com/diary/2005/09/can_you_pinch_m.html

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

6 On June 13th, 2008, yellowhammer

Speaking of the Subway commercials, the latest incarnation of the one with the guy getting the burger no longer says you will need extra-strength deodorant.

It still shows it in the commercial, but the dude doesn’t say it anymore.

Its weird, of all the offensive things in that commercial, they chose to take that out.

7 On June 13th, 2008, Bree

Not buying magazines that blast “The Diet That Will Help You Drop 6 lbs in 6 Days!” and others like it on the cover, right next to a recipe for chocolate cake of course.

Or, buy the magazine, tear out all the diet shilling articles, bake the chocolate cake, and eat a slice.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

8 On June 13th, 2008, Liza

Collages of emaciated models with “They are the exception, not the rule” or something similar.

Xerox and tape to walls as necessary.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 2:42 pm

9 On June 13th, 2008, Charlotte

BigLiberty, I love the “Live Unairbrushed” one. I may have to write that down and put it on my own mirror!

I’ve started changing the channel whenever a diet commercial comes on. I just can’t watch them anymore, even when I’m not really paying attention to the TV and just have it on for background noise.

A few months back, there were a stack of diet magazines left in the student lounge of my school; they were there for anyone to take. When I left for the day, I took the whole stack and tossed it in the trash.

posted on June 13th, 2008 at 9:19 pm

10 On June 14th, 2008, Mel

Why do you have to dis Dr. Sanjay Gupta as a tool? Is it just because he was involved in a CNN special that you didn’t happen to like because it explored concerns over rising levels of obesity? The man is an accomplished, intelligent neurosurgeon. Give me a break. I really like your site and I agree with you most of the time, but it seems so childish and uncalled for to throw a schoolyard insult at a brilliant professional. It also seems so unlike you …. you are normally so level-headed, thoughtful, and well-spoken.

posted on June 14th, 2008 at 8:44 am

11 On June 14th, 2008, Rachel

Sorry, Mel. We’ll have to disagree on this one. Gupta may be an accomplished surgeon, but I really dislike and disagree with much of the obesity fear-mongering he’s done in the name of television celebrity famedom. And it wasn’t just one special; Gupta does this on a regular basis now.

posted on June 14th, 2008 at 10:33 am

12 On June 14th, 2008, withoutscene

While I think that’s great, I find it disturbing because when we do this stuff or suggest that people do, we are considered freaks and radicals. I wonder if girls of all sizes were involved in the program.

At the same time, it’s great that body activism is being used and getting results.

And although I love the idea of having a list of simple, easy, non-confrontational ways to protest…I’m feeling pretty confrontational today. I think today is the day I’ll put together some fatpol t-shirts, confrontational ones

Finally, I totally agree with you that Gupta is a terrible obesity-monger, one who’s often found right in our dr’s offices. He does not deserve the respect of fat people.

posted on June 14th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

13 On June 16th, 2008, DaniFae

My husband has started covering up the diet magazines in store checkout lines, he’ll pick up a non-body centric magazine, gaming magazines, sometimes cooking magazines if he can find one, and put them over every “loose 10 pounds this week!” magazine he can find. Yes, I’m sure the store personel hate him with a passion.

posted on June 16th, 2008 at 9:01 am

14 On June 16th, 2008, FLo

this makes me happy, I always try to do the writing little messeges thing. There’s this one bathroom at my college that is top to bottom covered in body positive, happy, awesome graffiti and everytime I go in there it makes me soo happy. it does always make me mad though when it gets painted over though.

posted on June 16th, 2008 at 5:41 pm

15 On June 17th, 2008, Body activism works to reduce the power of “the thin ideal” » The Curvy Life said:

[...] to Rachel at The-F-Word.org for her article on Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s (CNN) report in Time magazine and on his CNN blog. [...]

posted on June 17th, 2008 at 12:07 pm

16 On June 18th, 2008, Sarah Janes

I thing it is completely ridiculous that you called Dr Gupta a tool. Completely. No one talks about the issue of childhood obesity in this country that has a national voice. He is level headed and rational, and taught me many things. I am a nutritionist who has spent her life exploring these issues and Dr Gupta is a model of the way these issues should be covered. You, on the other hand, have just become an insolent, whining official hack. I used to recommend your website in my class — it is now officially off the list.

posted on June 18th, 2008 at 8:53 am

17 On June 18th, 2008, Rachel

Sorry, Sarah, but again we’ll have to agree to disagree. And in case you’ve been living beneath a media rock, there are lots of professionals, media representatives, concerned parents, pharmaceutical reps, etc… who are talking about the issue of childhood obesity. Next to obesity in general, childhood obesity (and the parents of fat children) have become Public Enemy #1.

I would hope, however, that we could disagree without resorting to childish name calling. As a nutritionist who teaches students, I really expected you to display a higher maturity level about this.

posted on June 18th, 2008 at 9:31 am

18 On June 19th, 2008, MrsDrC

I think I’m going to start slipping notes that read “You are not obligated to make them feel better by feeling bad about yourself.” into mags at the checkout.

I came back to this post to say that. But I gotta back up Rachel on the Dr. Gupta thing a bit.

I have in the past agreed with some idea’s he’s put forth. However just because he’s got “Dr.” infront of his name does not make him an expert on complete health. Dr. Gupta is a surgeon by training, not an internal medicine specialist, or endogranologist…a surgeon. His field of expertiese is actually rather small. He can read study after study, as can any of us, but he’s still a surgeon. It kinda reminds me of a situation my husband got into on the family message boards. A family memeber was raving about a book written by Dr. Soandso and claiming all must be true because the author was a doctor. It only took one quick google search to find that the author, the “doctor” had a degree in a field that was totally unrelated and he was using his Ph.D. to validate his idea’s. I feel to some degree Dr. Gupta does the same. He uses “Dr.” as a badge of truth, when in fact he may be misinformed himself.

posted on June 19th, 2008 at 11:46 am

19 On June 23rd, 2008, Sarah Janes

I just want to make sure I understand what this website is advocating. Because Sanjay Gupta has an MD after his name, you won’t trust what he says? Instead, some woman with a blog who gets a dozen hits a day is the woman you are going to go with. Hmmm. Look, I am a nutritionist, and I had my fair share of dealing with pain in the bootie doctors. All I am saying is that Gupta is on the money, both scientifically and ethically, when so many others are not. Don’t diss on some of the most reliable and sensible voices on this issue. To call him a tool? Have you ever met the guy? I haven’t and maybe he is a tool, but I doubt it. All I know is that his reporting has always been fair and accurate, when it comes to nutrition related items.

posted on June 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 pm