Radio Show Update

3rd July 2008

posted in Fat Acceptance |

After I was offered my current reporting position, I met with one of the top editors who asked me if I had any difficulties with public speaking. My response was that I’ve made a fool out myself so many times now, I just don’t care. And it’s true: I’ve digested shoe leather so many times, I now consider making a public buffoon of myself part of my genetic makeup.

Sometimes I get it right. I delivered a flawless commencement address completely by memory at my college graduation before some 13,000 people and even appeared on national television this past January. But put a microphone in front of my face and I instantly turn into a floundering, nervous stutterer of run-on sentences and incoherent ramblings. Part of it, of course, stems from not wanting to sound like a babbling idiot before a wide audience of people — a fear made worse with the archival powers of the internet. A larger part, however, is because my mind tends to process information faster than it can relay it to my mouth (characteristic of many with ADD). Luckily for readers of both this blog and my academic professors, my mad typing skills keep pace with my brain better than my mouth does.

The radio show went rather well today, despite a nervous, shaky start from me. I tuned in from my local NPR member station and my husband kept messaging me to slllooooow down and relax. The show was presented exactly as the producer said it would be, with no surprise guests of the fatphobic nature and no rude callers. There were four callers total: a doctor who wanted to bring up the health aspects of obesity, which provided the perfect catalyst to talk about issues of weight-based discrimination in health care like those shared on First, Do No Harm; a man who wanted to know more about the genetic aspects of weight; a formerly-thin-turned-fat woman who compared her experiences as a thin and then fat woman; and then a mom who wanted to know how to address issues of weight gain with her daughter (you gotta’ listen to the last call). My fellow guests Peggy Howell of NAAFA and dietitian Nancy Kuppersmith were both fabulous, and the show was, as I assumed it would be, reflective of the high calibre of NPR shows in general.

I’ve noticed a trend after I talk about issues of Health at Every Size or body-size acceptance with people, both on an individual basis and before a larger audience. Many people feel naturally compelled to respond with anecdotes of their own personal experiences with weight and weight-loss. Sure enough, after the show, the local station producer who set up the line for me shared with me his own experiences with weight-loss, weight regain, and then weight-loss again and also that of his girlfriend. Certainly weight is an issue that resonates with a lot of people; many of us have either struggled with our weights or know a friend or loved one who has — all of which makes weight-based discrimination so curious to me. Fat people are among our friends, family and loved ones; they teach our children and attend our churches. They’re our mothers and fathers, partners or spouses, sisters and brothers. Regardless of how one personally feels about fat or fat people, I think we need to ask ourselves: How would we want our fat loved ones treated? The answer to this question should then dictate how we treat the fat loved ones of others.

If you missed the show, it will re-broadcast tonight at 9 p.m. EST — listen to streaming audio here – and then archived on the show’s website here.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Fat Acceptance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On July 3rd, 2008, Peggy Howell

said:

I agree that the show went well today. Good job! It was nice to have all the guests coming from the same perspective and complementing one another’s remarks and expounding on what had been said. I felt that the callers offered us great opportunities to reinforce our message. The time seemed to fly by for me and I don’t think you sounded nervous, but your husband knows you best, I suppose! Thanks for a great job and I hope we have many opportunities to work together again in the future.

Looking forward, Peggy

posted on July 3rd, 2008 at 4:19 pm

2 On July 3rd, 2008, Bree

I tuned in for the 2nd half. I wished I had been able to send a telepathic message to the last caller: “your daughter’s weight is not something YOU can change. No amount of wishing or pestering or bullying or loving will make her thin. I’m assuming your daughter is over 18 since she has graduated from high school (or even perhaps college…it wasn’t clear). She now owns her body completely. It isn’t yours to decide whatever to do with, however good your intentions are.”

posted on July 3rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm

3 On July 3rd, 2008, Rachel

Well, I can understand where the mother is coming from. I mean, you don’t just stop being a mom when your kid turns 18. All the mom hears in the media is how fatness equals a death sentence and so her mom instincts kicks in and she wants to make sure her daughter is happy and healthy. The problem is, the information she’s hearing isn’t necessarily accurate. The woman’s daughter sounds like she has great self-esteem; I wonder if she’s a reader of any of the fatosphere blogs!

And it was great being on with you, Peggy. My husband said your mention of the twin studies and your own personal friend was very convincing!

posted on July 3rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm

4 On July 3rd, 2008, Lola

I’ve just finished listening to the broadcast on the internet and all I can say is… excellent show! I think this was way better than the appearances on TV, mainly because you all had more time to expose your ideas, and there was less fatophobia from the host. Congratulations, and I hope this show really makes an impact.
http://www.escrevalolaescreva.blospot.com

posted on July 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm

5 On July 3rd, 2008, Bree

I just wanted to say that I’m not the Bree that responded above. *g*

I’m listening to the show right now and I gotta say that the host’s voice is so soothing. I would have called in, but I was nursing a sprained ankle at the time.

posted on July 3rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm

6 On July 4th, 2008, Sharon

“But put a microphone in front of my face and I instantly turn into a floundering, nervous stutterer of run-on sentences and incoherent ramblings. Part of it, of course, stems from not wanting to sound like a babbling idiot before a wide audience of people — a fear made worse with the archival powers of the internet. A larger part, however, is because my mind tends to process information faster than it can relay it to my mouth (characteristic of many with ADD).”

!! Thank you for making me realise I’m not the only one. I’m useless in those “microphone” situations too, and I’ve always thought it’s for the same reason - my mind is whirring away too fast. Often I’ll think of two different ways to say the same thing and then not decide between them, so what comes out is a mixture of the two, often the first bit of one word and the last bit of the other - like I might be thinking of “smart” and “intelligent” and it might come out as “smelligent” or something equally stupid. Boy does that lead to a lot of verbal backtracking and explaining!

I’m ok giving lectures though. The slides I have really help, they ground me in what I’m going to say, and then all I have to do is concentrate on going slowly (which comes out at normal speed).

Right I’m going to see if I can listen to the show now, thanks for the pointer.

posted on July 4th, 2008 at 9:13 am

7 On July 6th, 2008, Dolly

Rachel, you did a fantastic job! I really enjoyed listening to the show. You’re doing such a great thing in spreading the size acceptance message. Thanks so much!