Fat is a feminist issue

[Aquariangirl]

Hello all my fellow fishies. I have not been on this website in the longest time. I have recently come out of a pretty bad depression in which of course my eating disorder was at an all time high. I am now gradually starting to change my life and I have decided i am ready, after ten years, to recover from bulimia.

At the moment i am reading a book which i find extremely interesting. It's called 'Fat is a feminist issue' written by Susie Orbach, and has been really helpful to me to put my eating disorder into perspective. It offers views as to why women think that the only means for them to succeed is to be thin and beautiful. This is a view shared by much of society and is absolutely ridiculous!!!

While this book was written over thirty years ago the problems it discusses are still relevant (in fact even more so! ) in today's society.

I am yet to finish the book but i would love to hear from anyone who has already read it. there is also a sequel which i would like to read which i think deals more with how to conquer compulsive overeating and bulimia.
Love to all
:lubdub :lubdub
Aquarian girl

[Kensington]

Hi Aquariangirl,

I read that book some years ago & got a lot out of it. One thing I remember strongly was when she talked about double standards at dinner time. It's common for parents to encourage an adolescent/teenage son to eat a lot. They view him as a male, so he can benefit from bulking up becuz being big (i.e. strong) is desirable in a male. This is especially true if he's into sports. At the same time, an adolescent/teenage daughter is encouraged not to eat too much, as being big is never desirable in a woman. At an early age there is a difference in how the female child is being taught that it's good to eat less while this standard is not true for the male child. Very interesting read.