Lara Frater's Blog, page 29

Stating the Obvious

So CNN has reported on something I have mentioned all along. That it is sometimes not fatness but poor medical treatment that causes health issues.  According to the report, fat women, even as little as 13 pounds over "normal":

May have a harder time getting health insurance or have to pay higher premiums
Are at higher risk of being misdiagnosed or receiving inaccurate dosages of drugs
Are less likely to find a fertility doctor who will help you get pregnant
Are less likely to have cancer...

Mo'Nique, earth diets, and sexist store bites the dust.

Big congratulations to Mo'Nique for her Golden Globe from the movie Previous. They usually means Oscar in the future. Also congratulations to Gabourey Sidibe for her nomination. I haven't seen Precious yet.  I will, but it's sometimes hard to see a difficult movie.  That being said, everyone who has seen it says it's an excellent emotional film and that both actresses were extraordinary.  If Hollywood didn't have such a cookie cutter look on lead actresses than Mo'Nique wouldn't be stuck...

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

The good.

For those In Massachusetts,  Rep. Byron Rushing's height/weight anti-discrimination bill H.1850 —An Act Making It Unlawful to Discriminate on the Basis of Height and Weight--is getting a new hearing on Wednesday, January 27, at 10:30 am, Hearing Room A-2, in the Boston State House.  For those in Mass, please testify at this hearing.  Do it in memory of Jeanne Toombs who tried to get this law passed in 2007. 

You can also crucially support civil rights for people of all sizes by...

Wellness Plans of the Corn

Finally, someone from the medical establishment thinks that wellness incentives aren't as good as they sound and they will unfairly discriminated against the poor who don't always have time to go to the gym. I will go even further. I see no reason to punish someone in good health who happens to be be above the arcane BMI normal weight. (I also see no reason to punish people in poor health who happen to be in the range as well.  Health care needs to be blind.)

Association for Size Diversity...

Resolutions

Every new year, thousands, possibly millions of people pledge to lose weight. They go on their own diets, fad diets or commercial diets.  For about 17 years that was my resolution.  I was going to lose weight and that would fix everything. And for about one month or even two I'd eat less, lose weight, and exercise.  Then I would only think of food and eventually go on a massive eating binge in which I would stop eating anything healthy or moving.

So I no longer make resolutions. I no longer...

Jenny Craig, right in the womb!

I came across two disturbing stories about fat women and pregnancy

The first one I got from the Well-Rounded Mama blog (she has plenty more on this topic). This comes from the UK and it's scary. A hospital has banned fat pregnant women. Any women who has a BMI over 34 is considered high risk, regardless of their general health history. And if they happen to be at high risk, they can travel some 20 miles to get to the other hospital (the exercise will do them good! Right . . .). The hospital...

Food Glorious Food

Holidays are here and I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and were not embarrassed to have seconds if they wanted to.

Yesterday I watched a movie called "Food Inc". As people know I also maintain an occasionally posted blog called Fat Habitat, where I try to provide information on sustainability that does not blame or victimize fat people.

Unfortunately I can't review Food, Inc. there. Thankfully it only had a small segment on the Great American Obesity Epidemic, and I guess I can be...

Losers, Obliviously and Lincoln U.

First off, please pledge money, loving and support for the documentary "Fat Girl's Float." 

And Lincoln University has changed their fat discrimination policy, sort of.  Fat people will no longer be forced to take a "Fitness for life" class, but it will be rolled into one course for *all* students.  Many colleges require some kind of PE course (as I mentioned last week, I aced the course I took in college.) Even though the head of the college and the head of their gym wanted to keep it...

Outright discrimination

Lincoln University makes fat students lose weight and/or take a fitness class or they wouldn't graduate. I just can't grasp the idea of denying someone their education purely based on their weight.  This isn't a matter of it taking physical fitness which is a requirement of all students, this is outright targeting of a certain group because they don't fit into the cookie cutter of "normal."  I hope some of them will lawyer up and overturn this stupid and outright discrimatory law. I hope...

More on the Fat Studies Reader.

There will most likely be no blog post next week as next weekend is moving day and I will be with out home interweb for five whole days.  (*sob*)

Second off, for those in the New York Area, I will be reading my essay in the Fat Studies Reader at Re/Dress along with Kathleen LeBesco, Elena Andrea Escalera and Kelli Dunham will be reading the late and missed Heather MacAllister's essay.  Come shop at the fab store, buy the book, listen to the readings and chat with the authors. 

And check out...