My mom worked for a company which sold diet health shakes. Her job for the in-house magazine, was to write the research into stuff the distributors could understand. I don't recall the exact ad copy line she came up with about the fork being the most dangerous implement in America.
But, what is more personal, than what's on the end of the fork, our relationship to food? One has to have it, and all the power structure has to do, is interfere with it, and they interfere with ones entire day, the very basics of how they relate to themselves & others.
I know a woman who can barely eat in front of anyone. Because being watched while she eats opens her up to the vulnerability, to the conversation about her weight, and she's "A big girl". I *get* to have dinner w/ her because I don't think of such a thing as dinner conversation, so she can almost get through dinner with me without being too self conscious about being watched while she eats, and when she does become so, I try to go on as if I haven't noticed, but look away from her face or her plate, so she can eat in peace, so it doesn't put her off her meal.
That, is despicable. Fundamentally, she should be able to throw the gristle to the dogs and drink half a tankard, spill the other half and laugh loudly amongst her friends, rather than having to turn down most outings which may include getting food, if she hasn't had a chance to eat alone, earlier.
For men who do eat whatever whenever, can one imagine telling them that they have to get down to a certain weight, that no, all that muscle is actually part of what makes them into, oh, say rapists, and say, cave men, that the only acceptable body weight is 25% below their base weight, that real men look like those who take up ballet? What would we get? Same things: Rage, shame, helplessness, and if they were allowed to deviate only 5 pounds, not 7 pounds through each season but they had to return to this imaginary perfection...all we'd have is a whole lot of people feeling utterly powerless, weak and hungry. Such distractions are ultimately boring, it's obviously clear to anyone who's gone outside, love has nothing to do with weight.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-04-19 01:10 am (UTC)My mom worked for a company which sold diet health shakes. Her job for the in-house magazine, was to write the research into stuff the distributors could understand. I don't recall the exact ad copy line she came up with about the fork being the most dangerous implement in America.
But, what is more personal, than what's on the end of the fork, our relationship to food? One has to have it, and all the power structure has to do, is interfere with it, and they interfere with ones entire day, the very basics of how they relate to themselves & others.
I know a woman who can barely eat in front of anyone. Because being watched while she eats opens her up to the vulnerability, to the conversation about her weight, and she's "A big girl". I *get* to have dinner w/ her because I don't think of such a thing as dinner conversation, so she can almost get through dinner with me without being too self conscious about being watched while she eats, and when she does become so, I try to go on as if I haven't noticed, but look away from her face or her plate, so she can eat in peace, so it doesn't put her off her meal.
That, is despicable. Fundamentally, she should be able to throw the gristle to the dogs and drink half a tankard, spill the other half and laugh loudly amongst her friends, rather than having to turn down most outings which may include getting food, if she hasn't had a chance to eat alone, earlier.
For men who do eat whatever whenever, can one imagine telling them that they have to get down to a certain weight, that no, all that muscle is actually part of what makes them into, oh, say rapists, and say, cave men, that the only acceptable body weight is 25% below their base weight, that real men look like those who take up ballet? What would we get? Same things: Rage, shame, helplessness, and if they were allowed to deviate only 5 pounds, not 7 pounds through each season but they had to return to this imaginary perfection...all we'd have is a whole lot of people feeling utterly powerless, weak and hungry. Such distractions are ultimately boring, it's obviously clear to anyone who's gone outside, love has nothing to do with weight.